With a misuse of facial sliders and a careful application of wholesale moral deficiency, I’ve created a roster of the ugliest fighters to ever stumble into an Octagon. It's a case of either cranking everything up to 11 or reverse-cranking it down to -1 and then marvelling/recoiling at whatever monstrosity UFC 2’s tremendously versatile character editor spits out.

You can protrude lips, cauliflower ears, and stretch tattoos over limbs before tweaking the opacity to turn entire body parts different colours. My weight divisions are now a circus of lost souls, and if you manage to stomach the following grotesqueries long enough to draw inspiration, you too can turn your game into a dark carnival of sin. So without further ado, let’s roll out the freaks.

Bad Baby Bell

The rare victories of Bad Baby Bell are dampened by the “Ouch, ahh,” noises he makes when teammates hoist him on their shoulders and touch his raw, sunburned skin. Crowds have come to admire his thin line of facial hair which joins with his head hair and creates a perfect circle to frame his delicate, baby-like features. His look has garnered a cult following. Fan fiction has been written about that neck bow. Those nipples have a Tumblr page.

Steve Wang

The biggest head in all of fighting and, indeed, the world, some believe Wang is actually an elephant who some joker painted pink and taught to stand on two legs. That's ridiculous. Wang is clearly just a hideously misshapen person who science will study for generations to come. What Wang loses in life, we gain in learning to harvest the power of weathering a thousand consecutive blows to the face.

Konkey Dong’s Bungle Jeat

Konkey Dong is all things to all men. Some say he looks like Peter Griffin, others a hick Michael Moore. What’s for certain, however, is you do not want 220lbs of it straddling you. The belly fat ripples, the chest hair grows sodden with sweat, and the low-hanging forehead ridge can only be described as ‘boobey brow’. It's like someone attached an invisible string to Konkey Dong’s face’s major muscle groups and pulled them together.

Bam Bam Brabera Brown

Hailing from Brasilia, Brazil, Brabera can't pronounce her birth name, which is actually Barbera, so it feels mean to call her that. This is a woman who was brought up fighting, went to school fighting, enjoys leisurely walks fighting, and quiet time with a book fighting. Her face bares decades of uninterrupted punches, but what's amazing is she’s only 18 years old. A hot prospect, then, and definitely one to watch.

Constance Ferrari

This green-maned Scottish-born lass bears the bone structure of an Easter Island statue. She's tattooed a giant X target on her face as if to say, “Go on then, hit me, take a swin-OW! What did you do that for?” She's lost every single one of her 277 fights by first-round knockouts, but she keeps getting offers from the UFC because, well, by this point she can’t exactly get an office job.

Cheeky Lopez

Fighting solely for the rights of blue people everywhere - Blue Man Group, Cookie Monster, The Smurfs - Cheeky Lopez decided to get back at the bullies who chided him after a childhood paint accident by hitting the gym. He's a decent fighter, but no one can take him seriously because he looks like a giant blueberry.

Wrong Wright

His parents used his entire existence as a setup for a lame pun, so Wrong Wright didn't get off to the best start. With a dye of the eyebrow and a concessional tattoo across his belly that simply reads ‘Apologies’, he’s writing wrongs in his own unique way. He’s a talker too, spitting fire during the weigh-in, as well as actual spit.

Ghost Dog

Ghost Dog saw Brock Lesner’s phallic chest tattoo and went one further. Ignoring all pretence, his soon-to-be-iconic triple arrows point straight to his nethers. There's no ambiguity - those ARE his privates. Say what you will about Ghost Dog, like how he looks like a cast iron skillet covered in hubba bubba, or a botched restoration of a 19th century Spanish portrait, but you simply cannot ignore him. Or his crotch.

Who would win in a fight, late night talk show host Conan O'Brien or UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor? Ok, that's pretty obvious, but what if it was a fight in EA Sports UFC 2? If you've watched previous Clueless Gamer with Conan O'Brien segments, then you know his chances at a virtual MMA brawl aren't much better.

Inevitable massacre aside, it was worth the time of everyone involved just to debut that custom Conan fighter. Tall and gangly as a ginger Slender Man with a crest of rooster red hair, UFC Contender Conan really needs to be DLC for the main game - if only so I can see him take on Bruce Lee in the cross-generational brawl that the cruel march of time would never otherwise allow.

EA Sports UFC 2 will hit PS4 and Xbox One on March 15 in North America and on March 17 in Europe.

