UFC Undisputed 3 Preview

UFC Undisputed 3 is the most accurate depiction of the young sport of MMA, a solid-looking fighting sports title that revamps the series and goes to the deep end to bring the experience to life.

During a recent demo with THQ producer Nevin Dravinski, he said that the team had actually never stopped developing Undisputed. When the last game shipped in May 2010, the team just kept on working, honing and developing the game for its third version. It shows, because what we're getting on February 14 is a polished looking, authentic feeling game that is the best depiction of the sport to date.

Authenticity is the name of the game in UFC Undisputed 3. Fighters will have full entrances, real corner men will provide real advice and familiar faces will pop up all over the place. During a fight as Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, renowned trainer Greg Jackson was peering over the top of the cage during my intro and he was in the cage with me during rounds. Trainers were window dressing in previous versions of Undisputed, but this time they will provide real, dynamic feedback to help you in your fight. If you're doing something wrong, they will shout into the cage to provide some guidance. Just one more step towards authenticity and reality. 

Nevin said there will be several real trainers in the game, but no word on super legend Master Thong of Team Alpha Male. That would be almost too authentic.

It's not news that PRIDE will be included in the new game. The defunct Japanese promotion and Zuffa brand was legendary for its fights and its stars and the game recreates the best of PRIDE: the screaming announcer, the white-hot lights, the soccer kicks and the long rounds. It's all there.

The roster is jammed packed with pretty much any fighter you'd want - 150 in total. You won't get Strikeforce guys in here, but you're getting a full spread in every UFC weight class and the inclusion of PRIDE legends. The roster is deep and the fact that I can use guys that even die-hard fans barely know makes this game awesome. This all allowed me to take out my dislike of Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz with all of his victims, like the criminally underrated Joseph Benevidez and Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson.

The fighting in Undisputed 3 is much improved over previous versions, which is saying something because it was already pretty damn good. The list of changes is too much to list, but here's a cheat sheet version of why this new version is improved:

• The strike game has been reworked, so quick strikes like jabs are far more important and damaging and combinations can be a key to hurting your opponent.
• You can whip knee to the body! Also, you can get leg kick TKOs.
• The cage wall is far more important this year because it can be used to set up your opponent for submissions and you can wall walk from a seated position to get back to standing.
• You can actually avoid getting your face pummeled if you're in the down position with your opponent inside your guard. You'll be able to dodge and weave your head to avoid strikes and to position yourself for a strike from the bottom.
• Scarily enough, legs can break if they get checked - maybe a bit too real here?

That was just a quick list of things that happened to me during my three-round demo fight, but there are a bunch more changes that improve the game well over its past versions.

THQ and Yuke's are serious enough about turning UFC Undisputed 3 into a competitive fighter, that they've created a new "Competition Rules" spec, which equalizes fighter stats and turns off doctor stoppages and flash KOs. If you're more in the mood for reality, you can completely ignore this and go complete simulation, with energy settings and the unpredictability of The Octagon.

That doesn't mean that you need to be super hardcore or have a command of complex controls to play. THQ will bridge the casual and hardcore UFC fan through the implementation of new, optional controls that are far simpler to perform; this will enhance the play and pass style the developers are going for with this third iteration. Simple flicks of the right stick will allow you to make minor and major passes on the ground, rather than three-quarter and half turns that are required in the standard controls. The simpler controls worked well, simplified things and allowed the players in the room for the demo to understand the ground war of the sport, so it seems like it is a successful new control iteration.

Even before we've gotten a chance to play a full retail copy of this game for review, it's safe to say you should put it on your list for February. Fans of the sport will love the authenticity and casual fans that catch fights on Spike (soon FX) will like the ability to pick up and play the game without issue.