UFC 2009 Undisputed

 When it comes to fighting games, we're used to the old norm of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, WWE and other old school games that got our blood pumping. But, they were not much that we could really relate to when it came to people we were familiar with. So when I heard that there was a new fighting game coming out that revolved around my favorite sport, MMA, and the UFC, well, I could not pass up an opportunity to check it out and let all of you loyal console gamers hear about it. Playing against Chuck Liddel or Forrest Griffin (two of my personal faves!) was just something I couldn't pass up. Now, these aren't quite the final final information for the game, I was told that this is the "near final" information though and not much, if anything, will be changing.

Well, as you know, there are tons of great fighters in the UFC and each has a specific area that they are uniquely trained in. UFC Undisputed 2009 offers gamers the ability to take on one of almost 100 different fighters and their specific stats and roster. Now, you can play single player or multiplayer (which was my favorite part so far) and either take it out on the console or against friends and neighbors around the globe. Both ways of playing offer strong points in the octogon. The game play is pretty basic - I mean, you play your toon just like you would in the UFC, with training, fights, and championship title bouts.

But, one of the good things about UFC Undisputed 2009 is that you can actually customize your chosen fighter. You can either take on the pre-made fighter as they stand or you can actually build a whole new one from scratch. You'll get over 12 different torsos (from 6-pack abs to a beer belly) as well as tons of different types of heads, arms, legs, and more. Depending on how detailed you want to get on your new fighter, you can easily create a whole new person from the ground up. You even get to pick your name and nickname that the announcer will call you out by, as well as your hometown, location that you are fighting out of, and even your age. The good thing is, no matter how old you make your fighter, it won't affect them physically at all. Once you get your fighter designed the way you want, you then head into the different sliders that will allow you to choose the different sizes of each body area and their centre of gravity. You also get to mess around with everything from hair color, tattoos, clothing, mouths, noses, you name it. You will truly have a fighter that is custom made.

Think your customization is over? Not by a longshot. Once you finally have your fighter down the way that you want him to look, you now get to customize his moves, his standing and striking, and his ground moves. Then, you get to refine those specific skills, such as choosing between Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and other stand up specialties, and different ground specialties, such as wrestling, judo, and more. You will actually get 174 points to spend on all of the different areas of fighting to really customize your skills and abilities. Then, you get 285 points to spend on your speed, cardio, and strength. So, you basically get to create a unique fighter that has skills like no other.

When you get all of your fighting moves worked out and set, you then have to pick from one of the two boot-camp trainers. You will get to choose between Mike (who gives you a 5 point bonus on standing defense) and Antoine (who gives you a 5 point bonus on your submission skills). After you go through the boot camp that you choose, you will then get to start focusing on your toon's UFC career. As you are in your gym, you will get messages from Dane White and Joe Silva as they help to teach you professional fighter conduct, how to conduct your responsibilities to your training, and how to be a good role model. This is also how you get to pick your opponents, as these offers will come through your messages at your gym as well. You will get known fighters from Joe, or if you're feeling lucky, you can choose the random event and head into the match not knowing who you'll be fighting.