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Damn you, EA Sports Cover Curse! Banjaxing NFL players for years during the legendary Madden Jinx clearly wasn’t enough: now the insidious boxout voodoo has floored MMA’s two biggest stars. First it sunk Ronda Rousey days after she’d been chosen as the face of UFC 2; a devastating Holly Holms kick not only ending the bantamweight megastar’s unbeaten record, but also damaging the credibility of the game’s packaging. Next, it savaged Conor McGregor; The Notorious tapping to a Nate Diaz choke in his first bout following the Irishman’s coronation as Rousey’s cover co-star. Of course, both those combatants have the class to bounce back from defeat. It’s a pity the same can’t always be said of UFC 2. 



EA Canada's second crack at MMA is confoundingly uneven. It’s authentic, yet prone to moments of ludicrous fantasy - witness a fighter get knocked down, then magically leap back up as if being levitated as part of a Vegas magic act. It’s hard-hitting, yet not quite hard-hitting enough. It’s carefully crafted, but also buggy as hell - the commentary on my review copy didn’t work, while Bruce Buffer sounds like he’s reading the fighter intros from the bottom of a well.



Still, if there’s one thing UFC 2 is brilliant at - aside from looking so good I want to staple its screenshots to the inside of my eyelids - it’s that it cannily captures the unpredictability of real mixed martial arts. Fights can feel brazenly, almost wonderfully random. I’ve had marathon matches go the full five rounds, then blinked and missed barbaric bouts that ended within 36 seconds courtesy of a crunching knee delivered from a Muay Thai clinch. This unpredictability is definitely a good thing. After all, this is sport where the most watched fight in history ended with the wet, bloody thud of a jab to the chin 13 seconds in - I’m looking at you, McGregor vs Aldo.



Unlike its predecessor, UFC 2 is adept at nailing down the small details that bookend bouts. The pad-touching ritual that kicks off real fights is now present and correct (just hold the left trigger), while the developer has seen sense and finally included knockdowns. Last time out, KO victories came via instant match-enders where opponents would instantly crumple into unconscious heaps. Here, as with real MMA, the hit that knocks your foe to the canvas is just the starter; the main course is promptly served by pouncing to the mat, mounting your opponent (steady) then flattening their face with a flurry of punches.

It’s both a vitally authentic nod to the sport and a hugely satisfying way to finish fights. 

Pity most of the punches you throw while your brawler is on their feet aren’t as satisfying. UFC 2’s striking game lacks the crunching weight of THQ’s excellent Undisputed series; hits just don’t feel impactful enough to fully sell the sense of knife-edge danger that real-life MMA counters thrive on. Sure, landing a big shot can be hugely empowering - counter a takedown attempt with a kick to the neck and you’ll send your foe reeling. Yet all too often the lion’s share of offence feels a little weedy.

Thankfully, UFC 2’s ground game fares much better. Performing right stick clinches and takedowns requires keen timing, resulting in quietly engaging cat-and-mouse affairs as you try to floor your opponent with the world’s most aggressive hugs. The animations as you transition from standing holds to canvas positional power plays are often beautiful, too.

Sensibly EA have also made ground holds much more streamlined - the quarter circle turns of old have been ditched for more of a rock-papers-scissors system where you choose a stance, then lock the right stick in place for a few seconds to execute. Visually, it’s much easier to read, meaning I no longer feel like I need a PHD in rear naked chokes to tap a dude out.


It also looks the part. Hell, it looks astonishing. If you’d shown me 15 seconds of UFC 2 five years ago, my eyes would have spontaneously combusted. It’s not just the absurdly lifelike fighter models - though they do make the wrestlers in WWE 2K16 look like they’ve been made out of muscly silly putty. No, it’s also the subtle details, like a body deformation system that results in rippling flesh, geysers of gushing blood and bruises so believable, it’s all you can do not to sadly rub your arms every five minutes. In short, UFC 2 will make your eyes very, very happy. 



What won’t delight nearly as much is the game’s stingy structure. While not as insultingly barebones as its predecessor, this still feels like a threadbare package. Aside from the novel Knockout mode - where bouts play out like thirty second beat ‘em up brawls thanks to the fighters stripped down health bars - there’s not much here to get your gumguard stuck into. 
The main meat on UFC 2’s plate comes from the career mode, yet even that’s an insultingly perfunctory affair. You start by working your way through The Ultimate Fighter reality show, before graduating to the UFC big leagues. Sadly, it’s structured almost identically to the original Fight Night - yes, a 12-year-old PS2 boxing game. 



During my stint playing as former WWE grappler CM Punk, I really was the Voice of the Voiceless. There’s no talking smack in pre-fight press conferences; no rivalries to build; no relationships to manage. Instead, ‘colour’ is added in the form of Gym Hub loading menu updates where you’re coldly informed of tidbits like “you made a funny joke during the post-fight press conference. Gained some fans!” Ugh. The entire mode feels like a quickly knocked-out afterthought.

