by: Michael Ogunnubi

June 03, 2009

One thing I did notice is how exceptionally tough and brutal the computer opponent AI can be. Unfortunately, if you play the game on easy fights are usually over in the first round and rarely venture to the ground game. However if you crank up the difficulty to anything other than easy, you will find that you are in battle of attrition with an opponent eager to take you out and take you down relentlessly.

UFC 2009 features a career mode where you can create your fighter and bring him through the ranks of the UFC with the ultimate goal of making it into the UFC Hall of Fame. Along the way you earn new moves and new skills for your fighter, get camp invites to train with the best that the UFC has to offer and fight in over 40 fights along the way. The inclusion of real world MMA camps is pretty cool. The Career mode does require a significant investment of time to max your fighters stats and abilities. You take your fighter through 7 years of his MMA/UFC career. So you can expect an average run through of the mode to take about 7 to 8 hours. I also have to commend THQ for learning the lesson from Smackdown vs Raw 2009 with the Create-A-Superstars issue. There is a stand alone Create-A-Fighter mode where you do have the option to assign stats and abilities to your fighter. However THQ capped the fighter to ranking of 75 overall where in the career mode you can raise your fighter’s stats to a 99 overall.

Also new to a UFC game is the classic fights mode where you have to relive 12 classic UFC fights. This mode is surprisingly a lot of fun. For example in one fight you relive the epic battle between Quinton Rampage Jackson and Chuck Iceman Liddell where the Rampage knocked out the Iceman in the first round winning the light heavyweight UFC title. Again, presentation is top notch in this mode. THQ included the pre-fight build up video that UFC runs before its fights. By completing the match and reliving the fight as it happened in real life you unlock a special recap video of the fight. This type of mode first made its debut in WWE Legends of Wrestlemania and it really is a perfect fit for the UFC. It would have been nice for UFC 2009 to have included more legendary fighters from the UFC’s past like Gracie, Shamrock, Tank Abbott, and others but you can always make a reasonable representation of them in the Create-A-Fighter.

Speaking of the Create-A-Fighter, while you won’t find the entire over the top accessories that you will find in THQ’s WWE’s titles, you will find the basic fundamentals of a great Create-A feature. While it would have been nice to have more variety to customize your fighter what is there is enough to warrant some quality time for all of you fans who love creating fighters. One issue I did notice while not really being an issue for those who create your own fighters. But for those who like to go online and download templates to the fighters you want to add to your game you will find that UFC Create-A-Fighter mode is not formula based. So sharing your fighters may be somewhat of a issue. However with the ability to create 100 fighters this game has the potential to last a long time.

The roster is very impressive, with 80 fighters spread out among the 5 different weight classes. There is pretty much everyone you would want in a UFC video game. While it does suck that Randy Couture not being in the game since he is obviously such a big part of the promotion is unfortunate there is enough there where his absence doesn’t sting too much. You can find Heavyweights like Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir or Antonio Rodrigo to the Lightweights like Kenny Florian.

UFC 2009 does feature a online mode that allows one on one matchups. While it would be nice, to have some spectator or party options for the online play what is here does work very well. I played several rounds with out nearly any lag. UFC 2009 on Xbox 360 and PS3 are identical content wise. The differences between the 2 are minimal but there are some. I have played both versions and graphically the PS3 has the edge over the Xbox 360. The PS3 version does feature better character models but lower texture quality on the mat. Both versions rock out at 60 FPS and the movement is extremely fluid on both systems. Online play goes to the Xbox 360 version obviously but the actual game controls better on the PS3 controller. So console fan boys rejoice and relax in the fact that regardless of which system you decide to play UFC 2009 undisputed on, faces will be punched and arms will be broken in grand style.

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Overall, UFC 2009 Undisputed is a quality video game from top to bottom. Graphically you won’t find a better looking fighting game anywhere….unless you heard of Fight Night Round 4. Gameplay wise, UFC 2009 features both a satisfying striking game and a deep and impressive submission system that really gives this game some legs. Roster wise, UFC 2009 features probably one of the most impressive MMA rosters seen yet and with the legs that the Create-A-Fighter and career mode gives this game you are definitely getting your moneys worth and then some. UFC 2009 is a type of video game that will make non UFC fans, UFC fans.

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