JOE has had the pleasure of playing EA Sports UFC on the PlayStation 4 for the past week, so here’s a look at how we got on inside the octagon wearing our JOE.ie sponsored shorts.
EA Sports UFC has been universally regarded as one of the best looking video games to be produced for the next generation consoles so far, and JOE really couldn’t agree more. The game is visually stunning, from the fighters to the arenas, but there are a few fairly important details that lets the game down.
Electronic Arts Canada – the same people who made the EA Sports Fight Night boxing series – and SkyBox Labs are the studios behind the development of EA Sports UFC.
This may explain why the standing game in EA Sports UFC is fine-tuned to deliver hard-hitting punches and kicks that look incredibly realistic. If you land a quick jab and follow it up with a strong uppercut you will see your opponent’s face rippling with the force, while spit, and what we assume is snot, goes flying past the screen.
Unfortunately, the game’s clinch and ground attack feels overly complicated and can often get a bit frustrating. We found ourselves knocking several shades of sh*te out of our opponents (as Conor McGregor, no less), landing head shots and body shots that would have even the strongest of strongmen doubled over in agonising pain. However, on more than one occasion our opponents would somehow manage to take us to the ground where they’d land some quick head and body shots until the ref called the match.
While there are training challenges that you can take part in to fine tune your standing, clinch, and/or ground game, we found these to be a bit too easy to complete. We managed to get black belts on almost every clinch and ground attack training drill, but all too often we had to resort to button bashing when we went to use our new found skills in the octagon.
If you do manage to take your opponent to the ground and get them into a submission hold then a mini-game of sorts pops up and it then becomes a battle of who can out wit their opponent first. An octagon shape appears on screen and it’s the defender’s job to break out of the hold by flicking the right stick, while the attacker tries to strengthen their hold by flicking the left stick. It can get a bit confusing at times and, unfortunately, it can slow the momentum of the game.
You’ll spend most of your time in the career and online modes. In career mode you have to fight your way to the top by progressing though the UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter. The game stitches video segments from previous series of The Ultimate Fighter into your career mode and while it’s a nice way to pad out the game, it does feel a bit gimmicky, as the scenes don’t really add anything to your career.
The online mode works quite well and we didn’t experience any lag or sore losers that ended a match early, which was a welcome surprise, and better yet, because you’re fighting real people and not the game’s AI there’s a lot more variety to your opponent’s fighting style.
All in all EA Sports UFC looks absolutely incredible thanks to EA’s Ignite engine and it’s an absolute joy to watch when you’re not playing – even if you’re not the biggest fan of the sport in real life. However, poorly balanced ground attack and clinch controls make the game a bit frustrating at times.
If you’re a diehard UFC fan like JOE, then you’re sure to love the game, regardless of it’s minor faults, but it might get a bit too frustrating for the rainy day gamer. At least EA Canada have created a visually stunning game that they can improve on for next year. Hopefully we’ll see a few more Irish faces in next year’s edition (that’s if new DLC doesn’t come first), such as JOE’s good mate Cathal Pendred, but for now we have been sticking to fighting as Conor McGregor.
You can pick up your own copy of EA Sports UFC on PS4 or Xbox One over on Littlewoods.ie from just €64.99. Check out Littlewoods Ireland’s great selection of video games & DVDs here.
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