EA UFC – does it deliver a knockout punch?

EA was kind enough to release a demo for its upcoming cage-fighting title UFC on 3 June 2014, which allowed gamers the chance to brawl it out as a light-heavyweight MMA star. Never one to miss out on free stuff, I tried the demo out on the PS4.

As a disclaimer, I must declare that I am a Fight Night fan, and the existence of this game is delaying the next-gen boxing experience I have been dreaming about since the announcement of the PS4. But, personal feelings aside, I decided to give EA UFC a fair chance to impress me.

Before I could sate my blood lust, EA presented me with a 700 page end user licence agreement that had to be signed off before I could play the game. I really tried to read the whole document in case EA hid some clause in it stating that if you play the demo, the full game will automatically be purchased and downloaded on its release date, but I gave up after 30 seconds and just clicked accept.

EA UFC

I must train

Once the admin was taken care of, you step into the cage as American Jon Jones and run through a much-needed tutorial on how to kick some ass. The control system allows for a lot of variation in your attacks, and I think UFC fans will appreciate the variety of punches, kicks, grapples, and take downs you can perform.

There are numerous trigger and button combinations which allow you to go from blocking a jab, to lifting your opponent in the air and slamming him to the mat. You will not master them all overnight, let alone remember half of them during your first match, but it is not an off-putting factor.

EA UFC

Show time

After mastering the basics, it was time to fight some Swedish guy with a beard. Being a demo, I was impressed with the game’s visuals – it looks really good – and the pre-fight cutscenes got me excited for the bout. The game is not as fluid as the latest Fight Night title, in terms of your athlete’s motion, but it is close enough and the best MMA game I have played.

My first brawl saw me bleeding profusely from the head and the detail that went into the spurting red liquid left me feeling sorry for my fighter. I almost lasted a full round, but the bearded European pinned me down and beat me to a pulp – eventually the ref had to step in and stop the fight.

This happened a couple more times, and I cursed at not paying attention during the tutorial. Eventually, after redoing the initial training level, I got into the rhythm, and delivered a barrage of blows that floored my opponent and allowed me to return the TKO humiliation.

*There is great commentary during the fight – for some reason when I captured the video it vanished.

Impressed

I was not overly enthusiastic about trying this demo out, but the bit of the game I got to play impressed me. I found myself shouting at my fighter and my opponent – a sign the game has sucked you in – and mastering the relative complexity of the control system gives you a goal to work towards. It looks good, plays well, and beating a man until he is unconscious is quite rewarding.

I have not forgotten about Fight Night, but EA UFC is a worthy replacement. EA UFC will be released for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on 20 June 2014.

Did any of you try out the UFC demo? Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments and forum.