Like its Notorious Irishman, UFC 2 can delight and offend in equal measure. In its best moments, it offers a brutal, refined take on MMA that fans of the octagon will eat up. Conversely, it can also leave you colder than Holly Holms in a Miesha Tate sleeper; content feels lightweight and standing offence can be patchy. With more fully fleshed-out modes, the inevitable sequel could be a real contender, but for now, UFC 2 will have to make do with being an occasionally entertaining also-ran.

This game was reviewed on Xbox One.

Royce Gracie started his Ultimate Fighting Championship career with a streak of 11 consecutive submission victories that spanned the first four UFC events. In fact, he's still the only UFC fighter to notch double-digit tapout wins. In the modern world of EA Sports UFC, however, Dave “The Destroyer” Russo (renamed so because the announcers can't say “Rudden”) more than doubled Gracie's record over the course of his MMA career with 27 submissions against trained mixed martial artists. While some of that success is likely due to the limitless talent possess by the ruggedly handsome fighter, it's also a byproduct of EA Sports UFC's rookie missteps. As gorgeous as it looks, it's not a revolution in the same vein that Fight Night Round 3 was, as imbalanced single-player combat and an overall deficit of content keep this combatant from reaching its true potential.

If there's one area where EA's haymaker-throwing franchises share a common bond, it's that EA Sports UFC continues the tradition of being a launch window graphical showpiece. Nearly every single one of EA Sports UFC's fighters (nearing 100 in number) is recreated with stunning accuracy. When you consider the amount of ill-conceived tattoos and instances of unkempt facial hair permeating the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it's a pretty impressive feat. The fighters also animate pretty well. Fists and feet hit with the appropriate amount of impact; sometimes you'll score a punch to the face so hard that it opens a cut in the direct area of contact and sends a shockwave rippling all the way down the poor recipient's neck.

Sometimes, though, you'll misread a situation and limply kick the other guy's shoulder or even worse, catch limbs as your concurrent strikes collide. Add in the various ways to avoid strikes altogether (swaying, parrying, and straight-up dodging) and it's pretty impressive how the stand-up game resembles the real thing, warts and all. It would be nice if there was a more robust replay functionality on par with THQ's UFC Undisputed 3 or 2K's WWE series so that we could capture the combat outside of the pre-selected post-round clips, which are sometimes duds.

EA Sports UFC's grappling deserves some credit; when you're playing against a friend, it's better than any MMA game before it. Stand-up clinches are more than just stalemates (in fact, you can nail some pretty devastating strikes), and when you're on the ground, transitions are balanced enough so there's plenty of movement, yet escaping from a disadvantageous position is far from a cakewalk. However, given the complexity of the ground game, a few issues arise.

Regardless if you're playing against the AI or a human opponent, defending against strikes is far too difficult (even in situations like standard mount and guard positions, where both fists are free, you can't block opponent strikes).The struggle between tightening and escaping from a submission is represented well via a brief thumbstick-driven minigame; it works just fine with an unpredictable human opponent. That said, AI opponents will often make bad moves on defense, resulting in quick tap-outs. Short of pitting a relatively inexperienced grappler against a submission expert on the highest difficulty level, getting an opponent to tap within two rounds and less than a half-dozen attempts was pretty simple. When the rest of the combat works so well, it's a shame that “desperately attempt a takedown and cheaply attempt a submission” can be used to escape from disadvantageous situations.

Outside of standard bouts, where you pit UFC stars or created fighters in 3-or 5-round matches within their weight class, EA Sports UFC features a somewhat shallow career mode. Here, you take your combatant from the qualifying stages of The Ultimate Fighter all the way to a potential Hall of Fame retirement. In between bouts, you take part in three training mini-games that buff your fighter, either through additional attribute points or new moves. You even get words of encouragement and inspiration via video messages from top UFC stars and trainers. But outside of getting more sponsors, moves, and butts in the seats, there isn't much of a feeling of progression in the career mode.

Once you finish The Ultimate Fighter, you're put on pay-per-view events where your introduction stays the same until you're given a walking entrance during a title shot match. It feels too light, especially when contrasted to previous UFC games where you'd start out in the minor leagues, fight on non-numbered UFC events, and progress to the big shows themselves. It also would have been nice for previous bouts to be mentioned; part of the excitement of watching UFC events on TV is seeing rematches between closely-matched rivals whose history together plays a prominent role.

The fact that career mode is a bit underwhelming is accentuated by the fact that there's really no other modes of substance to invest your time into. Where previous UFC games would deliver additional leagues to fight in or classic matches to recreate, all EA Sports UFC brings to the table is standard bouts, some enjoyable training mini-games, and a career mode that mixes the two.

