Our newest staff member tells us if THQ’s new UFC title scores a knockout or makes you want to tap out

It is my pleasure to welcome Tim Wilkins to our staff. Tim’s first assignment was a review of the new UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) game from THQ. Here is his review.

UFC Undisputed 2009 allows the not only the hardcore gamer to get involved, but also the hardcore UFC fan. Mixed Martial Arts is one of the largest growing sports in the world, and THQ knows how to capture that with their awesome video game. This game has close to 84 fighters, with the two extra from GameStop and the unlockable characters, like the guys from Tapout. The amount of characters isn’t exactly accurate though because many of the fighters fight in multiple weight classes so they are duplicated. The overall experience of the game is great, but also is challenging.

The gameplay is not like the older UFC games that were out for the PS2, which involved using the thumb sticks for many of the casual transitions. Gameplay also varies based on personal preference.  Some people tend to like the stand-up fighting style, while others like to go for the takedown and use the “ground and pound” method. This obviously gives the player the creativity that a lot of people like. Speaking of creativity, the career mode is by far probably one of the key aspects of the game. The create-a-fighter goes along with that. The create-a-fighter gives you the option to choose the weight and height, the key attributes or styles: either boxing or kickboxing. You also get to pick from wrestling or BJJ (Brazilian Ju-Jitsu). Once you start the career mode, your attributes are low. But, if you spar and train a lot, after awhile, your stats will be good. The gameplay goes along with how Mixed Martial Arts is fought. I would recommend the tutorial just so you can understand how things are done. Once you master game play, you should be on the top of your division.

Online play is another added bonus to this game. Since this game came out only on Tuesday, the players online are just as good as you are. I would recommend playing online with your friends.

The overall feeling of this game is that it’s going to sell, regardless of how gameplay is.  However, THQ really “stepped it up this time” and developed a fantastic game. They did a great job working with Dana White and the stars of UFC to capture the realism of Mixed Martial Arts and gave it challenging gameplay that even a simple person could pick up in a short time period.

UFC Undisputed 2009 taps out a 4 out of 5