Alright Boyz, here we go! UFC Undisputed 2010 First Impressions Thread...

[EagleFan]

Did the midnight pickup, it was actually an impulse preorder and then gota call from the local Gamestop today that the were doing a midnight release (and the woman that called from the local Gamestop is enough reason to make me want to go there at midnight ).


Early thoughts...

Likes

I like how it starts you out as an amateur this time around. You can fight until you want to turn pro so you can train a little more before going pro. The obvious downfall is that you won't get the greatest training.

So far I haven't seen the really crazy collision detection that last year had (the phantom knockouts).

I like the movement which ha improved. Much more battling in the clinch and on the ground.

I like that the cage seems to come into play a little more.

I like some of the new moves, saw a standing guilotine (sp?) tried or it sure looked like one at least.


Dislikes

This may change when I get used to it but it seems like it's easy to lose points in your skills for not training but it seems too easy to lose those points. Maybe this will change when I get used to it even more and figure out the best plan for training.


LOVES

Love that after amateur you start in WFA with a set of fighters of it's own and you don't jump right to the UFC.

LOVE that you can actually watch the entire card that you are on. Didn't really watch much from the WFA but I just made my debut in the UFC (unfortunately I got my ass knocked out) and am watching the rest of the card now. The presentation is excellent. Watcing Rich Franklin fight now, Tito is coming up after that.

Planning on loving the tournament option. That may be really fun for a poker night gathering.



Ouch, Franklin just got knocked out big time.

[EagleFan]

dola: Impressed so far with the other fights. After the Franklin fight which was mostly stand up Amir Sadollah is fighting and the fight has mostly been on the ground.

Still early to judge this so far though.

[korme]

UFC 09 got a ton of use last year out of my apartment, first lots of solo action then multiplayer nearly every night with the roomies.

[Flasch186]

I would really like to see if the computer players age, ratings wise.

[DaddyTorgo]

I'm looking forward to this game...

[JS19]

Completely forgot this was coming out today.

[DeToxRox]

Jon Jones spinning backfist can be great .. and also not so good.

[EagleFan]

A little more...

HATE that they are using an unlock code for playing online. Mine doesn't work! Need to get that straightened out but I doubt I will purchase anything from that company agan if they continue that route.


Liking that your character ages and they have added more interaction (I'llhave to watch the other fighters to see if they age and how they are affected by it). More stories and you can build up rivals. I watched my first PPV earlier, not in it but I was asked to attend and who I thought would win the fights. It seems that I have upset some fighters by picking against them.


Got to watch Forrest Griffin get knocked out and then Mir ground and pounded Kro Cop (sp?) into a TKO. Was hoping to see a submission (am afraid that the viewed fights are going to lead to someone getting tired out and then a flash knockout or TKO) but all the submission attempts were escaped. It was nice to see that Mir was very good at taking his opponent to the ground as the fights are not all stand and bang fights when being viewed.


Did get my first victory in the UFC after a couple tough losses as I knocked Kimbo Slice out cold.


For those creating a fighter, I haven't tried another age yet but I have a feeling that there may not be much difference creating a young fighter or older fighter. I actually went with a 24 year old fighter (hoping that I would have a few extra points to hand out but it doesn't seem that way, but if that is the case you must not start out with many points at all if you go with the youngest age).

[EagleFan]

May start up a dynasty thread that will be part dynasty and part game opinions.

[EagleFan]

It would seem that Kimbo Slice is the only person I can beat so far (in the UFC). Started out 6-1 before getting the call to the UFC. In the UFC I lost my first two fights then beat Slice. I lost the next fight and then fought Slice again for another win.

pre UFC 6-1
in UFC 2-3
in UFC versus Slice 2-0
in UFC versus anyone else 0-3


I think I know my game plan to become a legend, I'll only fight Kimbo....

[moriarty]

Anyone else getting "Connection" issues at the main screen? Took me 10 minutes to login today just to play offline (and it's not my network, xbox live was fine).