EA Sports UFC has plenty of talent; it's looks amazing and plays fantastically when you're staging fights with friends. However, when you decide to go it alone, the gaps in AI skill and the dearth of additional content becomes problematic. The next time EA accompanies UFC to the ring, we could see a championship effort. This time, unfortunately, it settles for being pretty good.

This game was reviewed on PS4.

The amount of MMA legends included in EA Sports UFC is pretty paltry. Part of the reasoning is the defection of former UFC stars to lower-key organizations like Bellator. Tito Ortiz is the prime example, and we hope EA can someday get the The Huntington Beach Bad Boy into the game.

Another MMA star who's found success in Bellator after frequent losses in UFC forced him out. Again, since WWE has included TNA talent in their games, we hope UFC realizes they can promote stars of their past without conceding marketshare.

One last Bellator employee to tout, Randy Couture hasn't actually even had a bout with America's second-biggest MMA company, instead acting as a coach on their reality show and as a part-time commentator. Needless to say, his legend was built in the Octagon, so the EA and UFC should celebrate that.

Without Ken Shamrock, we might not remember Royce Gracie or Tito Ortiz. "The World's Most Dangerous Man" had epic MMA feuds with both of those legends in between a memorable three-year run in the WWE.

Another fighter who's had success in the Octagon and the squared-circle, "The Beast" has amassed over 100 MMA victories and provided some of the most memorable early UFC bouts.

Brock Lesnar's current WWE contract seems open-ended enough that EA could potentially license him for their combat game--it would be worth it for the former UFC Heavyweight Champion and Undertaker streak-breaker.

Hughes is a Hall of Famer, a two-time Welterweight champion, and one of only two men to defeat the dominant Georges St-Pierre. He was also given an executive position within the UFC after his retirement last year. So is his absence due to a conflict of interest, or did he secretly have an acrimonious split from the company since then?

While Dillashaw probably already deserved a roster spot as an up-and-coming star within the UFC's Bantamweight division, his recent capture of the title in one of the biggest upsets in the company's history will probably expedite his inclusion within the game.

Hardy's fighting career may be over (and the uncertainty of his return probably affected his inclusion in the game), but he was one of the UFC's most popular fighters in the UK, win or lose, during his time in the Octagon. He did commentary for a UFC event last month, so he's obviously still in good graces with the company.

Extravagant tattoos are one thing; EA probably didn't have enough time and technology to accurately replicate Ebersole's fluctuating chest hair, which has taken the form of an arrow and the logo for frequent UFC advertiser Tapout.

Rutten captured the UFC Heavyweight title in one of his two bouts for the company in 1999. Between his appearance in Grand Theft Auto IV and his prominence as a teacher of Street Defense, he deserves to have his outrageous personality remembered in EA Sports UFC.

There's something about MMA games that makes them easier to wrap our heads around than games like Street Fighter. Don't get us wrong, we love shooting fireballs and doing triple-flips as much as the next journalists, but it's just more relatable to watch about two fighters punch and kick until one falls down and doesn't get back up. It's because of that – and because of our love for MMA – that we're drawn to UFC Undisputed, which has done a fantastic job over the years of converting the fast-paced UFC action into videogame form. After THQ tried to force the game into a yearly release with mediocre results in 2010 we were excited to get our hands on this new version, which was given a little more time to bake before release.

UFC Undisputed 2010 had a lot of small problems and one big problem. The small problems reared their head in every element of the game. Flash knockouts were too frequent, fights rarely made it out of the first round, the ground game was overly complicated, the career mode had a bunch of statistical problems, there wasn't any proper support for truly competitive play, there were... well, yeah, we'll just say there were lots of little issues. With the extra time between games, developer Yuke's was able to address almost every issue, making for a much smoother experience.

Above: Jon Bones Jones has terrifying elbows

Fights last longer than they did before, and when they do end, they're usually not with a fighter collapsing and the other fighter standing still. Fighters are allowed to continue attacking their incapacitated comrades after they fall, which better replicates the "finish the fight" mentality of the actual sport. There's also a simplified control setting for grappling and ground play that makes it much easier to jump in without learning about different stick rotations. There's still a benefit to learning the full controls, as they offer more freedom, but it's nice to be able to play without watching a complex tutorial. Competitive play is supported better thanks to the ability to turn on a mode that equalizes stats and removes some of the randomness from the game, and there's even a "realistic" setting for exhaustion, which makes the matches play more like real UFC fights.

It really feels like Yuke's went down the list and checked off every major concern from fans of the series. It's impressive, and really shows when you start to fight and begin noticing all of the little changes. It's just cleaner, more robust, and all-around better.

