Ultimate Fighting Championship Tapout 2
Score: 70% ESRB: Teen Publisher: TDK Mediactive Developer: Crave Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Fighting
Graphics & Sound: I didn't quite know what to expect when I first popped in Ultimate Fighting Championship Tapout 2. Having never played a UFC game, and only seeing a few bouts, I was relatively unsure about what awaited me. Graphically, UFC 2 is rather impressive. The animation is top-notch and the fighters have a very clean look to them (or as clean as sweaty men can get, anyway). However, it wasn't the fighters that impressed me the most, but instead the crowd. If you've read some of my past reviews, you'll know that crowds in sports games are usually among the members of my 'graphical hit list'. I know I may be asking too much, but frankly, I'm tired of blurry, 2D crowds. UFC 2, however, uses fully 3D audience members who move around the octagon and look like a crowd should look. Sure, the crowd is significantly smaller than say the crowd in Madden, but it's great to see that the spectators didn't play second fiddle to everything else in the game. The audio portion of the game gets thumbs up all the way around, simply because it includes custom soundtrack support. I was so happy to see that someone was finally taking advantage of what I think is one of the most underused features of the system. Besides, in an odd sort of way, it can add a bit of humor to the game by picking tracks that obviously shouldn't be used during fights. The best example of this is when I used my DOA: Beach Volleyball play list in the game, and had guys duking it out to Toto's Africa, Bel Biv Devoe's Poison or Do Me, Baby, and the Bangles' Walk Like an Egyptian. Just wait until I get my hands on some Perry Como or Johnny Mathis - then the real fun begins!
Gameplay: Remember that soundtrack trick I just taught you, since it'll come in handy once you begin playing the game. One of the glaring gameplay issues with UFC Tapout 2 is that it's simply not that much fun to play. For the most part, the game strives to be a simulation of UFC fighting, and it succeeds at this greatly, but at the same time it's not fun to have matches end after a few punches to the head. I'm sure I'd be out cold after a few punches to the head too, but there has to be some leeway given in order to make the game fun for more than the hardcore junkies. I also found the different play modes less than enticing. Of the seven modes offered in UFC 2 (Career, Tournament, Training, Exhibition, Legend, Championship Road, and Arcade), Career is probably the more entertaining since you can create your own fighter. Exactly how much fun you have with it is tempered with the realization that the Create-a-Fighter Mode is pretty weak, and doesn't offer near as many options as other games since you're forced to use a set number of pre-set looks and mix-and-match them to your liking. Exhibition mode is your standard 'beat the hell out of your friend' affair, while Tournament is the 'small group of friends' multiplayer extension of the same premise. Championship Road is the main mode of UFC 2. You choose a weight class and fight for one of five titles. Successfully winning at least one belt unlocks the Legend Mode, which allows you to defend your title. Arcade Mode is probably one of the more misleading modes in the entire game. Like in most Arcade Modes, I was expecting this to be a little less of a simulation than the others. In reality, this is little more than a survival mode with the game's same Sim play-style.
Difficulty: As previously mentioned, Ultimate Fighting Championship Tapout 2 tends to lean towards being a little too 'Sim' for most casual players, which has some effect on its difficulty level. Success in the octagon is defined by how well you learn you fighter's characteristics, or as it more often than not turns out, which can punch who in the head quicker. Belts are easy to get, but hard to keep, which is good - although players will get the most balanced fight out of playing with a real human rather than the computer.
Game Mechanics: The controls are set up really nicely and are possibly the most solid aspect of the entire game. I was particularly pleased that I was able to pick up the basic move sets easily. In addition to the standard punches and kicks, there are also a variety of different brutal holds and submissions in order to give players something other to do than punch each other in the head. Of course, most matches will deteriorate to this anyway, but it's good that I had the option. Each fighter also has his own style, which adds some depth to the game and gives players new things to learn. Despite the negative tone through much of this little review, Ultimate Fighting Championship Tapout 2 is by no means a bad game. I can honestly say, it's the most fun my friends and I have had punching each other in the head until one of us passed out, I've ever had. But the fact of the matter is that hardcore UFC fans will likely get much more out of this game than people like me whose only UFC experience comes from that episode of 'Walker: Texas Ranger' where Chuck Norris fought in the UFC matches in the Alabama prison. Fans would do well in picking up this title since they'll enjoy it. The more casual fan may want to pay a visit to Blockbuster instead.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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