UFC 2009 Undisputed Review

BY Nicholas Rego | POSTED: 02 July 2009

Are you man enough for the ring?



Amongst all the contact sports played today, nothing is more brutal than the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Put two testosterone-laden men in a closed ring and watch the body parts fly – literally. UFC is not for the faint hearted, either as a spectator or a competitor as some of the matches are extremely brutal and can be over in a matter of minutes. But if you still enjoy the sport and want to skip the trip to the emergency room, then UFC 2009 Undisputed for the Playstation 3 will certainly get your blood pumping.



To start, I have to stress that you need to run through the supplied tutorial to get to grips with the game. The tutorial is well paced and has a plethora of information which you will need to remember in order to sway a match in your favour. It covers basic combat, takedowns, submissions, and plenty of other moves, so its worth running through it a few times before doing anything else. Once you’ve got the hang of things, you can really get into the action. The career mode is extremely well polished – you start by creating your own fighter or choosing one of the templates available. The amount of detail and customization available is very impressive, and every single detail of your fighter can be changed. Once you’re happy with your changes, you can step into the ring for your first few matches. It really isn’t surprising to lose your first few rounds, as the game requires a fair amount of concentration and skill to win a match. Simply bashing away at the face buttons may get you swinging at your opponent, but chances are you won’t hit him very often. As you win matches you can build up your fighter’s skills and take on more challenging opponents - a handy calendar schedules your fights and training sessions, so it really feels like you’re handling a professional fighter.

You can of course choose to skip the career mode altogether and jump straight into an exhibition match, choosing from some of the many players available on the roster. Alternatively, you’re also given the choice to view ‘Classic’ matches, where you can watch many of the UFC legends battle it out in the ring. There is even an online mode to challenge players worldwide, but I often found the matches to be a bit laggy, so your best experience is going to come from the Career or Exhibition matches. All in all, it’s a really satisfying gaming experience that’s guaranteed to give you a good couple of hours worth of gameplay, as  you hone your fighter from a weakling to a full fledged fighting machine. Besides the amazing combat finesse, the game really excels with the presentation. Fighters are extremely detailed, and move fluidly around the ring during the match, sweat builds up and reflects off their bodies, fighters stagger and sway as they tire out from throwing punches – it’s all miles better than watching it on TV.



UFC 2009 Undisputed brings up trumps when it comes to a no-nonsense fighting game. With an impressive career mode, great roster of players and hours of mat-sprawling fun to boot, this is one game where beating the crap out of someone never gets tiring.