Above: The models are nearly perfect recreations of the athletes

The career mode has also been overhauled, too, though we're sort of conflicted as to whether or not we're happy about the changes. Some are undoubtedly for the better – training is easier and more enjoyable, with new mini-games replacing the old training modes, and the actual system of improving stats, leveling up skills, and learning new abilities is much, much better. The most unpopular aspect of 2010's was likely the stat degradation system, which aimed for an authentic, realistic feel by having attributes fade over time unless they were constantly trained. It's gone now. Cut completely in favor of a more enjoyable, streamlined career where stats go up, without ever falling back down.

But there's a trade-off: the last game's cinematic moments, showing our created fighter's rise through the ranks with occasional cutscenes and post-fight interview dialog options, have been stripped out entirely. Instead, there are interviews with fighters during key moments of our career, with actual UFC athletes talking about their first wins, losses, title shots, and such as we reach those benchmarks. We like the videos, but it leads to a conflicted experience. Are we fighting in a UFC career where we're being immersed into the sport, or are we being inundated with the brand instead? We miss CGI Dana White inviting us to join the UFC, and we missed being able to create a personality with our fighter.

Above: Flipping tires gives stats, which doesn't make sense, but at least it's fun

These were elements we were desperately hoping would be expanded in the sequel, not removed entirely. Still, it's an improved experience, technically, and adds to the long list of general improvements made to the game.

The largest problem with Undisputed 2010, however, was the submission system. Submissions were completed and defended by spinning the right analog stick. The maneuver, called "the shine" by the developers, required no technical knowledge, and simply wasn't very fun. We'd be fighting a fun fight, using all we've learned about the game to do battle with our opponent, and then all of a sudden we were spinning the right stick like we'd stumbled into a game of Mario Party. It was an absolute blister-causing mess. The new system is still a bit unwieldy at first, but it's undoubtedly much better. Now, starting a submission throws an octagon on the screen, with the initiating player being given an icon that goes on the outside of the octagon, and the defending players being given a bar on the inside. In order to submit a fighter, the bar on the outside needs to cover the bar on the inside for long enough to fill a meter up, and the fighters can chase their opponent's bars around the shape flat octagon.

Above: See the submission system in action

The size of the bars is dependent on a number of factors, such as the fighter's stamina, their submission skills, and the amount of damage they've taken to the body part being submitted. It's less frustrating and random than spinning the analog stick, and the fact that the bar size is dependent on the fight makes it feel like a more integrated part of the game, even if the actual art and design itself is somewhat obtrusive, feeling removed from the rest of the game.

In terms of actual content, the largest, most notable addition is the inclusion of the Pride Fighting Championships. Pride was the largest MMA league in the world for several years, running out of Japan and featuring a different rule-set from the UFC. But while the rules were important, Pride was about the spectacle. It was the the spirit of the samurai, brought to life with bright lights, big stars, and a much, much different vibe from the serious tone of UFC. This year's UFC game doesn't just add the Pride mode's rules, it adds the spectacle, and lets every one of UFC Undisputed 3's 150 fighters do battle in the ring with the full Pride presentation.

Above: Check out the Review Club livestream we did with OXM's Dave Rudden

This means everyone has introductions from the Pride announcers, entrances into the ring, and personalized commentary from Pride's announcers, Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros. It's an absolute treat, especially for Pride fans, to see fighters tap gloves in the Pride ring that might otherwise never have been able to fight in the classic setting.

But even more interesting is what it actually adds in terms of gameplay. Pride was much more brutal than UFC. The rounds were longer (the first lasts ten minutes, and there are less regulations in terms of what is and isn't a legal strike. Kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent are banned in UFC, but completely welcome in Pride, meaning that missing a take-down is much more detrimental when there's a chance your opponent might kick you in the head. These changes make the game riskier, and totally change the way we played the game. While we didn't prefer it to regular UFC rules, we found that we were constantly going back for more, just for a change of pace. It's an absolute blast, and kept us coming back time and time again.

Above: That's the definitive "he's going to feel that in the morning" kick

Pride also shows up occasionally in the career mode as a special invitational event, but, sadly, that's where it ends. We really would have liked the option to start our career in Pride to really make it feel like it's a part of the experience, but it's reserved for "special" occasions.There's the inclusion of Pride's Grand Prix events, which were long gauntlets where fighters would sometimes have to fight three or four fighters in a single night, but buried in the "Tournament" menu, which technically makes sense, but isn't very practical. We really would have preferred the Grand Prix show up as Pride's version of the "Title Defense" mode, where players need to fight increasing difficult fighters, as it's an absolute hassle to set up as a tournament, so we ended up barely ever doing it.

