UFC 2009 Undisputed
Encyclopedia
UFC 2009 Undisputed is a mixed martial arts
video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship
properties and fighters developed by Yuke's Osaka and published by THQ
. The game was released in the US on May 19, 2009, for the Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
. It is the first game to be released under THQ's 2007 agreement with the UFC, and it is to be the first UFC game released since UFC: Sudden Impact
in 2004. A playable demo of UFC 2009 was released onto Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on April 23, 2009, and featured a tutorial and exhibition matchup between Chuck Liddell
and Mauricio Rua
. A sequel, UFC Undisputed 2010
was released on May 25, 2010.
, Kickboxing
, Muay thai
, Grappling: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
, Judo
, and Wrestling
. These styles are placed into two categories, allowing a character to have one of the fighting styles from each of these categories. The "standup" category allows Boxing, Muay thai or Kickboxing, while grappling-style can consist of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling or Judo.
Legend:Fighter can switch to Light HeavyweightFighter can switch to MiddleweightFighter can switch to WelterweightFighter can switch to LightweightDownloadable Content
s Daniel Wilks commends the game for its "very deep, intricate fighting system [and] balanced striking and ground game." However, he criticized the game for its "very steep learning curve, very niche
appeal".
At the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, UFC 2009 Undisputed was named the Best Individual Sports Game.
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
properties and fighters developed by Yuke's Osaka and published by THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
. The game was released in the US on May 19, 2009, for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. It is the first game to be released under THQ's 2007 agreement with the UFC, and it is to be the first UFC game released since UFC: Sudden Impact
UFC: Sudden Impact
UFC: Sudden Impact is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Opus and published by Global Star. It was released on April 21, 2004, for the PlayStation 2...
in 2004. A playable demo of UFC 2009 was released onto Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on April 23, 2009, and featured a tutorial and exhibition matchup between Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
and Mauricio Rua
Mauricio Rua
Maurício Milani Rua is a Brazilian mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion...
. A sequel, UFC Undisputed 2010
UFC Undisputed 2010
UFC Undisputed 2010 is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Yuke's and published by THQ. It was released on May 25, 2010, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and for the first time PlayStation Portable...
was released on May 25, 2010.
Fighting styles
The developers at Yuke's Osaka included 6 major primary fighting styles for the fighters in the game; Striking: BoxingBoxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, Kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
, Muay thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
, Grappling: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...
, Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
, and Wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
. These styles are placed into two categories, allowing a character to have one of the fighting styles from each of these categories. The "standup" category allows Boxing, Muay thai or Kickboxing, while grappling-style can consist of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling or Judo.
Roster
The complete roster was revealed to and published by GameSpot.Legend:Fighter can switch to Light HeavyweightFighter can switch to MiddleweightFighter can switch to WelterweightFighter can switch to LightweightDownloadable Content
Miscellaneous
- In the May 2009 issue of Fight! Magazine, THQTHQTHQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
highlighted some of the setbacks they faced during the game's development as a result of various clipping issues within the collision detection. They stated that they removed rising UFC star Clay GuidaClay GuidaClayton Charles Guida is an American mixed martial artist and currently fighting in the UFC as a lightweight. Guida was the first Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and held the title until being defeated by Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce: Revenge...
from the roster due to the clipping issues presented by his lengthy hair on his character model and it was rumored that Dana WhiteDana WhiteDana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
even offered him $10,000 to cut it but he refused, this was refuted by Guida in an interview with Pro MMA Radio where he stated that he would have done anything to be in the game including cutting his hair but simply he was not asked. Southpaw stances were also excluded for clipping issues. As such, southpaw fighters such as Rich FranklinRich FranklinRich Jay Franklin II is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion.-Background:...
fight with the more traditional right-hand stance in the game. - The TapouT crew members Charles Lewis Jr. (Mask) and Punkass are unlockable playable characters by progressing through the career mode. Skyscrape is unlockable with the use of a code.
- The Ultimate FighterThe Ultimate FighterThe Ultimate Fighter is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts competition produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship , and soon to be shown on FX. The show features unknown, professional MMA fighters living together in Las Vegas, Nevada, and follows them as...
season 8 winners Ryan BaderRyan BaderRyan DuWayne Bader is an American professional mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir. On December 13, 2008, Bader defeated Vinicius Magalhães to win a contract with the UFC and the title of The Ultimate Fighter...
and Efrain EscuderoEfrain EscuderoEfrain Escudero is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. He trains under Drew Fickett and competes in the 155 lb weight class...
, formerly available only through an exclusive pre-order code from GamestopGameStopGameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
, were made available for purchase through XBLA and PSN on September 10, 2009.
Reception
Initial reviews have been positive with Metacritic giving the game an 83% after 58 reviews and Game Rankings giving it a 84% after 21 reviews. Some reviews cited the lack of a penalty for users who disconnect from online games as a negative aspect, along with lag in online play. Although recently, there has been a patch that must be downloaded, that is preventing "cheating" with the CAF program, by stopping a bug that players were able to exploit an error in the CAF system, that allowed artificial "pumping up" of the CAF's ability meters. This patch is also supposed to be able to track those players that disconnect in an attempt to falsely prevent losses from showing up on the CAF's Win-Loss record. It is also supposed to try to prevent lag issues, by matching up players with similar connection speeds. According to NPD figures, UFC 2009: Undisputed managed to sell over 1,000,000 units in its first month. 679,600 of these sales came on the Xbox 360, with 334,400 coming on the PlayStation 3. HyperHyper (magazine)
Hyper is a multi-platform Australian video game magazine. Australia's longest running gaming magazine, it has been in publication since 1993, and was released the same month as the better known UK magazine Edge...
s Daniel Wilks commends the game for its "very deep, intricate fighting system [and] balanced striking and ground game." However, he criticized the game for its "very steep learning curve, very niche
Niche market
A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing; therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact...
appeal".
At the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, UFC 2009 Undisputed was named the Best Individual Sports Game.
External links
- UFC® 2009 Undisputed at US.PlayStation.Com
- Official site