Is 2009 the year of the fighting game? Street Fighter IV is coming out next month; King of Fighters XII will be out sometime after that; and there are two huge releases for sports fans this summer, UFC Undisputed and Fight Night Round 4.

While information is light on FNR4, there is definitely enough to begin speculating. When it comes UFC Undisputed, THQ is clearly pushing the game hard; it seems like there is a weekly press release. The contrasting approaches THQ and EA are taking when it comes to showing off their wares perhaps has something to do with being a known commodity, and simply being unknown.

Either way, as fans debate which sport is better, these games might help or hurt their arguments. Therefore, it is time to start analyzing two games that will be battling for fighting game supremacy in the not-so-distant future.

UFC 2009 Undisputed looks to surpass the already lofty expectations set upon it.

Rosters

UFC Undisputed has over 16 confirmed fighters, but THQ is promising that over 80 grapplers will be in the final game. All the big (active) names are on the list, including the freak of nature, Brock Lesnar, and his next opponent, Frank Mir. You can also expect to see Rashad Evans, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Rampage Jackson and Antonio Nogueira. Joining these guys is the freshly announced Georges St. Pierre, who will face B.J. Penn -- also in the game -- at UFC 94 in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

FNR4 will have over 40 fighters, but only Lennox Lewis, Muhammad Ali, Winky Wright, Sugar Ray Leonard and Mike Tyson are confirmed thus far. This is Tyson’s first Fight Night appearance, and it seems the early ad campaign centers around a dream fight between Tyson and Ali. Get back on the topic of rosters, past games in the series have included Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, Manny Pacquiao and Roy Jones Jr., and legends like Joe Frazier, Roberto Duran, Evander Holyfield and Jake LaMotta. FNR4 producer Jeff Atienza promises the deepest roster of fighters of any FN game so far, but the official list will not be released until late February at the earliest.

One on One

UFC Undisputed will feature plenty of fighting styles, including judo, Muay Thai, wrestling, kickboxing, boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Also, according to an interview Dana White had at UFC 92, each move will have a counter to it. Holding this all together will be a brand new control scheme that will supposedly be easy to use yet will still give players complete control of their fighters. Simply put, the fighting system has been built from the ground up, which should quell any concerns fans have about potentially playing Smackdown vs. Raw starring UFC.

FNR4 features a new physics system that focuses more on how cleanly your punches land, which should lead to a more realistic inside game. The blocking system will be different as well since you will no longer be able to consistently parry a right hook from Mike Tyson; a meter will tell you how strong your ability is to block. So if you are getting pounded, simply putting your hands up will not help you. The only video released for this game so far was the teaser trailer that premiered at the Spike TV Video Game Awards in December. That should change as the release nears, but we will have to live off of Tyson vs. Ali for at least another few weeks.

While I have not played either of these games, this is not the first game for either developer. For one, UFC Undisputed is being developed by Yukes, which is the same company behind the Smackdown series. This is the same Smackdown series that has been mailing it in for the past few years. UFC fans should hope that the development of this game is the reason why there has been such drop-off in quality in the Smackdown series.

The Fight Night series usually misses out on adding a few big-name boxers to the roster. For example, Round 3 did not have Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosley, Felix Trinidad or Joe Calzaghe. A few stars have risen (Manny Pacquiao), while others have fallen (Roy Jones Jr.), so who knows what Round 4 will hold. Hopefully EA can include some newcomers like Andre Berto and Yuriorkis Gamboa, which would keep boxing fans happy.

Both games will feature a career mode and the ability to create a fighter, but I will hold off judgment until there is a clearer picture from both developers.

As more information leaks out for both of these games, you will be able to easily add stuff to this article. But even at this point, both games look promising. To some, MMA (specifically UFC) has taken over boxing as the number one hand-to-hand sport in the world, while others will say that nothing will ever top the sweet science. We probably will not see a knock out this summer, so we will have to take it to the judges. May the best game win.


Which game are you looking forward to more? Could Mike Tyson knock out Brock Lesnar? Can Hulk Hogan beat up both of them? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment box below!