For those of you who have already experienced the first Ultimate Fighting Championship game (on the Dreamcast), there’s not much new to the sequel from what I experienced. Updated rosters, upgraded story/championship mode, and improved character models and lighting.

Now for those of you who have never experienced UFC on the Dreamcast, allow me to introduce you to a beautifully gruesome game. If you’ve never witnessed an actual UFC fight, you’ll still be able to jump right into the game, as the rules are simple. You and an opponent fight in a large, octagonal ring within 3 minute rounds, with the simple objective of either KO’ing your rival or making him submit to a painful hold. Sounds fun, eh? Thankfully, the controls are intuitive while keeping the game itself challenging and deep.

Your striking moves are performed through the 4 face buttons, allowing you to punch and kick with any limb you want. If you want to tackle your opponent to the ground, all you have to do is press two buttons at the same time, say A and B. Blocking is performed automatically, as long as you’re moving away from your opponent. Once you do tackle down the fighter (or once you get tackled), you’ll assume a specific stance, with one opponent sitting on the other’s chest, while the fighter with the disadvantage is on his back. From here, either fighter can punch (and subsequently block) the other into oblivion, or you can attempt a hold to in an attempt to end the match with a tap out.

The beauty regarding Throwdown’s fighting system is exemplified in the reversal and options system. If you opponent goes to kick you in the chest, you can catch his foot, twist it, and force him into a position that puts you to an advantage, and possibly makes him submit. Should you be on your back, split seconds away from getting an elbow to the head, you can catch a punch, pull you enemy’s arm, and reverse the situation, putting you on top. This allows for matches to either be extremely quick and dominated, or long and filled with strategy, depending on how experienced the two fighters are.

Graphically, the game is quite impressive as well. The character models are all beautifully modeled, as muscle bulges, be it on a fighter’s arm, back, or anywhere else on the body are represented through polygons, and not a texture. Thanks to this, the lighting effects are also quite sharp, as shadows from the mini floodlights will loom under shoulder blades. Blood and sweat both go flying depending on the vicinity of certain blows, and the crowd is also nicely detailed and animated.

If you’re looking for a realistic fighter that requires very quick reflexes and a healthy dose of strategy, then definitely check out Throwdown when it’s released.