For some reason or another, alot of people really seem to enjoy watching two burly gladiators legitimately beat the living piss out of each other. Such was the philosophy behind the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, lovingly abbreviated as "UFC." The combatants featured in this tournament flocked from the ends of the earth to prove once and for all which style was the most superior. The UFC's success reached underground proportions at best, but it remains a popular Pay-Per-View item as well as a respectably drawing live event.

Wouldn't ya know it, those clever do-dads at Crave saw the writing on the wall (what little writing there was) and elected to take the UFC's infamy one step further to the realm of video gaming. Seemingly from the minute it was announced, Crave made sure everyone knew that UFC would be far removed from the arena of fireballs, triple digit combos, and gravity defying special attacks. UFC would mirror its real-life counterpart as closely as possible, emphasizing every aspect that makes the nitty gritty tournament what it is: knockouts, tapouts, and oh yes, blood. All things considered, Crave did get kinda stingy with the bloodletting. Everything else, however, is stupendously intact.

Most will notice right from the get-go that UFC is real easy on the eyes. Each of the 24 digitally rendered pugilists was molded from the ground up, and no stone was left unturned when it comes to details. Tattoos, body hair, and facial expressions were all individually chiseled onto each fighter. And the movement ... not since Soul Calibur have I ever seen such flawless motion capturing. One gaze at the spider-like grappling contests will make a believer out of you.

Solid controls and a reasonably steep learning curve combine for intuitive, groundbreaking gameplay rarely seen in most brawlers. Every move in the game is performed by using only the d-pad and the controller's four face buttons. Additionally, UFC makes very liberal usage of the "dial-a-combo" mechanism. For those unfamiliar with such terminology, that basically means combos can be pulled off simply by "dialing up" a specific button sequence. Tackles, takedowns, and counters all involve pushing two of the face buttons simultaneously. That, in a nutshell, embodies everything you'll need to know in order to play UFC. But mastering it is a different story.

Learning the ropes is a relatively easy task, but familiarzing oneself with the many different positions and learning how to adjust strategies accordingly is what ranks UFC as one of the deeper fighting games to come along in a while. Those of you disenchanted by Dead or Alive 2 need not cringe at the mention of counters, as their primary use is to shift the momentum rather than deplete the opponent's energy by 50%. In turn, just about every single maneuver can be reversed or manipulated in some manner...even the counters themselves. Now, you may be thinking that this game might go a little over your head, but luckily, that isn't the case, thanks to the aforementioned brilliantly designed control scheme. The only true problem I can cite with the gameplay is that it's fairly commonplace to wind up in a situation where one player is more or less guaranteed victory. This is where the game's reversal system suffers a big black eye, especially since button mashing plays a big part in this flaw.

Borrowing a page from the recent influx of wrestling games, UFC features Career Mode that lets you to create your very own fighter. Unfortunately, you can only choose from the game's preset templates, which also includes each of the 24 body types on the game's original roster...after a strenuous unlocking period, of course. UFC still offers a fair amount in the way of secrets, though, which will keep you busy until you find a running buddy to step into the octagon with.

Overall, for Crave's first super-hyped killer app, they do a phenomenal job of making good on their claims. Rather than toss off some shoddy, UFC-licensed product, Crave Entertainent whipped up a fun, complex, and most importantly, innovative fighter that at long last takes fighting games out of the fantasy land they've been encapsulated in for so, so long.

So, without further ado...

LET'S GET IT ON!

· · · Soakrates