You can continue to punch a downed opponent now — and if you hit him four times, you’ll earn a 100G Achievement!In retrospect, it was pretty foolish of THQ to consider releasing UFC Undisputed games on a yearly basis, given how rarely the rosters change and how the shortened development schedule wasn’t enough time to polish the game to perfection. When gamers confirmed the lack of interest in annualizing Undisputed, it gave Yuke’s time to build the ultimate fighter. And thankfully, they’ve done just that.
Thanks to a few tweaks, the core combat — impressive since THQ’s first UFC foray in 2009 — feels more approachable. You can pull off transitions by flicking the right thumbstick up or down, which is far easier and more reliable than performing the sometimes-awkward quarter-circle motions required before (though the former control scheme remains for purists). The submission system is also more straightforward, with a display element that pops up during tapout attempts, plus a body-damage indicator to show where your opponent is weakened. Though these additions to the interface make the combat slightly less transparent, they have the same effect on the game’s previously uncluttered UI. You can remove damage indicators, but you’ll still have a giant octagon popping up any time you try to make your opponent tap.
It’s a shame you can’t play the Ultimate Fights the way they were in UFC 2010: there’s some pretty epic Pride battles here.By far the most commendable feature is the massive influx of new fighters and divisions within UFC 3. The Featherweight and Bantamweight classes (imported from UFC’s recently absorbed sister company, WEC) add faster and more agile fighters to the Undisputed roster, but the bigger addition comes by way of Pride FC, the former Japan-based MMA promotion purchased by the UFC in 2007.
Beyond the deep bench of talent brought in via Pride FC (32 fighters, though many of them are doubles of UFC fighters that spent time fighting matches abroad), the organization also provides one of the best new modes here. Pride Mode spins Undisputed’s refined MMA gameplay by changing the ruleset drastically. The opening round in Pride is twice the length of UFC’s, making clock-draining nearly impossible, while the ability to kick a downed opponent makes the ground game even more tactical (and brutal). Additionally, Pride’s well-known commentating team of Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros (as well as the company’s famously shrieking ring announcer, Lenne Hardt) have recorded voicework referencing dozens of fighters…including many that never fought in Pride.
Turning off the epic Pride entrances dramatically lowers loading times, but you’ll want to see ’em.For better and worse, the modes carried over from UFC Undisputed 2010 have undergone some changes. Career mode has much less needless micromanaging (training automatically assigns stat boosts, for instance), and the bland story elements are gone, letting you focus on guiding your fighter to the top. Unfortunately, the Ultimate Fights mode suffers from the exact opposite problem. What used to be an entertaining way to learn about classic battles has now become overbearing and hectic: instead of objectives you can complete any time during a match, specific objectives (such as “Land 6 knees from Muay Thai Clinch offense”) now pop up every 15 to 20 seconds.
Even if some folks may enjoy the new Ultimate Fights, there’s no silver lining for the load times, which can stretch to nearly 30 seconds and make career-mode preparation a slog. Turning off fighters’ entrances helps, but we still wish we didn’t have to wait around so much.
Load times aside, though, the changes made to UFC 3 make it a better-rounded fighter, even if a few tweaks veer too far into the hardcore or casual camps. With the bang-up job THQ and Yuke’s have done on this game, we’re happy to wait two years for their next fighter.
PUBLISHER: THQ • DEVELOPER: Yuke’s • ESRB: Teen • MULTIPLAYER: 2 in versus mode (local or over Xbox Live) • ACHIEVEMENTS: Tough • COST: $60
+ Pride offers up fresh rules, new fighters, and alternate commentary.
+ Career mode is streamlined, removing superfluous options and adding variety where it counts.
– Ultimate Fights are far less fun now; load times are awful.
? What league can Undisputed include next time? We want Bloodsport’s Kumite.
