We’ve waited for the latest instalment of the UFC Undisputed series for some time.

When I first started playing the game, I wrote that thankfully it has lived up to expectations. Unfortunately, the more you play the game, the more you realise that it’s a serious letdown in some areas.

Parts of the game are fantastic, though. As a diehard MMA fan, you might expect me to say that. But the beauty of the game is it’s not just enjoyable for guys like me.

I played the game with three guys who have never played it before. In fact, they’ve barely even seen MMA before. At one stage, while Chad Mendes worked for a kimura in half guard against Jose Aldo, they had no idea who was submitting who.

Yet despite not knowing the technical names for anything they did, or having a clue who anyone was beyond Brock Lesnar and Chuck Liddell, they enjoyed it. And not only that, they picked it up really quickly.

So quickly in fact, that I got brutally KO’d by Carlos Newton’s knee while trying to work my magic with Royce Gracie in one of the first fights we had. In another fight, I thought I was finished when one of them starting literally bouncing on my head with Anderson Silva. Luckily, Shogun Rua has a pretty good chin, and the game’s new sway system on the floor allows you to actually do something when your opponent has dropped you.

As you can tell, my first port of call was Pride mode. Although it would be great to have some more old school Pride names, it is still a very nice little addition to the game. Not much compares to punting someone in the head with Shogun Rua, or trying to flatten your opponent’s nose with Wanderlei Silva.

That’s not the biggest improvement to the game though. The fluid game-play is where this instalment has really set a new bar.

It’s no longer a case of knowing you are either striking, clinching or working on the floor. Now it feels like MMA. One second you’ve got somebody on their back, and within no time they are back to their feet and kicking you in the head.

Transitioning is much easier than before, which makes for a constant back-and-forth battle, and less fights that would make Jon Fitch proud. They might even have gone too far with this though, because I’ve rarely seen someone go straight from the bottom of side control to a full-on double leg.

While I’m complimenting the gameplay as a whole, a few footnotes have to be added. Strikes from side control do an extraordinary and entirely unrealistic amount of damage. There is also the odd glitch, for instance when you’re standing and throw a strike to an opponent who is getting back to his feet, when your strike will often register as landing, despite being nowhere near the opponent’s head.

And although this isn’t a criticism of the gameplay as such, some of the judges’ decisions on the game are clearly made by Cecil Peoples. One in particular saw my friend successfully hold Rousimar Palhares down with Chael Sonnen for three rounds, while I desperately tried to work out how to take his leg home, and somehow I won a 29-28 unanimous decision. As much as I despise Chael, the decision was far worse than the first Leonard Garcia v Nam Phan fight.

Then there’s the submission system, which is totally different. Unless you pick things up exceptionally quickly, you won’t be putting many people unconscious or snapping arms in your first hour or two of playing the game.

But that’s no bad thing, and it is a vastly better system than the old game. It might be a little infuriating at times, but chasing each others graphic around the Octagon can be quite a good laugh.

On the point of graphics, there can be no complaints on that front. The fighter walkouts are a nice touch, everyone looks realistic, and they’ve done a stellar job presenting the Pride mode.

The roster is more extensive, although I can’t for the life of me understand some of the people they have missed out. Alexander Gustafsson and Jake Ellenberger are reasonably close to title shots, yet don’t make the game.

Then there are guys like Matt Mitrione, Nam Phan, Stephan Bonnar, Rick Story, Ivan Menjivar and Johny Hendricks. They might not be the biggest of names, but they’re all great fighters who deserve a spot on the roster for this game.

And while Alistair Overeem, Nick Diaz, Phil Davis & several others are available as downloable content, it’s a real pain. Those guys have headlined events, why should you have to pay extra for them?

Finally, trying to play the game online is a truly thankless task, with plenty of disconnections likely before you finish a single fight.

So, what’s the overall verdict on UFC Undisputed 3?

If you’re happy playing offline, with several key omissions from the roster, then it’s a pretty awesome game. It definitely provides plenty of excitement and entertainment, both for casual and diehard fans.

Yet, it’s still not the MMA game that we fans are craving. Much closer than ever before, but still no cigar.

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Check out the Pride Mode Trailer here.