EA Sports UFC Reviews
Like so many early releases in a console's life cycle it's a showcase title -- get it if you want to justify your console purchase to your significant other or if you want to punch-on with your mates without the legal repercussions, but fair warning -- dig at all and you'll realise just how shallow the game really is.
EA Sports UFC hits pretty hard for the debut of a new franchise.
If you come into the game with some knowledge of the sport, you'll likely have a good time, especially with the online play.
As this is the first game for a new set of consoles and with a new development team, growing pains are expected. We just didn't expect them to revolve around concepts previously implemented in older titles. At its core though, EA Sports UFC is a great first step for the franchise. We just hope that over the course of development for the follow-up, many of these missteps are corrected.
EA Sports has created a visually stunning, impressively detailed MMA game featuring most of the biggest figures in the sport. However, the complex controls and mechanical feel can make it a difficult game for outsiders, and you'll face a steep learning curve before you get much satisfaction out of it.
EA Sports UFC is one for the MMA diehards, and while its learning curve feels like an endurance test at times, the game rewards perseverance with some very satisfying fights.
EA SPORTS UFC has what UFC fans want--detailed, accurate fighting--but it leaves out what gamers want: options. UFC features some of the best visuals around, but the overall limitations leave this title best-suited for die-hard fans.
EA Sports UFC looks almost as good as a real MMA fight, but poorly balanced systems dull the excitement.
EA Sports has been developing their first UFC game for some time now and, while they have shown they know their material, it's unfortunately weighed down by shortcomings. On one hand, the mechanics are satisfying as timing counters and ground passes are down to precision.
The worries I had regarding passing the reins over to another developer and publisher are laid to rest here. It is far from a perfect game but the fighting, particularly striking, is the best it has ever been. EA Canada has done a good job of showing that the UFC series is in good hands by delivering an excellent game.
Fans of the brutal sport will find a decent and enjoyable game if they look hard enough. An excellent stand-up game is marred by a weak ground game. There's little little of substance beyond the polish, leaving THQ's UFC 3 as an undisputedly better game.
EA Sports UFC is what every fan wanted from the game but it still leaves room for improvement.
EA Sports UFC has some solid bones to begin with, but the series is going to have to do much more to win over casual sports fans if it wants to be a Madden-like success.
As it stands today, UFC is a title that only the most die-hard fans are going to want to take the time to invest in.
In conclusion, EA Canada should be commended on creating a sturdy fighting title that replicates the world of the MMA well. With the inclusion of real world fighters, amazingly detailed graphics and a decent gaming engine, MMA is fun fighter that definitely takes realism to a new level. More importantly, the game feels like a nextgen title on the PlayStation 4 and thankfully the controls are quite responsive and not as clunky as some other titles.
EA Sports UFC feels barely held together, a collection of parts that are often as frustrating as they are poorly explained. Somewhere, in all of the complication and opacity, is a game unlike anything else out there, that finds the unpredictability and wildness that set MMA apart from other combat sports. But there's an awful lot of bad to dig through to find it.
There's a good game at EA Sports UFC's core, it's just a shame that it's not as seamless in its delivery as we'd hoped it would be. Fingers crossed that that changes in the inevitable sequel.
Undoubtedly, there's enormous potential for a UFC series that will in the future become a staple part of the EA Sports family. A few tweaks are needed, but things are on the right track.
EA Sports UFC doesn't cater to button mashers, so be wary if you're not eager to learn an overly-complex control scheme. More technical gamers will be able to appreciate the gameplay to a greater extent, but the laggy servers make even this an exercise in frustration.
EA Sports UFC wouldn't be bad for a first shot at the MMA genre. But EA had already dipped their toe into the genre, and seem to have done little to move on from there. The striking is very satisfying, and the new submission system is interesting and creates a more level playing field than in the past, but the game is let down by poor wrestling and transition mechanics. There's enough here to show that a second UFC title from EA is likely to be a great game, but this one just needed a bit more time in the gym.