Ray Willmott reviews EA Sports UFC…
The MMA scene is surging and becoming increasingly popular by the day. Warriors from around the world study the arts of Kickboxing, Karate, Boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, Jiu Jitsu and various other fighting forms and combine them together in an effort to turn themselves into the ultimate warrior. The UFC is like the premier-league of MMA, where the big money fights happen and major stars go to play. Legends such as Ken Shamrock, Brock Lesnar, Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell and Georges St Pierre have all passed through their doors, with even more fresh, dynamic and exciting stars rising through the ranks all the time.
So it only seems fitting that the virtual representation of UFC should be handled by the upper echelon of sport-gaming development, EA. Acquiring the license from THQ almost two years ago, EA Sports have finally released their first instalment and the good news is it hits the mark. Most of the time.
Having spent extensive time with all UFC games, I can say that the fighting system is a drastic improvement over THQ’s offerings. The submission system, for example, is much easier to grasp and feels exactly like the competitive tug of war it should with the newly introduced gate-system. Ground transitions are also an exciting game of human-chess, where you can switch body positioning, from Full-Mount to Side Control to North and South positions. The vicious ground and pound is also very much alive and well here, with the player able to throw ferocious, unguarded strikes at an opponent in order to pound them through the mat.
Or you can simply just ‘Stand and Bang’ with various types of strikes, like leg-kicks, flying knees and elbow strikes. Unlike other fighting games, UFC really does reward a complete warrior. To survive, you do need to be accomplished on the ground and on your feet and this does make the online space a very unique place, with people adapting strategies based on how their opponent plays. The good news is that with a bit of persistence and willingness to learn, mastering the fight system is very rewarding.
Being a new-gen only title, the graphics in UFC are also frighteningly realistic. Take a look at any of your favourite stars and the likeness is pretty much spot-on, though some are definitely better than others. The impact of strike sends ripples across human flesh, with devastating, slow-mo replays often showing a critical punch that jars a jaw or a straight kick to the head which renders an opponent unconscious, causing a ripple effect to sail through their cheeks.
Unfortunately, as a first instalment, UFC feels very bare-boned. The Career mode is quite thrown together and nowhere near as engaging as Fight Night Champion or a WWE Career mode. Fights are often separated with the same repetitive training sessions, with the game trying to freshen things up by telling you a legendary fighter is coming to train with you, showing a video montage of their career highlights. You’ll get regular pop-in videos with Dana White congratulating you on fight bonuses and stars showing their respect for you, but the same grind continues from beginning to end. Your career is determined by how much damage your fighter takes during his matches, and at the conclusion, you’re forced to retire and are inducted in the hall of fame when your body can take no more abuse.
It’s a shame as the career starts well with the player having to work through the Ultimate Fighter in order to get a UFC contract, but the monotony sets in shortly afterward. You’ll feel compelled to work your way up to the main card by proving yourself on the Undercard, but once the player gets the belt in their chosen weight class, they’re stuck defending it to the end, and generally against the same opponents again and again. It seems the ranking system only works for the player and not the AI.
The entrances of fighters are exciting, the announcements and build-up prior to battle are also enough to get the blood pumping and the action in the Octagon works really well and will keep its hooks into you for weeks to come, but you can tell this has been EA’s prime-focus through the development process, everything else feels like an after-thought.
There are definite improvements and developments that can be worked on in future titles and we’d love to see EA continue to treat UFC with the same respect it has given to FIFA, Madden, NHL and others, but for now we have a competent, solid, great-looking new-gen title that is, unquestionably, the best fighting experience you can find right now on Playstation 4 and Xbox One.
EA Sports have given us the first real taste of Disneyland for UFC fans.
RATING: 7/10
Ray Willmott is a freelance games critic for various outlets and even runs his own. He also writes novels – Follow him on Twitter
