UFC Undisputed 2009 (Sony Playstation 3, 2009)

Initial Look- UFC 2009 Undisputed for the PS3 is the ultimate game for a hardcore gamer that likes fighters, or any UFC fan who has some gaming experience as the controls are not the easiest but the sport of mma is very complex so given that fact, THQ has done an amazing job at the first game in what is sure to be a long lived series of UFC games given the present success of over 2 million copies sold. I just can't believe that EA Sports turned away UFC but am glad as THQ made it much better as a first game than EA ever could have. I have played this game well over fifty hours so keep that in mind while reading the review.

Presentation- Probably one of the games weakest points as the menu interface is pretty boring and not too nice to look at either. I really like the broadcasting as it is nice to learn a lot of cool facts about the over 80 fighters. The thing that really bothers me is that they did not add ring entrances which would have made the experience that much more deep. If they add them to fake wrestling games they can do it for this series i am sure.

Depth- This game has over 80 fighters including hidden Tapout fighters so you will never get bored with experimenting with new fighting combinations as most fighters have personal strengths and weaknesses which are very close to that of the real fighters. The classic fights are awesome to recreate and watching the videos after winning the fights is a fantastic reward and there are 12 which will keep you busy for some time(until you get familiarized). Career mode is superb as well as there is five different weight classes and plenty of difference in the experiences as mentioned earlier, there are multiple fighting styles as well to perfect. The online modes are barebones as many sites have reported but if you are a competitive gamer like me, you will find tons of hours of joy from competing in ranked matches as some gamers are truly incredible at this game.

Sound- The game has great announcer voice and it is very clear and easy to hear during fights and really gives you a great background of each and every fighter from the experienced perspective of Rogan and Goldberg until you have played the game as much as i have and experience a lot of repeats. Also, while i do love the music from the UFC, the soundtrack is very short and you will hear the same music again and again to the point where you will want to turn the sound off from the title screen if you are more than a casual gamer and play the game enough.

Graphics- Phenominal, alot of people forget this is the first game of the series and that there are over eighty fighters and a lot of things going on behind the scenes. Others need to stop comparing aspects of this game to Fight Night as that is now the fourth game in the series and this is the first. That being said, each fighter in the game looks very much like themselves in real life and i have very little problems with collision detection or other buggy aspects that would take me out of the overall game experience. Graphics are really one of this games strong points and fans of the UFC will agree with me in the accuracy and quality/detail in the game.

Gameplay- This game is an easy to pick up game for button mashers but a very complex game for serious gamers as the controls will take time to learn but once you have practiced enough and take your game online you will find much room for improvement and keep on practicing to get better. The games strongest aspect easily.

This game is already a You Tube cult classic. MMA fans the world over are playing the current UFC headline fighters before every event...and its not even released yet! Thanks to a very close friend in the gaming world, we got the opportunity to "explore" this unreleased MMA(mixed martial arts) fight game(release date: June 2009). It's currently available for pre-order, but believe me...if you're a UFC fan, this game is worth the price tag and the wait. We got to play the UFC's event line ups on the night of UFC 92:Ultimate 2008. Okay, you'll have to be a huge MMA fan, like myself, to see how incredibly accurate and life like the fighters appeared in the game. Forrest Griffin had the same shorts, goofy haircut(see the game cover art above) and lanky swagger. Rampage Jackson's tattoos and classic junkyard dog scowl were dead on. Minotauro Nogeira and Frank Mir, all carbon copies to the real thing. The Octagon with all advertisements were an exact match. Commentators Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg were in place at ringside. Ring girls and referees just like the actual events. The stage was perfect and true to life.

The controls still need to be tweaked out but were pretty user friendly. I would get into the actual control button set up but that would be a little lengthy. Just believe me, it's VERY USER FRIENDLY! i.e. only one button for a specific move. Each of the currently 80 some odd fighters has his own striking and grappling style. The right stick controlled the grappling and was simple to use with VERY LOW frustration factor...and I'm easily frustrated! Each strike is automatic depending on the distance to the opponent. Power was determined by the stamina of the fighter, fatigue plays a factor...just like in real life. There was constant action. Both fighters on the offensive at all times. True fluidity.

Bottom line...a must have for all fight fans. A great fight game for all non fight fans. Playing this game is like a crash course into the real UFC and all it's great fighters. Plus, it's easy to use. Awesome graphics and true to life details. Commentary by Joe and Mike was a treat!

UPDATE MAY 2009...NOW AVAILABLE!

This game has nearly every character you could think of from the UFC roster, with some of the guys that have passed through the company as well (sylvia, arlovski). The game also does the UFC justice by making you learn every aspect of the sport in the game to be successful at it. The characters look spot on and the controls though confusing, became adaptable with practice. Playing the game on line is quite fun and playing with a couple friends before a pay per view is always a blast. There is also a pretty neat mode where you get to re-enact past matches i.e. griffin vs bonnar, rampage vs liddell, etc, and have to end the fight exactly how it took place in real life. The couple issues i do have with the game is that the career mode could have had so much more depth as far as a story line goes. You basically create your character and get emails to take fights, with a few weeks in between where you can spar or do cardio/speed/strength training, but you dont actually do the training. Overall if you are a fan of the UFC there's nothing better than kickin your buddies ass with your favorite fighter!

I like it alot. jenny, at first the career mode was having me throw fits! I kept losing but then i figured it out only to hit another wall! Then I found out you need to build your characters strength stat. Turn on your gauge in the game options menu to help learn the tricky submission aspect of the game. So the game needs a little info or user friendlyness. I also dont like you cant have different wieght classes fight. And cant use real life fighters in career mode and build then up. also I dont think the game is graphicailly impressive as i heard. But I still love this game i think developers are headed in the right direction.

I would call this a must have if you like any kind of fighting game. If you want to take a break from Street fighter or any of the other arcade fighters or a break from WWE this is a great option. A huge roster spanning 5 weight classes, great controls, in-depth Create-A-Fighter and the fighters looking real are major pros for this title.

The biggest cons are the menus, they are slanted first of all and navigating them takes too long. Also possibly the Online portion can be lagged for some but not most. Other than that this game rocks.

So if you've skipped UFC games before or thought about getting one, stop now. This is the UFC game to get and a must for any UFC fan.