In fact, that's our problem with Pride in UFC Undisputed 3, on the whole – it's obvious how much heart went into it, and we wish that Yuke's treated it like something more than a rule set swap. It should have been an integrated part of the game instead of a mode in and of itself. Maybe they're saying it for a sequel, maybe they're saving it for DLC, but whatever the reason we're sad to see Pride kept away when it should have been folded into the overall experience.

Above: Watching Tito Ortiz get punched in the face is our favorite thing

Backing away from the yearly model was a good choice for THQ and Yuke's. With the extra time, the developers were able to truly polish the game, bring forth a game that, while flawed, doesn't have any glaring issues. It's more accessible without losing any of the complexity, it's deeper without being isolating, and it's bursting with content, even if we wish the content was implemented better. The neutered (though technically better) career mode is somewhat of a disappointment, but it's something that we're looking forward to seeing expanded in the sequel – as long as that sequel is more than a year away. Take your time, guys, we'll be playing this one for a while.

THQ has revealed that a demo for the highly-anticipated UFC Undisputed 3 will be made available next week on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Normally, this is where we'd go into the details as to what the demo will contain, talking about the fighters, the modes, and the different features. We'd make a joke about how "surely this fighter will beat this fighter!" or "look out for head-kicks in Pride mode!" but, sadly, we can't do that this time. Besides finding out that the demo will be out on Tuesday, we literally know nothing about what it's going to entail. Well, besides some sort of UFC fighting, we think.

We've reached out to THQ for more information, but, either way, you'll be able to punch someone in something on Tuesday on Xbox Live and the PlayStation network. So, you know, get ready for that. If you want to know more (and we know you do) swing over to our previews of the career mode and Pride mode, or just turn on your TV tonight and watch the UFC on FX - it's free, after all, just like the demo will be.

There, we brought it back around.

THQ is warming up for the release of UFC Undisputed 3; and just in case you're not brushed up on the fighters contracted to appear in the upcoming brawler, here's a slickly edited roster video to bring you up to speed.

Yuke's sequel will feature 150 fighters--roughly 98.99% more than the average UFC might be able to pick out in crowd. One of the latest additions, Alistair Overeem, was recently offered up as an exclusive reward for fans who took part in THQ's now-defunct Facebook promotion.

In addition to its respectable roster, UFC Undisputed 3 will usher in a new pride mode, which will give players the opportunity to flex their mixed martial arts muscle with new fighters and rules under the PRIDE Fighting Championships banner. Upgraded animations, new submission and stamina systems, additional Featherweight and Bantamweight divisions, and a ton of gameplay tweaks have also been added to separate the sequel from its previous contenders.

UFC Undisputed 3 is being called up for PS3 and Xbox 360 on February 14 in North America, and February 17 in the UK. Get ready for the pain with our preview here.

THQ has signed mixed martial arts expert Alistair Overeem to appear in UFC Undisputed 3, but not without making gamers jump through a few hoops to unlock him in the virtual octagon.

From now until January 20, Overeem fans are being instructed to visit the UFC Undisputed 3 Facebook page, register their “likes”, and share the page with two other friends in order to receive a free token that will unlock “The Reem” for play in the upcoming fighter.

"I'm very excited to be part of the new Undisputed videogame," said Overeem in today's press release. "I know a lot of my fans have wanted to play as me ever since the first game, and I'm as happy to be part of the new Undisputed as I am to finally be in the UFC to complete my quest to become UFC Heavyweight Champion."

THQ's Danny Bilson noted the social media promotion is the company's way of engaging the UFC series' online community, and that he is happy to gift fans with one of the most accomplished UFC personalities, adding,"Rewarding this key demographic with free access to a fighter like Alistair Overeem is an invaluable opportunity for everyone involved."

UFC Undisputed 3 is being developed by Yuke's, and will star over 150 fighters when it taps in for PS3 and Xbox 360 on February 14 in North America, and February 17 in the UK. Warm up for the fight with our gloves-on preview.

Today, UFC for Xbox Live is, well, live in the US and Canada, letting UFC fans download the application that will allow them to get an in-depth UFC experience unlike anything previously available. While it's not creating any new content, the service will bring together all of the videos the UFC creates for its website and promotion in one place, while also allowing Xbox Live members to purchase pay-per-view fights to stream through their console without needing to deal with a cable company. We took the system for a spin with UFC 140 a few weeks back, and we can't see ourselves ever going back to traditional cable - as long as a few kinks are worked out.

