Next-Gen Reviews

EA Sports UFC Review

The talented bunch behind the EA Sports Fight Night franchise have decided to put boxing in the corner and concentrate on the very popular, Mixed Martial Arts sport, UFC. Bringing a massive selection of famous fighters and the unique atmosphere to the new generation of home consoles, EA are on to a winner, surely.

 

This is the second time that EA have had a go at creating a sim-like UFC title and yes, they are learning on the way, but still, EA haven’t quite managed to get UFC where it should be if you want flawless gameplay.

 

No, the gameplay isn’t perfect but the game has a lot going for it. Visually EA have topped themselves in UFC with actual lifelike fighters and even the spectators look good (a rarity in games). You can see each strike cause damage and literally ripple through the body – bruising gradually gets deeper in colour when more strikes land and the movements are pretty much perfect in the sense of how the body moves (not the controls). However, 60fps would have been much better for gameplay, especially in a game that requires very intricate detail in movements and come on, this is designed for the new hardware.

You start with a tutorial into how this very complicated game plays and believe me, you need this training.Like every other UFC/MMA title, the gameplay looks great on the screen but it’s amazingly hard to master all aspects of gameplay. I genuinely feel that unless you constantly play UFC, you won’t ever really know how to do some of the harder actions for certain, but instead fiddle with the buttons that you know should help and hope for the best.

 

Obviously, the more you play UFC the easier it gets but it would be nice if a better button configuration would have been in the final game or the option to do your own mapping.

 

Once you’ve created your fighter it’s off to the octagon to practice your skills, learn new ones and earn attribute points. Once you’ve distributed your attribute points to suite your play-style, the real fighting begins.

 

After a few semi-pro fights it will be time to hit the big time and by that I mean fighting the big names in the big arenas whilst being introduced by the very famous and much loved “Bruce Buffer”. Complete the fights, get paid, train and move onto the next…rinse and repeat. Yes, it does get a little boring and even on the easiest difficulty UFC is a very hard game. For me, the single player campaign was more of a way to practice my skills for the online fights that I’d be more interested in winning then a win/loss ratio that means nothing, but it is good fun.

 

The single player game is pretty much just one mode and that is your typical “create a fighter and get him or her to the top”. It works but there are a lot of modes left out that were in the previous title which added more re-playability and options in general.

 

Even though some people play UFC like it’s a Street Fighter type fighting game, it’s not. Knocking people out from standing is very funny especially when you manage a flash KO (most common when the opponent allows their stamina to decrease significantly) and with it comes with a great sense of achievement, but the real skill comes from ground-and-pound and submissions. Throwing your opponent to the floor and getting into a dominating position is very hard to do and even harder to keep, but if you master the controls, you’ll be a massive force and pretty much a winner every time. This is a good thing and a sad thing; good because you win, but sad because not everyone puts in the effort to master every aspect of the fight leaving you to occasionally feel that no one is a competition. Then you have submissions – truly brutal and a quick way to get a win if (again) you have the skills. Submissions are carried out as a mini game with both parties trying to outsmart the other by way of moving the analogue stick to the edge of the octagon. If the person submitting gets to the outside of the Octagon they win, but if the person being submitted gets their colour to the side of the Octagon, they breakout. It’s not as complicated as I may have explained it, but it is yet another part of the fighting that needs to be taken seriously if you want to be the best you can be.

 

Online multiplayer is great fun and is really where UFC comes into its own. The servers haven’t been as bad as we have now come to expect from an EA title and you have a constant feel of achievement, win or lose.

 

Get online, select your fighter and that’s it, it’s on! At the end of the fight both players are rewarded points which eventually lead to the unlocking of a new coloured belt which then shows your skill level and your progress into becoming a better fighter. Belt colour is a great way to ensure that you’re fairly matched against your skill level.

 

My main problem with online fighting is private matches that are also known as “rivalries”. When a friend and I have finished our fight we want to be able to get straight back into the action by a simple and expected “Rematch” option. Sadly, this isn’t there, leaving you with a few wasted minutes whilst you exit and invite etc; it’s a small issue, but an issue it is.

 

So, I both love and hate UFC because there are silly issues and there are great gameplay mechanics, but the most ridiculous and annoying issue is the fighters themselves! UFC is about an individual’s skill and strength in certain areas of the various fighting styles that they can be skilled in and EA have not focused on this. Each weight class has the exact same moves and no specific skills or indeed moves that would be unique to the fighter or that fighter’s style. I cannot believe that EA would do this and find it an absolute disgrace. In my eyes, this is a cheap and easy way to rush out a game without putting in too much effort. Maybe EA believe that a game is made and appreciated more by its looks than its gameplay; They would be wrong!

 

EA Sports UFC has as much to give as it does lack in other areas. This to me is a 50/50 split of what you want and what you don’t, but the multiplayer fun that is to be had has definitely pushed it into the better side of things. On that basis, if you’re a fighting fan that has friends to fight and the patience to master the game and fight online against random people, this game is a must. However, if you want the brilliant UFC experience in the form of single player and unique fighting styles, give it a miss or wait until it’s cheap so that you don’t feel robbed.

 

 

8/10