Why would a game require you to connect before you can even access the main menu?

A big thumbs down on that design choice. Not sure if I'm going to keep this one.

[EagleFan]

Didn't get connection issues. Maybe it cleared up?

Had you entered the code for online yet? That may be holding it up?

I finally got my code to work.


I have started a dynasty. I will be adding comments related to the game to the dynasty as well.

If interested it is...

Kenny "The Kid" Davis: No More Sand in the Face - Front Office Football Central

[Neon_Chaos]

Love the new control scheme.

Career mode is a blast. I wend unbeaten in the WFA, came to the UFC and got KTFO in the first round.

Should be fun to play with friends.

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Didn't get connection issues. Maybe it cleared up?

Had you entered the code for online yet? That may be holding it up?

Yes, I entered the online code. Supposedly it was related to 'server issues'. There was a thread on the OS forums about it. Hopefully it's all resolved ... I'll give it another go.

Still an odd design decision to login before you even enter the main menu.

[JS19]

Just picked this up and it seems a bit overwhelming right off the bat. The training layout seems different from last yr and it doesn't help that I've completely forgotten the controls. It looks good though, hopefully when I get some time to play around with it and I can a little more familiar with the controls again.

Is this version similar to last year's? Like I said, the training portion seems totally revamped, or is it just a different layout with pretty much the same concept or '09?

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by JS19

Just picked this up and it seems a bit overwhelming right off the bat. The training layout seems different from last yr and it doesn't help that I've completely forgotten the controls. It looks good though, hopefully when I get some time to play around with it and I can a little more familiar with the controls again.

Is this version similar to last year's? Like I said, the training portion seems totally revamped, or is it just a different layout with pretty much the same concept or '09?

Yeah it is a much upgraded 09, imo anyway. They cleaned up a lot of aspects from last year and enhanced quite a bit. Still has its flaws but I am loving it. It is a good leap from year one to year two for a new series.

[NevStar]

Having fun so far. Seems to be a few overpowered moves (Machida's takedown, omoplata from guard-bottom) that hopefully they'll fix with a patch.

First guy's career winding down he has a record of something like 22-6, defended LHW title 5 times. Next match is a champion vs. champion superfight against Lesnar.

Has anybody tried anything with the online camps yet? If you have one on PS3, my id is NevStar00.

[Neon_Chaos]

I now officially hate the Omoplata. What a cheap, cheesy escape move.

It's initiated by a submission attempt from the guard bottom. When the guy quits the sumbmission attempt, he is standing and the defender is on the ground.

[thesloppy]

So, I'm still having a blast with this game, which keeps surprising me with added depth, just when I think I've plateaued and become bored. The Title Defense mode is awesome....kinda a hardcore mode, where you have to beat 12 guys in a row with no saves, and some healing in between each match.

...that said, if I had bought this game to play online with friends, this game would've made me dig out my own eyes with forks. Just about the worst iteration of an online component I've seen in a modern console game.....connecting.....connecting.....connecting....game session no longer available.

[DaddyTorgo]

Looking forward to a PS3 and this game...

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Looking forward to a PS3 and this game...

Go 360, unless you have tiny hands or you will hate yourself when your hands get numb from contorting to use the sticks and buttons.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Go 360, unless you have tiny hands or you will hate yourself when your hands get numb from contorting to use the sticks and buttons.

Thought this game was ps3 only?

i do have pretty tiny hands fwiw. interesting feedback.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Thought this game was ps3 only?

i do have pretty tiny hands fwiw. interesting feedback.

It's for both.

As for the PS3, I like it but I hate two things about it, the online for one but the controllers are the poorest designed controllers ever. The feel like they are going to break and my biggest complaint is the position of the left thumb stick, it makes me contort my thumb to where it gets numb if I play any extended period of time. I can get by with The Show because it's not a frantic use type of game but the supehero game that I suddenly can't remember (electric powers, power sliding on electric lines) made my thumb go numb for days when I would play.

