Mixed Martial Arts fans are tough to please. The fastest-growing fan base in all of sports is rabid and knowledgeable, but as a group they may be the quickest to boo when the action doesn't deliver the goods. That's one of the many reasons why the stakes were high for THQ when it came time to create UFC 2009 Undisputed, a game which arrives at the height of the sport's popularity. MMA clothing is all the rage, and UFC stars are celebrities -- but as this is the first major MMA videogame in years, any misstep is certain to catch a lot of heat. Luckily for fans demanding greatness from anything and everything occurring inside the octagon, Undisputed delivers outstanding fighting action along with an inside look at the UFC.
The fighting itself more than measures up, especially in terms of collision detection -- so those worried that Undisputed will suffer from the clipping and choreographed sequences of THQ's wrestling games can heave a sigh of relief. Fighters can act and react simultaneously, and instead of strikes either connecting or getting blocked, both can happen on the same strike. Kicks that hit an opponent's arm initially can still get through and do some damage to the body; punches can glance off a shoulder and still catch some chin.
The ground game is a trickier animal, as transitions controlled by partial turns of the right stick are more difficult to master than the relatively easy punches and kicks mapped to the four face buttons. Also difficult: submissions. These require you to click the right stick and spin it as fast as possible. While your moves on the ground are somewhat limited in comparison with the rest of what the game offers, the attention to detail in terms of the differentiation between Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, and Wresting (the three available grappling skills) shows that the developers did their homework.
Luckily for those of us whose exposure to martial arts consists of grade-school Jujitsu classes or Karate Kid films, Undisputed sports a deep tutorial, a feature that comes heavily recommended from this corner. It's clear, extensive, and an absolute necessity for those who want to bring more to the octagon than just punches, kicks, elbows, and knees. It's almost required to go through the tutorial more than once in order to pick up the nuances of grappling and submissions, since it's difficult to defeat anybody worth his Affliction t-shirt if the stand-up game is all you feel comfortable with.
If you want to dive in and start with exhibition fights using guys from the UFC roster, that's understandable. After all, pretty much everyone of note is readily available, and their faces, bodies, skills, and special moves are on the money. However, I'd recommend creating a fighter and jumping into career mode, because it's downright addictive. After you outfit your character (I couldn't resist giving my guy a mohawk and getting the word "RAGE" tattooed on his right arm), choose which striking and grappling skills he'll specialize in, and divvy up the measly amount of points handed to you in the beginning, it's time to build your badass from the ground up... and that's where the fun of Undisputed really begins.