When I realised that I was going to be reviewing this title I thought I had better do some research into the sport a little more.

I remembered when cage fighting and mixed martial arts were becoming popular, although not regulated and the UFC being the daddy of the sport, over time, in terms of branding and set rules.  I also understood that this sport was brutal with a variety of martial arts being used.

With other pugalist sports you kind of know what you’re getting.  With boxing, you are getting punches thrown and landed.  Two sparring partners exchanging leather looking for that knockout punch.  With wrestling, you get the spectacle, showmanship, dodgy acting and wrestlers dancing the corporate line with fake punches, well rehearsed holds and moves.  With mixed martial arts it is different in every way.  All kinds of contact arts are used, including jiu jitsu, kickboxing, muay thai and the list goes on.  All are legal and the fighters are well crafted in the skills of drawing blood, knocking people out or half choking to death.

My big question was this.  How on earth are you going to be able to incorporate all the intricacies of these martial arts in one video game to make it look and feel like the real thing?   My answer was quick and painless.  Give it to Yukes to develop and all will be good.  Yukes have had a massive impact on the wrestling game franchise, solidifying their credentials as the go to guys if you want something to be as real as you can make a contact sport (if you call wrestling a contact sport in its purest form that is).  This is the first time Yukes have attempted anything like this and if they were to pull UFC 2009 off successfully then the core gameplay and control system are going to have to be spot on.

To say that they have nailed these systems is an understatement as this has to be one of the best, refined and easy to use fighting systems for this style of game yet.  The game itself is broken down to 6 different fighting styles.  Boxing, judo, muay thai, Brazilian jiu jitsu, wrestling and kickboxing whose moves and format are broken into two distinct catagories of fighting.  Boxing, kickboxing and muay thai are more striking arts and judo, Brazilian jui jitsu and wrestling are more to the floor and grappling styles.  When broken down to the control system it now makes it very easy to understand and interperate where your fingers and thumbs will be moving in accordance to the positioning of your fighter in a given match.  Although there are a lot of moves to grasp, most are variations of the X,Y,B,A buttons and are simple to put into action with the triggers and bumpers acting as either defense moves, clinches and if used with the sticks ways of getting your opponent to the floor.  If you are struggling a little then there is always the menu to pull up which will show you all the moves and combos assinged to that fighter.

The groundwork is something that was being questioned before I started playing this game but Yukes have worked a handy system into the mix.  It is based on a tier system so when you go to ground you can move up and down the scale to get yourself into stronger positions and better guards, unless you are blocked that is and you will be moved down automatically.  After seeing a couple of real fights on my computer I understood the system a lot better and I feel that this only helps counter all arguments that could have been made about getting this right before playing the game.  I could go on and on about this system for a very long time but feel that you have to really play it to experience it.  It is second to none and the best fighting system out there to date.

After all I have said about the system I have forgot to mention the game itself in terms of looks, features and things.  Woops.  UFC 2009 has all the cusomisation that you come to expect from a Yuke’s game.  There is the ability to go through the training sessions to get you up to speed with how the mechanics work.  A must I feel if you want to master this game and you get some handy achievement points for it too.  If you think you can beat this game by mashing the kick and punch buttons then you will come up short a lot of time so I do advise you to go through it straight off the bat.  You will definitely prosper for it I can promise you that.  You also have your create a fighter mode which you can take into your career.  Creating your fighter is full of cusomisable features and you know what you’re getting with this as Yuke’s and THQ are reknowned for these features in most of their games.  Career mode as a  process will be long and works on a calendar system where you can spar, train, handle e-mails from promoters, accept fights etc.  This has been shaped for a lot of detail and depending on how you want to manage your career, you can rest all the up to a fight (seriously, not advisable) or work to build up your stats along the way to becoming the king of the octagon.

Exhibition mode gives you one off fights where you can step into the shoes of one of your favourite mixed martial arts heroes.  With over 80 to chose from including B.J. Penn, Chuck Liddell, Brock Lesner, Frank Mir and Forrest Griffin you will never be short of finding a fighter to suit your style.  Classic fight mode will put you into some classic bouts over the last few years.  The idea is that you have to replicate the fight and the outcome to be successful and unlock their fight in full video to play back whenever you want.  Trust me, having to go 3 rounds sometimes to get a points win without knocking someone out or being knocked out can provide a pretty good challenge.  The last is online.  Whilst the scale of options have been cut down compared to their wrestling brothers you will find this a handy and solid way to extend the game way past when you would usually put it down.

Graphically, again the game is solid.  The fighters themselves have been photographed prior to matches to get them looking in the peak of their fitness, this transposes well onto screen with sweat and blood at the required times and looks impressive.  The skin and body also ripples when they are hit and kicked so if you can imagine what was happening with Fight Night 3 then you have a pretty good idea of how this is looking too.  All the movements look good, the contact moves the body around in the right way so you get a feel of actually being struck.  The animation is also good in the clinch and takedown areas with no collision detection from what I could see.  Saying that, I was too busy battering my opponent to really pay attention that much and that is a testament to the way this game plays.  The last thing is at the end of the round you will be able to see all the highlights of the last round.  This helps you to see perhaps where you have gone wrong, what moves your opponent is using and come up with some kind of strategy to counteract it.

So, to summise, UFC 2009 Undisputed appears to be the king of the ring and the daddy of them all to date.  The engine and control system are beyond words and I feel that other companies may want to look at how they control their game in future as this is way out there in terms of accessability, movement, feel and constant control.  My only grumble and it is a very small one is that the gameplay itself is a tad slow.  This is not a bad thing for me as it gives me a little time and being the age I am more reaction time to get my counter or move in.  This may upset some fight fans but I doubt it very much.  Although, this has been scaled down in terms of options compared to the last Yukes outing I feel it benefits from it.  Pick up and play but with enough depth to keep you playing for a long time without t
rying to over complicate itself.  I wasn’t aware of UFC before now that much but my God, over the last week or so I have become and avid fan and can see this game getting put in that white machone quite a few times. The score for this game is based on fighting games that are available.  The high score is basically because it is way above the rest o the field.