Do you have fantasies about beating the tar out of someone else? Do you constantly dream about putting some jerk in a submission hold and pulling until he screams for his mother? I'm not advocating any form of misanthropy; rather, I'd like to direct any interested parties to THQ and Yukes' next-generation installment of the popular mixed martial arts franchise. Of course, I am talking about UFC 2009 Undisputed. The game doesn't live up to its full potential, but it definitely proves the series deserves a yearly installment.

Visually, UFC 2009 Undisputed is a mixed bag. When you're in the octagon, the game looks pretty fantastic. Fighters move with startling fluidity and the collision detection is probably the best I've seen in a fighting game. Outside the octagon, the visuals suffer - a lot. Load times are frequent, and every Menu Screen in this game features an ugly color palette. Worse yet, all of the text appears to be tilted 45 degrees to the left. If you were not forced to spend so much time in the Menu Screens, none of this would be a problem. Still, the technical proficiency of the action helps get your mind off of the other stuff.

The audio gets the job done, but it doesn't set any new standards for the genre. The commentary is fast and accurate, but it's not like you're going to be able to hear anything over the trash-talk after you've landed that perfect superman punch. The sounds coming from the octagon will make you wince, as they are often pretty disgusting. Wet, meaty thuds punctuate every landed punch or kick, and every takedown ends with an earth-shaking bang.

UFC 2009 Undisputed is a mixed martial arts simulation game based on the popular franchise. Matches pit two fighters against each other in an octagon-shaped ring. You can achieve victory in one of three ways. For starters, you can knock your opponent out cold; landing multiple blows to the body will tire him out, while strikes on the head will eventually put his lights out. You can also make use of the game's grappling system to put him into a submission hold. Pull hard enough, and he will tap out. There's also the tried-and-true technical knockout. To achieve one of these, you must force your opponent into a very bad position - one in which he can neither escape nor defend himself. Keep the other fighter in this kind of position for too long, and the referee will eventually call an end to the match.

UFC 2009 Undisputed shines the most when you are playing Exhibition Matches (especially online). You can choose from an impressive stable of authentic UFC fighters from several different weight classes. You'll have the talents of fighters such as Forrest Griffin, Anderson Silva, and Chuck Liddell at your disposal. These guys train under all sorts of disciplines (striking and grappling), and you will have to learn the minutiae of each one if you want to reign supreme in the octagon. When you're fighting, it's great, brutal fun.

Unfortunately, UFC 2009 Undisputed does not focus solely on the fighting experience. In their efforts to build a deep, expansive Career Mode, the developers have forgotten to trim the fat. While the Career Mode features an interesting character progression system, it sometimes feels like a tedious mess. The Create-a-Character system does not offer a particularly robust set of physical creation tools, but it's all in the numbers. You can customize your fighter's proficiency with all kinds of situations. There are a lot of options in which you can spend your ability points. These can vary from your fighter's striking and grappling skills, which are multiplied by two (for both offensive and defensive skills). UFC 2009 Undisputed allows you to build your character to your exact specifications, and progressing through the Career Mode as that character is often satisfying. Career Mode's biggest problem is that there are far too many Menus and loading screens to grind through before your next fight. If you count yourself among the hardest of the hardcore UFC fans, you'll likely enjoy having to check your email and schedule arbitrary training sessions (which you don't participate in, unless you choose to spar). For the random fighting fan, this will occasionally test your patience. However, the exciting action in the octagon should help gamers of all attention spans forget about the rest of the game's problems.

Getting into UFC 2009 Undisputed takes a lot of time and practice. There's an awful lot to soak up, even after you've completed the tutorial modes. At first, the game is painfully tough (especially in multiplayer). The whole experience is something like the montage in the movie Wanted where the main character is brutalized over and over again until he finally learns the tricks of the trade. Once you finally learn the game's many intricacies, the difficulty level feels pretty fair.

UFC 2009 Undisputed features a very extensive tutorial system that encompasses everything you'll be doing inside the octagon. It may take some time to get through, as you'll have to watch the fighters demonstrate the move first... and then you'll have to watch them dancing around for a few seconds in their discipline's default pose. However, it's more than worth it, because you will be eviscerated time and time again if you don't get the basics down.

UFC 2009 Undisputed offers a very addictive challenge, in and out of multiplayer. For starters, you'll constantly want to upgrade your created fighter, regardless of Career Mode's many frustrations. You'll also play it simply to get better at it. This is a game that is easy to pick up, but tough to master. It's not at all about the destination - it's about the voyage.

There are many influences behind UFC 2009 Undisputed's control scheme, such as the marionette-style controls from Assassin's Creed and the analog stick-heavy actions from the Fight Night series. This fusion takes a while to get used to, but once everything clicks into place, you'll find out just how deep the fighting system really is.

When it comes to your fighter's striking game, UFC 2009 Undisputed makes use of the marionette-style controls. Each fighter's left and right arms are mapped to the (X) and (Y) buttons, while their left and right legs are mapped to the (A) and (B) buttons. Simply pressing these buttons will initiate a punch or kick action, and attacks can be paired with modifiers like the Left Analog Stick and the Left Bumper. These modifiers have a variety of effects; some will change targeted areas on your opponent, while others cause more damage at the cost of your own mobility. The Right Bumper and Right Trigger will make your fighter guard himself - high and low. Timing your stick and trigger inputs correctly can give you the option to initiate a grapple or takedown, which adds an extremely thick layer of strategy and depth to the already intuitive striking system.

If you want to focus more on grappling, you'll be using the Right Analog Stick ... a lot. You'll flick and rotate it in conjunction with the occasional button press. Once you take your opponent to the canvas, you'll have to experiment with the stick, inputting half and quarter-circles in an effort to gain a considerable advantage. This is not limited to offense; when you become locked in a ground struggle for supremacy, you'll have to negate your opponent's attempts for the advantage by inputting the correct stick motion for the situation. These situations are plentiful in number, but the stick motions seem to correspond well to the kind of movement your fighter needs to make to get into a better situation. Sometimes you may find yourself resorting to simple button-mashing, which actually helps in capturing the real-life struggle these fighters go through. All of it simply feels authentic.

Gamers looking for an arcade fighting fix have likely already been satisfied with Street Fighter IV, but now there's something for those who are seeking more realistic fare. UFC 2009 Undisputed has its share of problems, but there's some great fun to be had. Whether you're a fan of fighting games or a fan of the franchise, you're bound to find something to like in UFC 2009 Undisputed.