EA Sports UFC 5, as its name implies, is the fifth game in a franchise that has enjoyed moderate success in the world of fighting games, despite being quite unique among them. It's exclusively a new generation game and can currently only be played on consoles, with no PC version available.
It's a game that, of course, is a must for those who are passionate about the sport. However, it didn't seem very inviting to those who don't have much knowledge of either the sport or the gameplay itself.
I can't say I'm new to the genre as I've played a few games in the franchise many years ago, but I didn't remember much about the game. The first thing that strikes me about the game is its graphics. When you control the real fighters (of which there are many), it's very impressive.
Very cool look
Visually, some of the fighters are not so similar to what we have in reality, and this is very common, EA Sports FC is there as a witness. But even so, when you look at the textures of the characters, the way their bodies get sweaty, the way one fighter reacts to the other's blows, it's all very nice.
But that's a bit of a mouthful, isn't it? After all, this is something that has always happened: games have a habit of being very beautiful. So, in this sense, being a new generation game, I confess I was expecting a little more, after all, the game was already visually incredible. But let's face it, it's not an easy task to improve on what was already very good.
Game modes
EA Sports UFC 5 has 4 different game modes, which offer slightly different experiences: Fight Contract, Fight Now, Career and Online. In order of complexity, the Fight Now and Online modes are classic wrestling modes. In the case of Fight NowWe chose the Arena, the fighters and, finally, we fought.
Online
The way online is similar, but with a little more complexity as it has a few other game modes. In online careerYou play against other opponents online, evolving your athlete in the process. There is official championshipsin which we face other opponents in ranked fights.
We have the blitz battlesin which we play shorter matches, but with rules that are constantly changing. Other than that, we have the classics quick fightwhere you face random opponents and climb the leaderboards, and the mode where you invite friends to play.
Singleplayer
There is the fighting contractsin which you have the chance to complete daily fight contracts (which are fights against specific opponents) and thus receive various rewards.
And last but not least, we have the career. This is perhaps one of the biggest attractions of the game for many players. This mode is the most similar to the game's story mode. In it we create our character and accompany him from the start of his professional career to the glory of success.
In this mode, contracts are equally important because it's through them that we get new fights, and thus fame and money. For those who don't know as much about the gameplay as I do, this mode is important because it contains most of the combat tutorials. I confess that the tutorials were the most boring part of the game, but they will give you a lot more knowledge about the game mechanics.
When we sign a contract, we define how long we are going to prepare, and according to this duration, the more we will spend on the training center. In the time before the fight, we can use social media to increase the hype about the fight, watch videos of our rivals to prepare better and invite other fighters to train specific moves.
What's the gameplay like?
Well, getting into the gameplay, we have what is common in almost all fighting games: square and triangle punches, x and ball kicks. We defend ourselves by pressing R2 when it's an uppercut, and L2+R2 when it's a low blow. However, most of the really relevant blows in the fight come from using combos. And there are many, many combos.
In addition to standing combat, there is also ground combat, which also has its own complexity and largely consists of selecting the direction using the analog sticks. Each direction you point, the character performs a different action. Each fighter has a specific fighting mode, which partially or completely changes the combat.
At the end of the day, whether you use the combos or not, everything is very satisfying, with well-done animations and impacts that you can feel. The fights take place over several rounds, but it is possible to finish a fight in the first round, which is always very enjoyable.
Is it worth it?
At the end of my gameplay, I think EA Sports UFC 5 does what it sets out to do, but it doesn't go beyond what was already expected. It's not a must-buy, and it's possible that in a few months' time, the game will arrive on EA Play. But if you're a fan of the sport and can't wait for the game to come out on the service, you can buy it with peace of mind because you'll hardly regret it.
See also:
Dead Island 2 "Haus" DLC now available
English 
Portuguese