Game Of The Week: UFC Undisputed 2010 (PSP)

   "So you want to be a fighter?" [UFC Undisputed 2010 Tag-line]

Today is an important day for fans of the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) as the new video game UFC Undisputed 2010 comes to PSP systems for the first time ever.
Those of you who may not have seen the UFC on television could argue that this game is going to be very similar to  WWE Smackdown! VS. Raw or TNA Impact, but in truth, the UFC has one very unique selling point: Unlike other Full Contact Sports,  the UFC sees competitors battle against each other using a variety of fighting styles including Karate, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Judo and Kickboxing amongst others.

So, what can fans really expect from the video game?

Firstly, UFC Undisputed 2010 features a fully-playable roster of over 100 of the television show's best Mixed Martial Arts fighters, who have all been rendered using photorealistic technology to give them a truly accurate and lifelike appearance.

Moreover, the UFC fighters are also joined by many other well-known personalities from the show including the commentary team of Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg, veteran voice of the Octagon Bruce Buffer, those sexy ringside Octagon Girls and even trainers and referees. This really helps to make the video game feel like a natural extension of the television programme.

Furthermore, a total of nine different fighting disciplines are also included in this game - Karate, Sambo, Greco-Roman Wrestling, Boxing, Judo, Muay Thai, Freestyle Wrestling, Kickboxing and Bazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Players can customize their own fighter with variety of moves from all the featured fighting disciplines to form an unbeatable 'ultimate fighter' of their choice. Players can also form unique personalities for created fighters and increase their cred, popularity and sponsorships via the interactions that are used during the weigh-ins and interviews.

There are plenty of game modes to choose from too. Firstly, you can play as one of your favourite UFC fighters in a standard Career Mode. In this mode, An intuitive new “Game Is Watching You” system tracks every action and uses this information to dictate the in-game commentary, opponent intelligence and overall career progression. The ultimate goal of this mode is to reach the UFC Hall of Fame, however, this can be enhanced through online co-op sparring sessions with respective fight camps.

In Title Mode  players must fight their way to the top of a given UFC weight class in order to capture the championship belt. The many fighting disciplines included in the game make this both a varied and very difficult task.

In Title Defence Mode you are already a UFC champion. Players must use their new fighting skills to defend the championship belt against other UFC competitors who wish to defeat them.

In addition to these modes, the game also features two multiplayer modes: Online Multiplayer allows players to find or host an online UFC match using the PSP WI-FI system, whilst the Tournament Mode allows for interconnectivity with up to 16-players via the PSP's Ad-hoc system. Utilize UFC fighters or any player-created fighters and compete until your heart is content.  

This game is primarilly aimed at fans of the television show of course, but wrestling or boxing fans will also find that there is plenty to enjoy in this title as well. The combination of so many fighting disciplines makes the game unique and challenging. If you are a fan of UFC or if you enjoy contact sport games and wish to try something a little different, then this is definitely the game for you. Overall rating 10/10.

Golden Joystick Awards 2010: Have YOU Cast YOUR Vote?

This year will mark the 28th annual Golden Joystick Awards. The award ceremony will be held on 29th October 2010 at London’s Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel.

The Golden Joystick Awards, which is more affectionately known as 'The People's Gaming Awards', was established by the popular magazine group,  Future Publishing in 1982, and has become an important event in the gaming calendar ever since.

The Golden Joystick Awards are an annual event in the gaming calender.

Each and every winner of the prestigious Golden Joystick has been voted for by the public. Voting forms have already been included in several gaming magazines such as ONM and Official Playstation Magazine, which are both publications developed by Future Publishing PLC.

Now, the final shortlist of nominees has been revealed and Future Publishing are requesting that gamers continue to cast their votes. In a change from previous years, the 2010 awards will focus less on console-specific categories, preferring instead to award titles within specific genres instead. 

Here at Mini Gamers, we are particularly interested to see who will win in the Portable Games category. It is an impressive list, and all of the nominated titles in this category certainly deserve to walk away with the prize.The shortlisted nominees for portable games are as follows:

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (PSP)

Assassin's Creed: Discovery (DS/DSi)

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare: Mobilised (DS/DSi)

 Call of Duty: World at War: ZOMBIES (iOS)

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS/DSi, PSP, iOS)

LittleBigPlanet (PSP)

Plants vs. Zombies (iOS, iPad)

Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver (DS/DSi)

Professor Layton and Pandora's Box (DS/DSi)

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS/DSi)

The other award category to watch out for is the Ultimate Game Of The Year. Again, the list of games is impressive. Although there is very little choice for handheld gamers to choose from this year, it will be interesting to see who manages to scoop the top-spot. As well as winning the stunningly crafted Golden Joystick Trophy winners of this award are automatically included in The Guinness Book of Records as the 'Best Videogame'. 

However, it has to be said that none of the nominees would win without the support of gamers everywhere. Over 421,843 votes have been cast so far and there is still plenty of time for you to take part.

For more details on the awards, or to cast your vote for this year, please click here to visit the Golden Joystick website. May the best game win!

E3 News: Eye Pet on PSP!

Sony's Computer Entertainment America CEO, Jack Tretton had some exciting news for PSP fans at E3 yesterday. He promises that Sony will release more than 70 new titles for the handheld console by the end of 2010.

SONY CEO JACK TRETTON

Amongst the most popular games revealed yesterday, were God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Resident Evil, Kingdom Hearts, The 3rd Birthday, Valkyria II, and Patapon 3. Tretton also revealed that the PS3 virtual pet EyePet would also be making its debut on the PSP at some point this year.

EyePet allows gamers to raise a cute little virtual pet on their console and was very successful on the PS3 last year. The PSP version is thought to utilise the PSP's GO!Cam, an attachable camera that has previously been used the Invizamals game. The PSP version will also allow gamers to create their own toys for their EyePet. Details about the gameplay are very sketchy at the moment, but the trailer looks promising:

Although the majority of the Sony Conference focused on the PS3, it is good to know that Sony has not forgotten about the fans of its handheld. The PSP has been accused of dwindling sales over the past few months, but the addition of so many new titles is bound to gain the PSP all the attention it deserves.

E3 2010 Gets Underway in Los Angeles

For those of you who don't already know, E3, (Electronic Entertainment Expo,) is one of the largest annual gaming tradeshows in the world, where the next generation of games and gaming hardware is revealed to the top dogs of the gaming industry, and the 2010 line-up is already proving to be very interesting indeed.

Announcements for the DS are expected to include a reveal of Nintendo's plan for a 3D console

(called the 3DS) and trailers for new games like
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 , My Sims: SkyHeroes, The Sims 3 and the sports title FIFA Soccer 11.

Sony's PSP games trailers are expected to include some notable sequels to pre-existing titles such as: 
God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars,  and a new Michael Jackson video game in which gamers can reportedly play as the 'King of Pop' himself!

Meanwhile,several  rumours are also circulating that Sony's PSP announcements will include plans for a new PSP console called The PSP 2, although I must stress that this is purely conjecture at this stage.

So far, there has been no clear winner at E3 2010, but handheld gamers are sure to hope that either Sony or Nintendo walk away with the best overall line-up this year. Check back with 'Mini Gamers' over the next few days to see exactly what Nintendo and Sony have to offer fans of their handheld consoles...