[DaddyTorgo]

is there any way to frigging submit people in this game?? i picked it up last night with my PS3 and for the life of me I can't submit people.

I know (stupidly) the odds of getting a submission early in the match are slim-to-none. If I'm doing the training I can submit my training partner after I get him battered so that his stamina bar is down inside the last notch, so I know I'm doing the motions correctly, but in a real fight I can't ever get people down that low because at some point before that I hit them with a punch to soften them up and it knocks them out.

It's so damn aggravating.

[EagleFan]

That is the biggest knock on the game. You actually have to work to get a submission, to the point of it being nonsensical.

Once I started fighting the higher level fighters with my "submission fighter" I had to pretty much forget about ever getting one. Before that I was able to get the by focusing heavily on the body to wear them down and the legs (if you take the strength out of their legs they can't block your takedown attempts). I would try a few submisisons after taking them down but it would usually take a couple attempts to get them. Side control and knees to the body help take their stamina down and soften them before the attempt.

[EagleFan]

dola: On any of the submissions that I had I feel almost certain that I could have just ended the fight with a few punches much earlier which is why I stayed to the body for two reasons. First, you don't get a flash knockout that way and second to take their stamina down.

Which is why this can be a pretty major knock to the game.

Especially when the computer seems to be able to get you with a surprise submission during fights where you may have been pounding the crap out of them and they surprise you with a submission. Not once have I had a submission where I felt like I just stole the fight.

[thesloppy]

Some tips on submissions:

A) They're much harder against the CPU than against a human opponent, as the CPU essentially has the ability to rotate their virtual sticks at optimum speed and efficiency, and never deviates in that ability.

B) The higher your strength, and the lower of your opponent, the easier it is to submit your opponent. The better position you are in, generally the easier the submission.

C) The higher your skill in the specific submission, the easier to submit your opponent. As you face more talented CPU opponents it's basically useless to use any submission in which your character is lower than a '3', unless you've already worn them down past half their stamina...and even then, a CPU opponent will still need to be pretty heavily worn down.

D) Never start a submission unless your stamina bar is fully charged (conversely, you obviously want to start your sub when your opponents stamina bar is low and used up).

E) Your sub ability is also based on how efficiently and what speed you rotate your sticks, and that's not necessarily the fastest equals bestest. This does take some practice to you basically have to figure it out yourself...just start to focus on a smooth, consistent technique rather than speed, when you start spinning.

F) Here's a very helpful hint that for some odd reason isn't anywhere near the manual and/or tutorial: You don't have to spin the sticks through the entire sub to submit someone...you can try and 'strength' your way into a submission by holding down the R stick when you start a sub, rather than releasing it immediately and spinning. Depending on your skill in the appropriate sub (hit pause, check your move list, and the 1-3 number to the right of the move is your skill level in that move), you release the R stick and start spinning when the red part of your stamina bar reaches a specific point in your overall stamina bar. If you have skill level 3, release and spin when the red part of your stamina is at 50% of your overall stamina. Level 2 = 25% left. Level 1 = nearly gone, which is difficult to do and almost negates the use of a 'strength' submission when using a lvl 1 sub.

Most of this I cribbed from this guide, which is way more in depth....perhaps too much:

UFC Undisputed 2010 Submission Help « BLAZER

[DaddyTorgo]

wow - well i finally got my first submission win. against a total can of a fighter that i created basically for the purpose...minotauro with 2:18 left in the third round. after beating on the guy the whole fight and spending a good 2+ minutes every round trying kimura's (with my energy bar on green and his on red inside of the last tick mark), I finally got one to stick and him to tap.

Pain in the ass. Why can't they make a game where submissions are realistic to get? I wonder if EA's upcoming game will??

I could have ended the fight via KO less than a minute in.

And in fact, I had to play the match like 10 times just now, because I kept accidentally knocking him out.

[DaddyTorgo]

it's irritating that they're so difficult to get, and not at all realistic. you might as well just create a striker for a fighter at this point...which is frigging lame.

