EA Sports UFC Review
Developer EA Canada
Publisher EA
Platform XboxOne & PS4
Release Date Out Now
UFC is a brand new IP from EA but it’s not their first foray into the mixed martial arts world (having released pretty solid MMA titles in the past). It is however the first to hold the UFC license and has been developed by a new team based in Vancouver. This team is not new to the world of fighting having previously created the equally impressive Fight Night.
UFC is the first exclusive Next Gen title from EA Sports and it shows. The visuals and presentation obtained using EA’s new Ignite engine are incredible. This is the first time we get an up-close look at what EA’s Ignite engine can do with real world collision physics. It has of course been used in Madden and Fifa previously but this is very different for two main reasons. These fighters are not covered in pads and you are rarely zoomed in to the action in the same way you are with UFC.
This new level of quality is very evident in the character models, they are scarily close of their real life counterparts and not just in the looks. A great deal of time and care has been put into capturing the fighter’s personalities. Once the fighting begins every bone shuddering impact can be seen and felt. Skin ripples, bruises and cuts with every impact all in real time without ever falling back on using pre-set animations, this keeps the fighting looking natural.
The controls are complex and difficult to get into. To be fair to the team they could have dumbed this down for the mass market but they decided against it which clearly shows how heavily invested they are in creating an experience that is as close to the real thing as you can get without getting a bloody nose.
The fights are split into the “standup game” and the “ground game” and both approaches are handled differently. You can see echos of Fight Night’s style coming through when opponent’s trade punches and kicks. Going to ground (which is often wrongly called boring) is a very different experience that required a very different approach requiring a lot more patience. While it doesn’t have the same impact as landing a massive KO strike, it can be equally as satisfying to work to a submission.
Every move can be modified using variations of the shoulder buttons and stick controls. Moves and counter attacks have to be carefully planned out. This is not your typical button bashing fighting experience as it takes skill and time to learn, and while it is perhaps a little slow and frustrating to start with this approach offers so much more depth and opportunity to add to the life cycle of the game.
The single player options are a little disappointing with only really a career mode to challenge you, the rest of the options are more like tutorial tasks to help you learn to fight rather than something to keep returning to. Maybe a tournament or two would have been fun to add.
Going online pits you against other players in 1 V 1 fights, it works well but you have to put up with the usual online messing and disconnects when they are losing, unless of course you are playing against your own friends (not that they are much better in some cases)
Overall: A very solid start for the first title in the franchise. This is a lot of fun and looks amazing. If you are into your MMA and want a title to really show off the next gen then this come highly recommended.
SCORE 4/5
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