Split Decision.

Coming out to greet the media at E3 2012, Dana White announced that his organization would be joining forces with EA Sports to release a new video game based on the UFC. His excitement was contagious as he touted EA as “the biggest video game company on the planet,” and looked wide-eyed at what this partnership could possibly mean for his organization and the loyal fans of it.

Now, more than two years later, EA Sports UFC has hit the market with its debut entry into the “multi-year agreement,” but unfortunately, the game is, in many ways, a step back from the final THQ release, UFC Undisputed 3.

The most divisive part of UFC Undisputed was its gameplay mechanics, which made it feel more like a fighting game in the stand-up, yet more frustrating than anything else in the submission game. The exact opposite could be said of EA Sports’ failed attempt to craft an MMA franchise without the UFC, EA MMA, which relied too heavily on the gameplay conventions of the Fight Night series for its stand-up game, while providing solid, strategic ground gameplay. With EA Sports UFC, the team has done a great job of taking the best of both worlds to create an outstanding experience overall that is not without its faults and pitfalls.

In EA Sports UFC, each fighter possesses a unique moveset specific to how they actually fight in the Octagon. In Career mode, movesets are customizable in order to provide the most accessible experience possible. This gives each fighter a unique feel in both how they control, as well as how you must approach them once you step into a fight with them. The stand-up feels more like Undisputed than EA MMA, which is a very good thing for the majority of UFC video game fans, while the submission game has been revamped to make more sense as it plays out the struggle two fighters go through during a submission attempt/defense.

The issue with submissions is that they can end up being way too easy for the player to execute them, thanks to how tame the AI is. All the offensive fighter needs to do in order to lock in the submission for the win is block the escape of the defending fighter for long enough that they can flick the left stick in the direction prompted. This can prove to be tricky when against an unpredictable human opponent, but when facing the AI it often becomes so easy that it can often feel like a “cheap” win.

Submissions could also have used a bit more work on the presentational side of things. Once a submission is completed the same animation occurs each time for that particular submission, which is unrealistic. Every time a fighter is put into a guillotine choke he’s not going to go to sleep before he taps out, but with EA Sports UFC that is precisely the case. It would be good to see more animations to represent the various ways these submissions can play out.

Submissions in EA Sports UFC see the defending fighter use the right stick to try to push one of the sectors to the edge to escape, while the aggressor must try to block the escape while deepening the hold.

Despite the problems with the submission mechanics, EA Sports nailed the parry system, which proves to be just as rewarding as it was in the most recent Fight Night game. In fact, blocking and parrying incoming attacks not only becomes the most effective way to take on an opponent in the stand-up, but also the most enjoyable as you must try to anticipate whether your opponent will be attacking high and low, then follow a successful parry up with an effective counter strike. The damage done in counters is increased, and the impact of the counter strikes are felt through on-screen cues and controller vibrations, making them all the more satisfying.

Even though the gameplay has its strong and weak points, EA Sports and EA Canada are consistently great in the graphics department. The Ignite engine does an outstanding job of working in conjunction with the gorgeously rendered fighters to provide realistic movements in the context of each fight. Most of the fighters in the game also bear a striking resemblance to the real-life counterpart, showcasing the power of the newer consoles. This graphical prowess achieved under a new engine doesn’t come completely clean, as there have been several well-documented glitches popping up all over the internet. Luckily, these glitches prove to be quite rare.

What aren’t rare in EA Sports UFC, however, are the videos that the team put into the game in order to get you prepared for your next match. The video messages, which are meant to appear as though they are being sent directly from fighters, trainers, or personalities within the UFC to your fighter, are done to the point of overkill in Career mode. Every fight in Career mode ends up throwing at least two videos that always boil down to “Way to go, man! You’re on your way to the top for sure!” or “Keep your chin up. You’ll get ‘em next time, slugger!” They seem like a nice touch at first, but become more and more overused and superfluous as the Career mode continues. The only ones that carry any real value come from Dana White, as he can tell you what the implications of your next fight are.

While some of the presentational aspects of the game are annoying, it’s the void of single-player content that truly prevents EA Sports UFC from achieving greatness in its first attempt. The Career mode was always pretty deep in UFC Undisputed, but in EA Sports UFC, players will be stuck completing the same few minigames over and over again in order to “train” their fighter and raise his attributes before the next fight. The worst part is that more evolution points can be gained from having good fights than training in an efficient manner, so the training itself is made less important by a game that features an opening video talking about how hard and important it is to train hard for a fight. Other than the shallow Career mode, which lacks any real feeling of progression, players who hope to keep the action offline will have to settle for setting up fights in one-off battles.

Featuring gorgeous graphics and pretty excellent gameplay, EA Sports UFC is a solid foundation for another potentially great franchise for EA Sports. If the company wants to make this series a true champion, however, it will need to work on the presentation and add a lot more content to complement the already great parts of this first title. By releasing exclusively on current generation consoles, EA Sports UFC wanted to contend right off the bat, but sadly it’s not quite there yet.

Review Statement: This review is based on an Xbox One retail copy of the game purchased by the reviewer for personal use.

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