[thesloppy]

I can sub people pretty consistently....but it's an exercise in tedium. Basically just ignore the head, kick a dude in the legs until he slows down and you can take him down easy (and at this point you automatically get a better position with your takedowns), then beat him in the gut until he's about 1/3 strength, take him down and sub him with a lvl 3 move.

...but yeah, you can KO a dude with strikes, in the wee minutes of the first round, without even denting his stamina, so subs are essentially useless. I think I've won an offline match that was closely contested, with a sub, exactly once.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

I can sub people pretty consistently....but it's an exercise in tedium. Basically just ignore the head, kick a dude in the legs until he slows down and you can take him down easy (and at this point you automatically get a better position with your takedowns), then beat him in the gut until he's about 1/3 strength, take him down and sub him with a lvl 3 move.

...but yeah, you can KO a dude with strikes, in the wee minutes of the first round, without even denting his stamina, so subs are essentially useless. I think I've won an offline match that was closely contested, with a sub, exactly once.

which is just stupid (i know i'm preaching to the choir). in the hands of a proper fighter, a sub ought to be as powerful as a strike.

Royce Gracie for example...i spent an entire match with him on the mat earlier today, including wearing a guy down, and still couldn't get a winning sub. the real royce would have slapped one on without regard to the guy's "energy or stamina" levels.

[thesloppy]

Yeah, the sub system undermines what is otherwise a terrific fighting game. Simply having the CPU have some variable ability to battle a sub (say, 70% to 100%), rather than 100% efficiency every time, would've made a world of difference. Also, leg kicks are way too quick and easy to spam...I shouldn't be able to throw 50 'strong' leg kicks in quick succession. And I hate that I've carefully crafted my game to get past expert CPU opponents with precise movement and attacks, but folks online can still pretty much kick my ass half the time by charging in and mashing the punch buttons. I still have a ton of fun with the game, though.

[DaddyTorgo]

oh yeah - for sure

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

it's irritating that they're so difficult to get, and not at all realistic. you might as well just create a striker for a fighter at this point...which is frigging lame.

i did and i regretted it, it ruined the game for me. all my wins were by KO, and i never went to a decision. so i either knocked the guy out or i was submitted/KOd myself.

granted, i know i didn't make a submission specialist, but in real life you don't have to be a "submission specialist" to submit someone. shit, Brock submitted Carwin in his last match and no one would call Brock a submission specialist. any fighter has the capability to capitalize on someone's mistake. you can't do that in this game. was entertaining for the time i played it though.

[DaddyTorgo]

i'm hoping the EA game gets it closer to reality, although since it's EA i'm not holding my breath

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Anthony

i did and i regretted it, it ruined the game for me. all my wins were by KO, and i never went to a decision.

In three separate 12-year careers I have never once gone to a decision. I also remember them hyping a 'doctor stoppage' feature...I've never seen or heard anything close to a doctor, in 80 bajillion fights.

Have you guys been playing the 'Title Defense Mode' at all (you have to clear title mode first)? I've found this to be the most challenging mode of the game, because you only heal about 25% of your damage inbetween fights, which really makes you use some strategy in picking guys apart, and encourages more of a ground game (to protect your noggin over the long term). It's also nice to be able to avoid the rut of training and practicing, which began to wear on me after a career or two.

[Flasch186]

I continue to play the game sporadically but am disappointed overall....this may have more to do with my aging and growing tired of ALL thumbjockey games but I digress....

[samifan24]

Please be kind as I'm brand new to UFC and MMA in general but aren't submission moves a big part of the sport? If submission moves are broken in this game, does it make the game basically unplayable? Is the game worth my time as a total newbie to the sport?

[thesloppy]

I think it's still a lot of fun, and I think (but I could be wrong) that most of us doing the complaining are going on our second version of this game with hundreds of matches in, so take that in context. Most of my disappointment stems from the fact that I've had a ton of fun with the game, but that it fails to delivers on some levels as well as it does on many other. Let's just say that I may be vocal about some of my complaints with the game, but according to the option menu I've still got 110+ hours logged, and I rarely get more than 20+ hours out of games that I've considered great. It's certainly head and shoulders above any of the Fight Nights or any other attempts at a semi-realistic fighting game, in my opinion.

