Undisputed 2010 Releases today

THQ’s sequel to last year’s UFC Undisputed 2009 officially comes out today at your local retailer but we’ve had some hands-on time to review the game. Is UFC Undisputed 2010 a marked improvement? Or is it on par with last year’s edition, read the review to find out!

If you’re keeping score, last year we rated UFC Undisputed 2009 an 8.8 out of 1o and raved about the authenticity that the game portrayed.

With that said, let’s get right into the review of UFC Undisputed 2010.

Graphics: What a difference a year makes, just when you thought UFC Undisputed couldn’t look any better, THQ raised the bar once again as player models have been beefed up from last year’s game. Every last detail ranging from tattoos to scars have been implemented correctly this year but its what’s going on outside of the octagon that had us impressed. The characters in the crowd as well as around the cage have been given life as they add to the true UFC experience.

Gameplay: It looks like THQ took everyone’s complaints and did what they could to improve on their mistakes from last year. The addition of the clinch game was a much needed improvement and the feel of using different fighters is much more noticeable than UFC Undisputed 2009. I’m not saying that the gameplay is perfect because it isn’t but it was clear that THQ didn’t want to stand pat and just re-title last year’s game, they improved it. The A.I. from time to time will be frustrating just like any other game but the added features within career mode and online play will keep UFC Undisputed 2010 in your consoles for months.

Authenticity: WOW… We haven’t even finished a career yet but we’re having fun going through it. Our fighter currently has a 10-3 record and recently had none other than UFC president Dana White himself recording a video blog and offering my fighter a contract to fight for the UFC. The training aspects and being able to hone your skills makes the game feel like you’re actually training a fighter to fight for the UFC. You’ll also see the usual suspects in the corners of the premier fighters like Ed Soares in Anderson Silva’s or Lyoto Machida’s corner. THQ and the UFC also added more sponsors to the game to make fighters look more like they would before or after a fight with logos plastered all over their clothes. Unfortunately there are still some of the same issues this year that we saw in last year’s game like knowing the judges scorecards before a winner is even announced.

Final Verdict: When a game comes out every year like Madden or the NBA2K series, you expect it to get better and THQ did a great job in improving UFC Undisputed 2010 dramatically. The game still has its faults but it’s far less an issue this year than it was last year. We tried to give you as many details as we could about the game without boring you which didn’t allow us to even get into the online play but we’ll let you feel that experience for yourself. This game is definitely a must have for any MMA fan.

Final Score: 9.2/10