Full disclosure — the final time I performed a UFC game Brock Lesnar was on the quilt. That was a decade in the past, and whereas I’ve saved up with how followers have reacted to every EA Sports UFC installment since 2014, I did not understand simply how clueless I used to be till I booted up UFC 4.
If you’ve got been with the collection from the beginning, you may really feel proper at dwelling with the brand new installment and spot a number of tweaks to numerous fight methods. But if you happen to’re a beginner like me, get able to bang your head in opposition to a concrete wall for the primary few hours. This game is something however pleasant for novices.
The finest strategy to discover ways to play is to neglect every little thing you’ve got ever recognized about different preventing games. Strategic aggression would possibly get you a Knockout or Fatality elsewhere, however the stamina system calls for you methodically time each strike or takedown try. If you go in with the previous mentality you may land some nice pictures, however it doesn’t matter what you may be gassed by Round 2 and be a simple goal for a TKO loss.
To the game’s credit score it appears to know this, so the second you boot it up you are thrown proper into the profession mode and undergo a prolonged but intuitive tutorial system. It’s right here you may be taught simply how dense the fight system actually is, and after hours (and hours) of trial and error, you may get the rhythm the game is on the lookout for. That’s when the enjoyable kicks in.
Unless you are trying to compete on-line, most of your time will likely be spent in Campaign Mode, the place you may stand up the ranks from preventing in parking tons and smaller promotions all the way in which as much as UFC Championship bouts. Your time spent in-between fights is all about useful resource administration — sparring, scouting, selling your fights by way of social media and customizing your fighter by spending expertise factors.
The mode presents branching paths based mostly in your relationships with different fighters and sure selections you make, however you discover out fairly rapidly that there is actually just one apparent alternative every time. Selecting choices like skipping fights will depart you in a bind, one that may typically stop you from progressing. The game may also throw within the occasional curveball (my bright-eyed kickboxer tore his ACL two fights into his skilled profession? Oh pleasure!) to try to gradual you down, however if you happen to maintain successful and prepare appropriately you will not have an excessive amount of hassle. Also, credit score to EA for placing in some work on the cutscenes. The cringe-worthy voice appearing you may discover in plenty of sports activities games is fortunately absent right here.
Outside the marketing campaign, you may discover some actual gems within the varied Fight Now modes. The Stand and Bang fights now include a particular yard setting that’s such a drastic change from the huge arenas however matches the mode like a glove. There’s additionally a Knockout Mode the place the stamina system is all however dropped as you battle in a freaking Kumite straight out of Bloodsport — full with rope gloves, golden cobra statues and a bellowing unseen announcer. You can spend a ton of time enjoying round with these modes, thanks largely to the huge roster of fighters the game offers.
As for the preventing mechanics, the overhauled clinch system makes the transition from placing to grappling pretty seamless. Once you are on the bottom the game presents a number of totally different management schemes, and the grapple help is nice for novices like me. The solely gripes are that the bottom and pound strikes do not feel like they’ve any actual impression and whereas the overhauled submission methods are enjoyable they do require plenty of finesse and infrequently favor the escapee. I received extra fights by chopping an opponent’s leg till it broke than I did with submissions.
Overall if you happen to’re a veteran of the collection, UFC 4 makes some changes you’ve got been asking for and has some new options to dive into. If you are a newbie you’ve got obtained a protracted climb forward of you, but it surely’s well worth the grind. The game would not break new floor, but it surely appears to have refined what was already there.
Rating: Four out of 5
EA Sports UFC 4 is about to launch for PlayStation Four and Xbox One on Aug. 14. A evaluate code was supplied by the writer for the aim of this evaluate, and it was performed on a PlayStation 4 Pro.