Above: Picking fights is easy, and fun for even those who don't know the sport well

Purchasing the PPV was simple, using real money instead of forcing us to convert our cash into Microsoft Points first (something we pray continues to be a trend), but even after we locked ourselves in for the fight we had plenty to do before leaving the application. Each fight comes with plentiful video content showing off the weigh-ins, fighter interviews, and other promos, which gave us all the material we needed to make educated decisions when we picked the fight winners - which is easily the coolest part of the UFC on Xbox application. Picking winners was simple, and required very little work, and in no time we had posted our picks to Facebook and compared them to our friends' lists. After matches it would even tell us how many points we earned (since we could pick both the winner and the method of victory), as well as the points earned by our friends.

When it came to actually watching the fights we were extremely pleased with the quality. It streamed in HD without any problem, even as we used the internet and played games on other computers, and only lagged a few times. Those few times, however, were definitely troubling. It's not that the lag was bad, by any means, but really any lag of note is problematic in such a fast-paced sport. It didn't get in the way of our entertainment because it didn't lag any any important parts, but if we missed a knockout punch due to a hiccup we would have been furious. Hopefully Microsoft is able to improve its infrastructure in the coming months, because it would definitely stink to have this be an ongoing issue.

Above: Everything but the actual PPV is available even if you don't spend a dime

Small problems aside, there's no question: set-top boxes have been usurped when it comes to watching UFC pay-per-views. After using the slick interface we can't see ourselves ever going back, especially if Microsoft continues to update the application as it has said it will. We'll be checking it out again for UFC 141, which airs on December 30, and we'll be sure to keep you informed on how it improves moving forward. Personally, we're hoping for the promised Achievements and maybe recreations of fights with our Avatars, though we'll settle for just the first one.

Last month we had the pleasure of checking out UFC for Xbox Live - the downloadable application that would bring a level of interactivity and polish to watching UFC pay-per-view events that we had never before seen. Originally, it was scheduled for a December 1 release, which would have set it up perfectly for the December 10 date for UFC 140, but, today, Microsoft delayed the release until December 20, which misses the exciting PPV by over a week.

No reason was given for the delay, but odds are they want to "polish the experience and fix bugs" or something. Releasing on December 20 isn't all bad - while it misses 140, it sets it up for UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem, which looks like it might be one of the more exciting cards in the near future. 141 is scheduled for December 30, too, so it won't even mean too long of a delay for those anxious to test out the exciting Xbox Live application.

We'll be checking out this fight on the UFC application (as long as it's live), what about you? Interested in seeing if Microsoft's view of the digital future matches up with yours?

During a recent hands-on with THQ’s upcoming UFC Undisputed 3, the developers talked a little bit about how the game’s menus have been entirely redesigned. Instead of having the menu icons appear over generic wallpapers, this iteration of the fighting franchise will pan over different high-resolution pictures of fighters. While the game will, obviously, ship with a number of different backgrounds, THQ says that it plans to offer additional image packs after launch, which will be made available as downloadable content.

Above: The game's menus look like this, but with things written over it.

Different images packs will be available, including highlights from big fights updated after UFC PPV fights. They also mentioned that there will be a “Ring girl pack” that they expect will be their best seller – which sounds about right.

We reached out to THQ for more information and pricing, but they didn’t offer any additional information. Instead, a representative told us that “we can confirm that there will be various DLC content available when the game is released on 2/14. We can’t really comments on the prices or other details.” This could technically be anything, though it likely means that the game fill feature pre-order bonuses, retailer-exclusive gifts, or, as was the case with the last game, an online pass.

We took our seats inside THQ's ridiculous looking UFC theater on the E3 floor as a ring girl welcomed us inside. We say ridiculous because of the security standing outside, reminding us of testy bouncers at a strip club. After we settled, Dana White, CEO of Zuffa and all things UFC, introduced us to a video detailing the changes made to UFC Undisputed 3, set for release January 2012. The familiar voice of UFC, Mike Goldberg, then took over to go into detail on new fight mechanics, new submission system, and the inclusion of PRIDE championship fights making Undisputed 3 a hell of a package.

For starters, developer Yukes has had some off time since UFC Undisputed 2010, released a year ago. With increased development time, Yukes has been tinkering with many mechanics under the hood to ensure Undisputed 3 plays better than ever. Many details we saw are to ensure more players can jump in the fight. Hell, we remember the 30-minute tutorial in the first Undisputed game.

A new amateur control scheme was detailed, which will now give players more accessible right analog stick controls for the ground game. Before, you'd have to learn and eventually master quarter circle turns to transition when on the mat. These proved to be difficult to get the hang of and now an alternate control scheme enables you to simply flick up or down to either hit your major or minor transitions. Fear not, veterans can still pick the pro configuration to continue having more control over grapples.

The new submission system now appears to be a sort of cute minigame. You'll see an octagonal graphic on screen with a blue outlined line signifying the attacker and a red, filled-in line signifying the one trying to escape the submission. How it works is that the attacker is trying to fill in the blue line with the red line by chasing the line around the octagonal graphic. The defendant is trying to escape the blue line.