...that said, if you're green to MMA, you might as well get the first one (Undisputed 2009), as there wasn't that much added in the newest version, and even some notable absences (Hello, ability to scout your opponent), and it's probably half the price (and I think even downloadable on XboxLive).

[thesloppy]

One of the most frustrating things about this game are the few fleeting matches when you're developing skills match up with that of whatever opponent you're facing, and you get a tight, close match-up with palpable tension, and you're actually scrambling around trying to save yourself and/or improve position...unfortunately, there's kind of a point of no return, and it seems to happen much less often, the better you get....but for that match or two, when things are clicking, it can be great fun.

[dubb93]

Maybe I'm missing something but this game lasted me about four days. I had fun for the first two, the third was alright and by the forth day I was saying to myself there has to be something else I can do.

It just seems like not a whole lot to the game. I didn't find career mode enjoyable for the second year in a row so no surprise there. My online experience was all lag. Literally seemed to be between a second and half and two second delay. That was a waste of time.

That left me with tournament, title, title defense, and event mode. Like I said that lasted me three days and by the forth I was done.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

and even some notable absences (Hello, ability to scout your opponent)

HUGE absence in the game. i was like "how can i properly play this game without knowing the fighting style of my opponent??" i lost a lot of matches against the well known UFC fighters not knowing what to gameplan for.

without being able to do submissions with any regularity this game is basically kickboxing. not saying you should just hit a submission button and that's it, but there should be a "submission meter" like in the WWE games where you have to fill a meter up so you can perform your special finishing move. i think that's a great compromise for the UFC game and its really about the only thing i can thing of that is fair and challenging at the same time, instead of just impossible.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Anthony

HUGE absence in the game. i was like "how can i properly play this game without knowing the fighting style of my opponent??" i lost a lot of matches against the well known UFC fighters not knowing what to gameplan for.

without being able to do submissions with any regularity this game is basically kickboxing. not saying you should just hit a submission button and that's it, but there should be a "submission meter" like in the WWE games where you have to fill a meter up so you can perform your special finishing move. i think that's a great compromise for the UFC game and its really about the only thing i can thing of that is fair and challenging at the same time, instead of just impossible.

That sounds good. And maybe the better at submissions you are, the faster your meter fills and more it stays filled? Right now it's just kind of tedious to work a guy's energy down to the point where a submission might be successful. And then it seems to take me a couple rounds to actually get one to sink in - whether i'm charging it or shining it (both of which are stupid IMO).

I'm praying the EA game gets this right.

I'm probably in the small minority of MMA fans, but I enjoy BJJ much more than striking.

[DaddyTorgo]

Okay - so my brother came over this past weekend and we broke this out and played against each other.

It's a VASTLY better game when played against another human. When you can actually submit your opponent without having to pound him to dust first, it makes the game much much more enjoyable.

We probably spent a good couple hours being random fighters from random weight classes. I think I got submitted once or maybe twice when he got the hang of it, but he also managed to pound me sometimes...he was real good with his ground-n-pound. Although mostly it was just knocking me over, stunning me so I couldn't defend myself, and then continuing to pound me for the TKO.

Much more fun though.

[Neon_Chaos]

The only reason I buy/play most console sports games is to play with friends.

This one included.

Also, that is the reason why 2k11 will suck balls, because we might end up deciding to embargo Miami.

[DaddyTorgo]

Article on ESPN.com about the career mode in EA Sports MMA game

Video Games -- 'EA Sports MMA' career mode breakdown - ESPN

[bhlloy]

Sounds good except the EA part

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Sounds good except the EA part

Well I'm willing to be optomistic. If the submission system is less lame then UFC Undisputed then it'll probably get some good playing time from me.