In developing the upcoming UFC 2009 Undisputed, video game publisher THQ worked with the UFC on a feature that allows players to recreate 12 classic fights from the last few years."We wanted to have fights that were significant in the UFC, that were entertaining, and would pose good game play challenges as well," said Wesley Bunn, one of the THQ designers who worked on the game. "The goal is to try to replicate the fight as it actually played out, and if you do, you get an unlockable montage of the fight itself."
The 12 fights were chosen with the help of UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. The list of fights chosen follows:
Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale: Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar
Ultimate Fight Night 6: Diego Sanchez vs. Karo Parisyan
UFC 66: Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz
UFC 71: Chuck Liddell vs. Rampage Jackson
UFC 76: Forrest Griffin vs. Shogun Rua
UFC 77: Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin
UFC 79: Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
UFC 79: Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes
UFC 80: B.J. Penn vs. Joe Stevenson
UFC 82: Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson
UFC 83: Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre
UFC 84: B.J. Penn vs. Sean Sherk
"Joe Silva has been helping us a lot, with this mode and with developing the roster," Bunn said. "One fight that Joe was particularly involved in was including the Ultimate Fight Night 6 match-up between Diego Sanchez and Karo Parisyan. A lot of people who were new to the UFC may not have seen that fight, and it was an excellent fight, so I'm glad we were able to let players try to recreate how Diego Sanchez was able to win that."
One of Bunn's favorite fights was the rematch of Chuck Liddell against Tito Ortiz at UFC 66.
"The third round went back-and-forth, with both fighters connecting with some pretty good shots. Ultimately the outcome was the same, as Liddell came out on top again, but I still thought it was a great fight," said Bunn.
UFC 2009 Undisputed, which will be released May 19, includes the ability to play those 12 fights either against the computer or against a friend, and when the player wins the fight the same way the winning fighter won it in real life, it unlocks a video of the fight itself. Bunn sees these "classic" fights as a way to educate new fans.
"What I've found through playing with other guys in the office is guys who don't know a lot about the UFC is it gives them a sense of who these fighters are and why their fights are important," Bunn said. "When I play with friends who aren't as into the UFC, I think it's fun to use the game to show them why certain fights are significant."
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Comments (Page 1 of 1)
if you haven't played the demo, download it and play it. the gameplay is awesome. im not even a ufc fan. never even watched a fight, but this game is fairly awesome.
How is St. Pierre vs Serra II significant? If anything their first fight was since it's one of the biggest upsets of all time.
Some of these were great fights, some were career defining moments and some are just there because BJ is in it. Penn vs Stevenson? Hardly a classic fight unless blood loss is a criteria.
amen stephen i think bj painted the mat with stevenson's blood. that was nasty
Holy freaking crap, im with Travis. I snagged the demo, where you can play as Shogun or Liddell, and wow, i enjoy the way it plays :)
They have everything, from the characters accurately molded, to the fluid precision of the game play to the in between rounds corner man jargon, this game will be loads of fun.
the gameplay is not very fluid. you can get KO'd by a punch that doesn't even graze you. but the game is still fun nonetheless. and i will be buying it. some tweaks here and there you have yourself a great candidate to compete with fight night franchise but only time will tell.
Oh yes, one more thing...the classics totally shouldve had Mir vs. Sylvia. Oh yes...the armbreak heard round the world.
I meant to say fluid in terms of the transitions, kwilbur. I totally get what youre saying, I played as Shogun constantly and got fluke ko'd by Chuck several times, even while beating the tar out of him, lol.
But i remember the older games, and the transitions felt like chess moves. Guy takes guy down. Guy gets in guard. Guy attempts submission. Guy blocks. Rinse, lather, repeat. This one enables you to catch some moves in more fluid motion, and the sprawl/takedown moves feel smoother than before, not to mention the ground game dynamics are much improved. This game is a must for MMA fans who game, the only sad part is because of licensing, the classic matches could be infinitely cooler. Like Couture/Liddell I, or Wanderlei/Belfort or even the PRIDE matchups, i mean cmon...who wouldnt want to play as Sakuraba?!?!. This is merely a demo though, im sure the actual game will have a bunch more surprises.