The buzz is already well underway for the next Ultimate Fighting Championship video game. UFC Undisputed 2010 is just a few months away with a scheduled May 25, 2010 release date. One of the designers from THQ recently revealed a ton of news and details about the upcoming MMA video game. As great as the first UFC Undisputed video game was, if even half of these changes and improvements live up to expectations, this game could go down as one of the greatest video games of all time.

Other than my countless hours spent playing Madden 2010, I have probably wasted more hours over the last several months playing UFC Undisputed 2009. Needless to say for a big MMA fan like myself, the game provided me with hours of fun and excitement. However, like every critic I also found myself frustrated and disappointed by many aspects of the game. Back in January I wrote a wish list for the next edition of UFC Undisputed. By the sounds of a recent interview on Gamespot.com, THQ not only listened to me but listened to thousands of critics on game and MMA message boards when it came to a wish list of game improvements.

[ad#336r]One of the UFC Undisputed 2010 designers, Omar Kendall wasn’t shy in talking about the new game in his recent interview. Here are just a few UFC Undisputed 2010 highlights and tidbits revealed by Omar Kendall to Gamespot.com.

– Brock Lesnar will be the UFC Undisputed 2010 cover fighter. Last year’s American cover fighter Forrest Griffin went 1-1 since the release of the game, thus I don’t see the cover as a curse. Lesnar is a curious name though. For one, Lesnar has only been a part of the UFC for a few years. This is quite a reward for someone who just jumped into the UFC not too long ago. Two, Lesnar hasn’t fought since last July. While there are tons of rumors regarding Lesnar’s return to action, nothing has been officially announced. Three, this only solidifies Lesnar’s MMA stardom. Lesnar is not very popular with hardcore MMA fans, yet even his biggest critics can’t objectively deny his recognition with the spot.

Let’s just hope as a cover fighter he can get a little more love than the 88 rating in last year’s game.

– The game will put more of an emphasis on cage technique. The cage is a big part of MMA, and not being able to use the cage to your advantage in UFC Undisputed 2009 was a big disappointment. The new edition will feature more cage work and give a fighter a slight advantage when he is dominating a cage battle.

– UFC Undisputed 2010 will feature a tournament mode. Hallelujah! I’d say out of everything on my wish list going into the 2010 edition of the game, this was tops. My biggest gripe with the game was that it got old fast. Once you complete a career mode, there are only so many matches you can make. It is nice to get your fix in with a match, but it is too open ended for my tastes. With a tournament mode, the game will never get old. There will also be more of a reward for exhibition play rather than a win and done. THQ had to know that EA Sports would include a tournament in their MMA game since most EA games have some kind of tournament mode. I love it!

– Since we are talking about the best news, let’s talk about the biggest disappointment. Unfortunately the submission controls won’t get much of a facelift. If there is anything most UFC Undisputed gamers can agree on, it is that the submission controls suck! The idea of simply turning your stick to get out of a submission or mash buttons is just ridiculous for a game of technique. To give THQ credit, they are dropping the mashable button escapes. THQ will also skew the ability to escape towards your stamina, sub skills, etc. I just don’t think that really matters at the end of the day. I am quite surprised at the lack improvement here, as I think it is universally agreed that the submission controls stink.

– The career mode will get more intuitive. According to Kendall, the game will keep track of past victories, sparring partners, camps, and skills. As your career progresses, the commentators will reference all of these facts during your fight. That is nice on paper, but I don’t think that will matter much as your career progresses.

Kendall reveals a lot more improvements to the career mode, specifically a new style of camps, as well some enhancements to the Create-A-Fighter mode, additional skill sets, online fighting, and more. Kendall’s candidness was refreshing in this era of secrecy when it comes to video game releases.

So far, pretty good when it comes to UFC Undisputed 2010 tweaks, additions, and advancements. Other than the submission controls, it seems as if THQ is intent on trying to make this as real of a MMA fighting game as possible. If these improvements and additions live up to expectations, EA Sports is going to have a really hard time getting millions of people to spend another $50 on a video game featuring B-level fighters and subpar graphics.

Thanks to Pastapadre.com for the tip.

Pre-order the UFC Undisputed 2010 video game for all consoles.

Order the discounted UFC Undisputed 2009 video game for all consoles.

Pre-order the EA Sports: MMA Video Game featuring Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko by clicking here.

UFC 2009 Undisputed Official Strategy Guide

Register for GameFly™

New Items Marked Down! Shop the UFC Sale at the UFC Store.



(Visited 33 times, 1 visits today)

Eric G. Eric is the owner and editor-in-chief of the Camel Clutch Blog. Eric has worked in the pro wrestling industry since 1995 as a ring announcer in ECW and a commentator/host on television, PPV, and home video. Eric also hosted Pro Wrestling Radio on terrestrial radio from 1998-2009. Check out some of Eric's work on his IMDB bio and Wikipedia. Eric has an MBA from Temple University's Fox School of Business. More Posts - Website Follow Me:

