Did EA Sports win or get knocked out?

UFC 5 Review | The new sports fighting game that all players who love mixed martial arts are eagerly awaiting. EA Sports It has finally reached all of us. previous title, UFC4, had received more than a few criticisms: What will the new iteration be like? Let’s learn together.

Enter the octagon

We start from the following assumption: UFC5 It doesn’t aim to be a classic fighting game Street Fighter or Tekken: developers’ title vancouver In fact, to all intents and purposes, a sports simulation game. It is obvious, therefore, that undue emphasis is placed on the combat system, which is the true fulcrum that determines the game’s success or failure. However, given the changing nature of mixed martial artsIt is impossible to formulate a single opinion for all three variations, the implementation of which is divided into three main stages (standing fight, clinch fight and on the ground).

Stand-up combat works, with some minor flaws. There are definitely fewer on the ground and in the clinch (i.e. where the fighters are standing). But let’s start from the beginning.

Fighting game…

Why do you stand up and fight? Works? Because it is simple and immediate, but also profound. Putting together the first effective combinations will not be difficult, but understanding when they are necessary will be much more complicated. Video game’s response to player input is fastit makes the weight of a charged blow feel like a descending punch compared to a simple straight punch. Learning curve is right: on medium-low difficulties our mistakes will not be excessively punished, which rightly happens as the difficulty increases.

Stamina management has also improvedIt was more balanced than previous games; After just one round we found ourselves with half the resistance left while our opponent was still as fresh as a rose.

…which is not always satisfactory

Now we come to the sensitive point, as we mentioned before: We VMAG We never liked the simplification of the clinch battle model. Grabbing the opponent doesn’t make our current position any clearer, leading to a sense of randomness that won’t please more experienced players.

Moreover, the “seamless” application system is, in our opinion, a clear step backwards compared to the solutions found in previous titles. (themselves were neither perfectly prepared nor extremely popular). On lower difficulties, repeat submissions are almost a no-brainer cheat code for victory: Opponents often fail to counter passes, even if they are much more experienced at grappling, leading to a quick victory when they surrender for the third or fourth time. It will be examined.

But pure ground combat has remained virtually unchanged, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Our opinion is that the ground and kick, that is, the blows given to the opponent on the ground, are slightly weakened, but this does not constitute a flaw.

When the doctor doesn’t stay away

One of the main teasers announced for this episode is definitely the medical interventions for very deep cuts on the face of one of the two fighters. Let’s face it: It’s a nice addition that can further immerse the player, but it has two main flaws. First, it is much easier to hurt your opponent than to be hurt; Second, the presence of medical interruption is so frequent as to make it impossible to reach the end of three or five rounds of the match.

If a bout does not end in a knockout, knockout, or submission, you can be sure that the referees will not make the decision because one of the two fighters (almost always the opponent’s fighter) is too cut or swollen to continue the bout. fight. A nice entrance, yes, but it needs retouching.

Being a goat isn’t that exciting

Let’s talk about what the flagship of the UFC 5 experience should be. Career mode. The system is practically the same as the first UFC EA Sports (released almost a decade ago): added some cutscenes but we’re a long way from a real story mode. Competition is almost non-existent, the social media part is minimal to say the least, and there is no “end” to the career.

Moreover, we thought it was a bit repetitive having to train so much before each match; This is very important to avoid getting penalized during fights. But even if things start to get repetitive after the third time, it’s fun to learn new moves in training with famous fighters. The main problem with career mode, as with all EA Sports UFC games: lack of bite. How cool would it be to have a little story behind the matches? We leave the answer to you.

A pleasure for the eyes

Among the extremely positive aspects, there is of course the technical side. UFC5 at least visually outstanding: Real warrior models thanks to the engine FreezingIt has extremely good workmanship, such as the graphical presentation of the arenas and the octagon. The wounds inflicted are disgustingly realistic, and the splatters and drips of blood are equally faithfully rendered.

If we then add that the fights can almost always be played at a constant 60 frames per second, we can appreciate EA’s work even more in this respect. Bugs are present, but they almost never go off: we only had to reload the save a few times in our gaming experience because it was impossible for us to continue. However, those who are completely absent accidentsat least in version PlayStation 5.

Sound is also good: The sound effects of the shots are consistent with what is shown on screen, and the soundtrack, consisting of trap and hip hop songs, is captivating and engaging.

As a result, UFC 5 brings with it many of the flaws that plague the saga as a repetitive and boring career. Despite this, the combat system and stand-up combat are a lot of fun, especially when played in multiplayer. Moreover, the challenges of artificial intelligence warrant a more than adequate challenge. Excellent graphics and sound.