The previous two games in the UFC Undisputed franchise did a great job of representing the sport: its impressive amount of depth, tons of licensed fighters, and a presentation that successfully mirrored the look of actual Pay Per View events. However, there were definitely some issues to be had, as many decried the franchise's high learning curve and daunting control schemes, which made the overall experience pretty tough to get into. Smartly, the developers took a break to focus on the issues that people had and like a seasoned fighter, UFC Undisputed 3 took some time off, trained up, and returned to the Octagon hungry to fight and ready for action.

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UFC Undisputed 3 feels better and more accurate than any other mixed martial arts game before it. Great modes like Title Mode, Title Defense, and Ultimate Fights have returned, along with a ton of new features. There are the big features like Pride mode, the addition of Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions, and a streamlined career, but also a host of little things, like "finishing the fight" by attacking your opponent until the ref pulls you off for a TKO, ring entrances, leg TKOs and a variety of new submissions, that give the whole package an extremely polished feel. The unprecedented amount of depth in UFC Undisputed 3 and its newfound accessibility make it a great return to form for the franchise.Upon booting up the game for the first time, you're prompted to choose between Amateur and Pro grappling controls; the first taste of Undisputed 3's adaptability. The Pro controls function the way grappling worked in the past, with rolls on the right thumbstick required to pull off major and minor transitions. The new Amateur controls however allow you to simply push up or down for minor and major transitions, respectively. This makes these ground transitions a lot easier to pull off for newcomers, and show a move towards accessibility on the part of the developers. You'll also get some tutorial hints that explain how to perform actions in real-time during fights (series vets can turn this off). Considering that the uninviting complexity from the was a chief concern in previous Undisputed games, seeing it addressed is heartening.Even though the game has taken great strides to be easier to get into than other games in the Undisputed franchise, the sheer amount of depth and features in this iteration is staggering. Of the changes implemented in Undisputed 3, the inclusion of Pride FC is quite possibly the biggest. The game captures the look and feel of the now-defunct Pride league perfectly, from the crazy ring announcers and blaring techno introductions for fighters to the roster of Pride superstars (as they appeared when the league was still around five years ago).The Pride rule set has also been implemented. You can perform head stomps and kicks on a downed opponent, something that is definitely not allowed in the UFC, with fights going for three rounds, with the first round lasting a whopping 10 minutes and five for the remaining two. In the actual Pride league, these 10 minute long first rounds were grueling endurance matches, a feeling that the game captures extremely well. It would've been nice to see this fleshed out even more with its own Career and Title Defense modes, but this is a great first step.