The publisher announced today that Mike Tyson, in two different forms, will be included with pre-orders of the game. His last video game appearance was in 2011’s Fight Night Champion which was also the last major boxing game to release on consoles.
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The young “Iron” Mike Tyson will be provided to those who pre-order the Standard Edition of EA Sports UFC 2. Those who pre-order the Deluxe Edition, which also includes bonus Ultimate Team content, will get “Iron” Mike plus an end-of-career “Legacy” version of Tyson.
“As a huge fan, I’m honored to be part of EA SPORTS and explore the world of mixed martial arts,” said Mike Tyson. “I follow UFC very closely and it’s going to be very cool to see how I would stack up against these amazing MMA athletes.”
Tyson might seem an odd fit for an MMA game considering he never participated in the sport. However he’s at least more suited to this sequel than Bruce Lee was as a pre-order bonus for the first EA UFC. There’s a new “KO Mode” in UFC 2 that keeps the action on the feet and only ends in knockouts. Tyson will be able to compete in that far more naturally than in regular fights.
Pre-orders also receive UFC Hall of Famer Bas Rutten and “The Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakuraba. All three fighters can also be earned through progress in the game, but those who pre-order get them immediately.
Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, has co-founded the new site HitThePass.com, is the host of the Press Row Podcast, and can be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.
