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UFC Undisputed 2010 | Game review

(PS3, Xbox360, PSP, THQ)

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) divides opinion among sport fans. Boxing purists perceive it as barbaric blood-letting – two men, in a cage, assaulting each other by almost any means is, unquestionably, violent. Proponents, however, note that mixed martial arts (MMA) simply brings together various disciplines (boxing, muay thai, judo, wrestling and Brazilian jiujitsu) under a single banner, requiring the combatants to master a vast array of skills. It's as though the sport was conceived with beat-'em-up computer games in mind. Appropriately, UFC in its digital form is no less nauseating or, it must be said, enthralling than its progenitor.

UFC Undisputed 2010 is the second release in what promises to be a long-running franchise, recreating the sport's visceral, bone-crunching brutality in stunning high definition. The phenomenal graphics are sufficiently convincing that the game's developers have again ditched energy meters, so a fighter's condition must instead be deduced from cuts and bruises and reduced reaction times.

The fight mechanics have also evolved to include new techniques such as crowd-pleasing axe and spinning head kicks, and technical submissions, where catching your opponent offguard can result in a flash KO or tap-out.

The most significant improvement, however, has been to incorporate evasive sway motions to duck-and-dive under-attacks and deliver stinging counterstrikes. You can also now put the cage itself to good use, in the form of blocking takedowns, while taking a much-needed breather, or taking advantage of it to reverse submissions and prevent ground domination.

A career mode allows aspiring hall-of-famers to enter the octagon, from the safety and comfort of your sofa that is, by mastering skills with expert guidance from sponsored training camps, each with their own martial art specialism. With enough wins under your belt, a meeting awaits with UFC kingpin Dana White, inviting you to come and earn the big bucks. New, arcade-style tournaments, classic fight scenarios and an online multi-player mode add further variety to the game, although failing to incorporate The Ultimate Fighter reality show seems an opportunity missed.

Despite a few quibbles with the occasional glitch, UFC Undisputed 2010 is magisterial. There's a truly daunting array of moves to master, tailored to each of the 100-plus fighters, with more available to download, on what is by far the most sophisticated and exhaustive fighting game out there and if you enjoyed the first, it's a must-buy. The question only remains: are you tough enough?