With two previous entries, the UFC Undisputed series is pretty young in the division of sports titles. With that said, both of those titles did a great job in giving the players an exceptional UFC experience and a wonderful fighting game. On February 14, 2012 THQ is looking to expand on that incredible fighting experience given in previous UFC titles and blow fans out of the water with this next installment.
Does UFC Undisputed 3 bring enough to give fans a better taste of the UFC experience? Or does it take a strong blow to the head and end up knocked out? Here are the HOTs and NOTs of UFC Undisputed 3.
Hots
Plenty of Game Modes
UFC Undisputed 3 offers several game modes to keep you occupied and interested in the game. It features an Exhibition mode, Career mode , Title mode, Title Defense mode, Tournament, Ultimate Fights and Event matches. It also has an in-depth tutorial mode for those who are new to the series or a tad bit rusty. There is also an online portion to the game that lets you play Ranked and Unranked Exhibition matches against others online.
Exhibition matches act as your quick match, allowing you to jump into a fight as one of your favorite fighters or one you have created yourself. Career mode has you has you training your own fighter from the ground up, having him go from bush leagues to becoming a UFC Champion. Title mode has you trying to become a UFC Champion by fighting in an arcade style ladder while Title Defense mode has you defending your title earned in Title mode in 100 fights where the damage is sustained through each fight. Tournament mode lets you choose between playing either a regular UFC tournament or a PRIDE Grand Prix tournament. Ultimate Fights mode lets you relive or change the course of certain UFC and PRIDE fights. Finally, Event mode lets you create your own UFC Event to play through.
Presentation And Graphics
The game presents itself well with an awesome feel to each fight making you feel like you are playing a pay-per-view match instead of a video game. In addition, there is a wealth of content and videos that you can watch, such as interviews with the fighters and clips from various fights.
The graphics look really stunning, rendering each fighter to look exactly like their real life counterpart. The fighters will even bruise up and get cuts in real time. This adds depth of realism to the game and it sometimes doesn’t even feel like you are playing a game but rather an actual fight.
Gameplay
The gameplay in UFC Undisputed 3 is easy to pick up, but it takes time to master. THQ really did a great job with making this entry in the series more accessible to newcomers than the previous installments. Newbies will find it easy to pick up the controller and start hammering away while veterans of past UFC games will feel right at home. There is an in-depth tutorial that shows newcomers the basics as well as the more advanced moves. There are even some new additions to the gameplay mechanics to keep the veteran fighters interested.
Those who have played the other entries in the series will find that there are a few new features to play around with in your fights in the Octagon. You can now “finish the fight” by throwing punches at a downed opponent until a ref throws you off and you can now perform leg TKOs as well as new submissions. The submission system has also received a giant makeover. When you perform a submission attempt in Undisputed 3, an octagon shaped gauge pops up on screen and has you matching your bar with your opponents and keeping it there in order to complete the submission. The length of you bar varies depending on your fighters skills in submissions. These new features help with immersing the player into the UFC experience which makes this the best entry in the series.
Creation Modes
UFC Undisputed 3 allows you to create and customize a variety of different things. You can create your own fighter, logo, banner and Event mode lets you create your own UFC fight. Character customization allows you to go in-depth and pick everything from entrances to tweaking their individual moves in their fighting style. While they don’t look as polished as the actual fighters, they are passable. You can create your own logo for clothing and tattoos as well as banners for your online fight camp and fighter. The Event mode lets you create your own UFC fight and choose how many fights there will be as well as what you want to name it.
PRIDE Fights
PRIDE mode is probably the greatest part of UFC Undisputed 3. The PRIDE league hasn’t been around for awhile now, but it has been brought to life perfectly in Undisputed 3. For those who do not know, PRIDE fighting is way more brutal than standard UFC and twice as awesome. PRIDE allows the fighter to perform head stomps and soccer kicks which are by no means allowed in standard UFC fights. This is probably the best mode to play and provides the most brutal fun in UFC Undisputed 3. A game centered around this mode alone would be worth a purchase.
Nots
Sound
The music that is featured in Undisputed 3 is fairly bland and doesn’t do much to get you pumped, not to mention the commentary can get kind of repetitive. These won’t really pull you away from the intense gameplay and chances are you will hardly notice these little bits while you are pounding a guys face into a bloody pulp.
Verdict
UFC Undisputed 3 is an excellent entry in the series and in sports fighting games as a whole. Those who loved the previous entries or love MMA and UFC, should definitely pick this title up and add it to their collection. With so much content packed into the box and more to come via DLC, you will find weeks of entertainment that long time fans and newcomers alike will love.
[Editor’s Note: UFC Undisputed 3 was reviewed on the Playstation 3 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