So depending on health and grappling statistics, the lines will be of varying size, either granting an advantage or disadvantage. Have a gigantic blue bar and you may be a grappling king with tons of health. Have a small blue bar and you might not have warn down your opponent much. Have a small red bar and you might be close to tapping out and on your last legs. It's difficult to explain, but incredibly easy to figure out by watching in action.

The addition of PRIDE championship fights adds another dimension to Undisputed. Taking place in a traditional four-cornered ring, you'll go by the Japanese rules. These allow for much more punishing strikes like soccer punts to the face, stomps to those already on the ground or knees to downed opponents. UFC is brutal as it is, but this may up your blood lust a bit more.

We saw a new lighting system in play and we hear there will be additional weight classes. We haven't heard any word on how the recent acquisition of Strikeforce will come into play, but we're six months away from the release. Look for UFC Undisputed 3 this January.

Jun 16, 2011

Here’s the good news: Yukes have answered our prayers and delivered a more compelling story to accompany the career mode in UFC Undisputed 2010. Now you get to fight through amateur bouts, up through the World Fighting Association and into the big leagues of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Above: You can now spring from one submission into another

You’ll also find a more user-friendly feel to the grappling as opposed to the mash-the-pad-until-something-happens system from the original. It’s all on the right stick now, so there’s no bashing your buttons to break from a choke – just rotate the stick clockwise. The thing is, it comes at a price – mainly a lot of irksome things left over from UFC 2009…

We don’t want to discredit the sterling work that the devs have put into this sequel, because overall it feels more like a visceral reboot than a flaky update, but certain things like animations, commentary and some ground-game aspects are unchanged. Here’s one for you – whenever you knock a gassed opponent (that bit when the screen all goes grey for a few seconds) on his ass there’s only one animation for finishing him with punches. Sure it all feels pretty meaty as you stand over your prone foe and rain down fists of justice to his noggin, but after the first few times it starts to grate.

Above: The new sway system makes for some fantastic counter-punches

Then there’s the commentary from the official UFC men, Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg. It creates an authenticity for your bouts but they’ll repeat lines of script over and over again to the point where you sort of want to switch it off. And although said grappling has been made easier, some mat-based tussles can be incredibly frustrating for beginners. These things, and more, shall be hereby known as the Smackdown vs Raw effect – where big changes are made elsewhere but key issues remain the same.

Aside from these niggles, UFC Undisputed 2010 is a riot. It’s a pure gaming example of one of the fastest growing sports in the world and, ultimately, a great way to knock the stuffing out of people while feeling like a big man. An improved roster now packs in over 100 fighters to choose from including Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell and ex-WWE turned pantomime villain, Brock Lesner. There’s also the introduction of the UK’s Dan Hardy and illegal fight star, Kimbo Slice.

The new story mode now features interaction with the fans and sponsors – so thanking them will mean you either a) gain more popularity or b) more credibility for your man. You can also make or break friendships with rival fighters along the way by saying positive or negative things about them. And brilliantly, you can now train in a variety of disciplines and learn unique moves like Matt Hughes’ front kick.

Above: Ground game feels quicker but still not as smooth as we'd like it

For casual fans, or even those of us who love watching blokes get knocked out, there’s a selection of videos, which you can earn by taking part in classic matches. Repeat the result in this scenario based mode, and you’ll unlock the full fight that plays in HD. It may not seem like much but it’s a great incentive to learn more about the sport’s history.

Undisputed 2010 certainly caters to beat ‘em-up fans. Even though the frequency of flash KOs has been toned down – a move, which we feel marginalises the fans who didn’t want to learn the intricacies of arms bars and the like – Yukes have added flash submissions, so now it’s possible to bounce into a rear naked chokehold within seconds and end the fight. It’s a classy way to finish an opponent, make no mistake. But the stand-up game of big kicks and even bigger punches means that there’s something for everyone. MMA fans will be pleased to know they can wrap a fighter against the cage to counter submissions and ground manoeuvres.

Above: All the fighters, like GSP,have their individual traits and weaknesses

It’s a huge step up in weight from UFC Undisputed 2009. It’s quicker, harder-hitting and comes with far more depth than the original. It even manages to put Fight Night Round 4 on its back in terms of satisfying knockouts and killer presentation. We just hope that Yukes don’t rest on their laurels in the same way they occasionally do with Smackdown. But with EA’s MMA set for release later in 2010, we’re sure there’ll be fresh ideas when Undisputed next steps into the octagon.

Above: New fighter, Clay Guida delivers a punishing kick to the ribs. Ouch

May 25, 2010