UFC 2009 Undisputed Made Me Tap Out

For your first few fights, these controls will likely be all you need to end a fight, especially when playing with the hard-hitting Liddell. Much as in the real thing, fights can end quickly in Undisputed, with a punch or kick landing in just the right spot to send a guy crumpling to the mat, out cold. The fact that a lucky strike can end a fight acts as a pretty clever balancing act in the game; something to keep even expert players wary of their opponents, who might be able to end a fight with a single well-placed punch. Early on, you'll learn to defend early and often in Undisputed. The R2 and R1 buttons are for blocking low and high respectively, and you'll need to get your defense together if you hope to last more than one round in this game.

Stand-up fighting in Undisputed is a lot fun but I'd argue that the game really begins to come alive strategically once both fighters hit the ground. Depending on the position you find yourself in, you can still punch your opponent but there's also a ton of jockeying for position on the mat that ups the strategic jockeying in the game. There's mat-specific controls, and most are centered on the right analog stick. Essentially the idea on the ground is to continually improve your position on your opponent. To do so, you trace circles on the outside edge of the right analog stick. A successful motion (known as a transition) will mean you'll improve your position on your opponent. For example, when crouching above your opponent while your opponent is on his back, a successful transition might result in your fighter moving to half guard, side mount, or reverse mount. When a fighter is on his back, a successful transition means moving from guard to an escape or even to a submission (such as when catching the arm of your foe as he's punching and instantaneously transitioning to an arm lock submission). Defending against these transitions is also tied to movements on the right analog stick.

Submission attempts can happen at practically any time. To attempt a submission, you simply press the R3 button; if the attempt is successful, you'll transfer to a submission animation. The gameplay changes here dramatically--going from a cat and mouse game of careful feints into an all out frantic button masher. To submit an opponent (or defend against a submission attempt), you can either move the right stick around in rapid circles or press the face buttons like a madman.

It's those submission moves that did my right palm in. You see, it wasn't until later that I realized you could use the buttons to defend against submissions so, in my zeal to protect my fighter from a tapout, I palmed the top of the right analog stick and moved the stick around as fast as I could. It wasn't until an hour later that I realized that the motion was slowly eating away the skin of my palm, leaving a disgusting weeping wound in its place.

I spent the following weekend in pain and cursing the game's addictive nature, yet still not able to get it out of my head. I've played the game against other GameSpot editors since and it seems like no two fights have ended in the same way. From the time I accidentally leaned forward with Shogun Rua just as Shaun McInnis was throwing a vicious Chuck Liddell kick into his face, to the time I actually managed to make Homer Rabara's Shogun tap out while playing as Liddell, every fight in UFC Undisputed will have a storyline all its own. Considering the demo features just two fighters from the game's 80-plus-strong roster--each with his own combination of strength, stamina, and style--it seems like Undisputed's dead-serious focus on MMA styles and realism is paying gameplay dividends.

I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the roster once the game is released on May 19 to see how the different fighters play. The game's single player experience will have a career mode but, as with other fighting games, Undisputed's best chance at longevity is in making sure the online play is flawless and lag-free. The game's subtle and engaging fighting engine deserves that kind of extra special online attention.

One tip for THQ: You might want to consider packing in some sort of palm protectors once the game is released on May 19. FYI, I've heard UFC has some nice gloves available…