I hope you enjoy my selection of the five best one-on-one fighting games for the Xbox, including hand to hand martial arts and sword fighting. I've included recent releases as well as one classic game that you can get now for a bargain price but which is still great fun, and I've tried to cover a reasonable variety of different types of game. If you know any other great titles which you think should have been included here then please feel free to make your voice heard in the comments box at the bottom of the page.

Like most men of my age I fell in love with Street Fighter when it was an arcade game in the early 1990's, and I've never fallen out of love with it. Many of the classic characters are back for the fourth installment released earlier this year (2009) and they still have a familiar feel despite having loads of new moves, and there are 6 new characters as well. Apart from (perhaps) the Tekken games the Street Fighter series are widely thought of as the best one-on-one fighting games, and I would say that if that's what your into then this is the best new release for this year.

If you want to learn more then you can read a full length review of Street Fighter 4 by following the link in this sentence

 The Soul Calibur series are arguably the best one on one fighting games based around swords and other weapons rather than punching and kicking. The most recent on, number 4, has great graphics and great characters and retains the unique gameplay of its predecessors. Read a full length review of Soul Calibur IV by following the link in this sentence.

 In the interests of honesty I feel that I must admit that I am a massive Bruce Lee fan, so it's hard for me to know how objective I'm being about this game. It's quite an old one, first released in 2002, so it's hardly cutting edge but it really is very enjoyable to play, particularly if you love Bruce Lee, and the fact that it's not a recent release means that you can get it for a good price.

 There's some great action in the most recent game in the Dead or Alive series, much beloved of teenage boys for the buxom female characters. It's fast paced but still fairly easy to learn and to play. Fans of the Halo games will enjoy the fact that you can play as a Spartan, introduced here by Temco who make both Halo and Dead or Alive. For a Fuller review of Dead or Alive 4 click the link.

The latest MMA mixed martial arts game based around the real life Ultimate Fighting Championship. Includes 80 fighters from the real UFC across all of the weight categories, as well as other personalities from the sport in the form of commentators, referees, octagon girls and so on. You can create your own fighter with your choice of physical attributes and appearance and then take control of the training to develop greater strength, fitness and so on and learn new techniques from various martial arts such as Judo, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Kickboxing and Wrestling as you try to fight your way up the tournament rankings in no holds barred mixed martial arts fights.