UFC 2009 Demo Impressions and Videos

As just recently reported the demo for UFC 2009 Undisputed will be available next Thursday for the 360 and PS3. There was no indication of anything more to it, however Gamestop is now giving out codes to unlock and download the 360 version of the demo early to those who have preordered the game. This is how I was able to get the demo yesterday and now I am very thankful that I did.

Given that UFC is a new franchise I’ve remained hesitant to commit too much hope to it. In may be due in part to that how right now I’m completely blown away by the quality and and fun factor. Continue on to read some early impressions and check out a bunch of HD videos of the demo.

The game, like the sport, is intense and exciting. I have not played vs the CPU yet, instead all head-to-head against my buddy jerkfacefave. The first few fights were ended by huge knockouts early on that seemingly came from out of nowhere. Then the strategy started to come into play as we settled in. The controls have been described as confusing, yet not once did I find myself frustrated by them.

There is no doubt that the different fighter styles will not only give each guy his own strengths and weaknesses but also keep the game fresh. In the demo we only get to see a couple of the styles that will be included but controlling each one offered a completely different experience. This is not only the case with the guy you’re controlling but also in how to counter what your opponent is going to try and do. Each fight will have a different feel because of this and strategy will have to be formed around it.

After picking up on the controls more I had started to get the hang of how to deal with being on the ground. But it is a dangerous proposition as Chuck Liddell. It was immediately evident that Mauricio Rua had the advantage there. So my strategy became to stay on my feet as much as possible and avoid being taken down, all the while trying to get some big shots in. I knew that all I needed was one big punch and would hope to get that opportunity.

Fatigue does play a role, but we didn’t see it until we finally had a fight go into the third round. The guys started dropping their hands and shoulders some, the kicks weren’t as swift, and it seemed tougher to break out of holds.

I think the sport is naturally tailored to the video game experience. I love how short the fights can be and how they can end at any time. Whether that be by submission or knockout you have to stay on your toes. Being able to complete a fight in less than 10 minutes is great. You can just play it without having to commit to an hour like most sports games, or you can get 5+ fights in during that hour.

During the first hour of playing the demo I was leaving some thoughts on Twitter.”I was skeptical, but so far UFC is awesome. Dare I say way more fun than Fight Night?” And right now I stand by that statement even more. I don’t believe you need to be a fan of UFC to really enjoy this. I’ve never really gotten into any fighting game which makes the feeling this game is providing significant. A lot is going to ride on how smooth and responsive the online play is. More to come over the next few days in the way of impressions and videos.

The following three videos are head-to-head against jerkfacefave. I took on Chuck Liddell and he had Shogun Rua. The first one is one of our early fights and you’ll see we were feeling things out and learning the controls and pacing, but by the other two we had started to figure out counters and how more to take advantage of our own fighter’s strengths while attempting to negate our opponent’s.