It’s been a long time coming but finally UFC fans now have a game to call their own in UFC 2009 Undisputed. WWE this game is not, in fact the quality provided on this disc really puts the aforementioned game to shame.

 

For those unfamiliar, UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship to give it the real name basically throws athletes of different abilities into the ring to see who comes out on top, it has gained in popularity over the years as people who grew fed up of WWE’s theatrics moved onto something with a little more brute. The game itself tries to capture the realism of the fighting by keeping the things that make this sport so violent, therefore wounds will open up on fighters faces the more they are hit in one spot and blood will splatter on the canvas on more than one occasion. There are also plenty of different styles on show when fighting, therefore no one match ever feels the same.

 

 

Anyone who has not played the game before should be right at home thanks to the inclusion of a tutorial and training mode, here you can practice bouts before you actually take to the ring. It also helps that the controls are actually quite easy to pick up and play, simple manoeuvres such as kicking, punching and blocking are easily accessible, although it obviously takes time and practice to master the more complicated moves.

 

If you are playing alone you will more than likely want to start off in the Career mode. Here you are tasked with creating your fighter from a wide range of looks, you will then choose his equipment such as shorts etc and finally you will adjust his stats and select his fighting style. The style you choose will affect any of attacks you make on the canvas, although if you hit your opponent the affect will generally be the same.

 

Once you have created your character you can then get down to making a name for yourself in the ring. You do of course, start off at the bottom of the pile and have to work on your reputation by defeating opponents and climbing up the ranks with the eventual aim of becoming the best. Throughout the Career mode you have access to a calendar and other options, from here you can take part in training events, enabling you to improve your core strength, cardio and speed attributes. You will also take part in other events throughout your career, such as those organized by your sponsors. There is certainly plenty of depth in this mode that’s for sure.

 

The action itself is fairly straightforward and each of the buttons represent a limb therefore you have left punch, right punch, left kick and right kick as your standard moves, while holding the left bumper allows you to pull off more advanced techniques. The problem with the any of the moves in the game (especially the more advanced ones) is that they do drain your stamina and if you waste too much energy you could leave yourself open and vulnerable to K.O. This is mainly due to health and stamina both being linked, therefore if you are tired from trying to get hits in you are more susceptible to damage, and if you have took too much damage you are also more likely to get tired quickly.

 

The problem I usually have with games such as UFC and WWE for that matter is that they always feel much slower than the real thing and unfortunately this still seems to be the case in UFC 2009. There is still an almost robotic feel to the fighting, even moving around the ring feels like it is taking much longer than it should and because of this I find it really hard to get lost in the action as much as I should.

 

 

Outside of the Career mode you can also take part in Multiplayer by playing in either a classic match where you have to gain the same outcome by recreating the match as it happened or take part in a ranked or unranked match. The online mode seems to run fairly smoothly, I certainly had no problems to speak of.

 

Graphically there are certainly no complaints, the fighters all look very realistic and the background are well animated. The action also seems to run very smoothly with no lag or tearing to speak of. As mentioned previously there are neat little touches that you will notice such as cuts opening up on the fighters faces and blood splatters on the floor, which of course all helps to add to the realism.

 

Overall UFC 2009 Undisputed is a very enjoyable game and it has certainly been worth the wait for fans of the sport. That game does of course have it’s flaws, but there is no doubt that it is a bit step above anything that the WWE games have brought to the table recently.