Being a dedicated fan of mixed martial arts (MMA) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for over a decade now, I’ve tended to gravitate to anything that melded worlds together for my entertainment – in this case the adaptation of MMA and video games. My first few MMA video game experiences weren’t all that memorable as the games themselves were definitely lacking the essence and skill that one would expect from something in the genre. Then Yukes and THQ joined forces with the UFC to produce the “UFC Undisputed” series for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles. I became hooked with each subsequent and, most importantly improved release; resulting in many memorable moments and the feeling for the first time since I was a kid spending hours playing “Mortal Kombat II” that I was an unstoppable force behind the sticks.
EA’s first foray into the world of MMA was considered a minor success with “EA MMA”. Featuring fighters not contracted by the UFC, EA MMA tried to produce a game that blended the control scheme of its “Fight Night” series into the digitized world of MMA. The results were mixed at best; leaving some players put off and disappointed. So there was a certain level of trepidation when it was announced EA would be creating the first UFC game for the eighth generation simply titled “EA Sports UFC”. The demo provided a good glimpse into what to expect, only for gamers to discover how barebones the actual release proved to be. EA’s first attempt played like “EA MMA” with the “Undisputed” control scheme that just didn’t blend well for some reason. While updates made the game better, by the time “EA Sports UFC” reached its potential gamers had moved on.
EA promised to have listened to gamers, looked to improve on almost every aspect from the original, and even gave fans of MMA games a chance to experience some things never seen in a MMA game. After being somewhat underwhelmed with the initial release of “EA Sports UFC”, I came into the sequel with a sense of apprehension and, to a certain extent, an expectation for disappointment.
Did I Complete “EA Sports UFC 2”?
Unlike the first EA UFC game, “UFC 2” provides a good amount of things to entertain one’s self with both online and offline. After completing the mini-tutorial where the player takes control of Robbie Lawler to finish a digitized version of his incredible Welterweight Championship defense against Rory MacDonald during “UFC 187”, “UFC 2” introduces the amount of variety one can take part in including “Career Mode”. Like many career modes in the past, “UFC 2” allows for the player to create his or her own fighter – with the ability to have a female career this time around – and fight to the top of whatever division of ten the player chooses. There are also a pair of online modes featuring the journey toward championship glory, “Ranked” competition and “Ultimate Team” mode; with the latter focusing on building a stable of created fighters to take on other players who have created everything from digitized versions of themselves to hulking, tattooed monsters (usually you’ll see more of the latter).
Almost everything “UFC 2” has to offer is associated with a trophy/achievement – giving the player an incentive to test out everything EA has provided with this iteration. As of this review, after four or so dozen hours of playing both offline and online, finishing Career Mode, grinding in “Ultimate Team”, and creating my own fighters, I found myself patiently waiting for those final few card packs connected to actual UFC live events to come into my possession so I could have a stockpile of cards and attain the last trophy necessary to gain that platinum trophy. Thanks to a couple of online victories in the recently added “Live Events Competition” mode to compliment the offline “Live Events” mode I was able to achieve platinum status.
Did “EA Sports UFC 2” Live Up to the Hype?
It’s hard to exactly pinpoint how things went wrong with the initial release of “EA Sports UFC”. The gameplay, while fun, was too floaty and loose at times. Pre-patch glitches were numerous. And, for some reason, EA didn’t find it important to include enough modes to keep both offline and online gamers occupied for months on end like its spiritual ancestor “UFC Undisputed 3” provided. Developers promised to have listened to its fans and worked toward producing something greater than everything that came before it. While in ways the developers did live up to their grandiose claims, they also fell short in certain areas. Case in point – the gameplay itself. Attempting to evoke the spectacle, emotion and unpredictability of MMA fighting, “EA UFC’s” initial gameplay felt like “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots” as players could utilize the same power punches and kicks over and over again with little problems. The grappling system, while similar to the “Undisputed” games, lacked a certain tightness and surety with everything it did; leaving characters flailing with half, incomplete motions. “EA UFC 2” looked to tighten, change and even rid some of the problems in the game’s core system. When it comes to standing up and throwing down (with fists and feet, not takedowns), “EA UFC 2” is worlds better than its predecessor – which is impressive when fighting on the feet was the previous game’s strongest asset.
The biggest problem with the previous “EA UFC” when it came to standing and “banging” was also what hindered “EA MMA’s” stand-up performance: a lack of power behind the strikes. Unless it was a thunderous roundhouse kick or jaw-cracking uppercut, strikes in “EA UFC” felt, looked, and even sounded weak. That is not a problem in “UFC 2” as each strike landed feels incredibly flush and satisfying (though there can be a time or two when it appears a punch or kick hits, but the game, for some reason, doesn’t register it landing). One of my favorite weapons when it comes to fighting games from the sports world like MMA and boxing is the jab. In “EA UFC”, the jab proved to be a mostly ineffective tool that was easily outdone by power strikes. That is not the case in “UFC 2”. Working behind the jab can stop power shots, set up bigger strikes, and be parried without a great risk of a player being knocked out by a single counter strike like an opponent would if someone stopped, say, an errant superman punch. The ability to counter is also greatly improved in this iteration thanks to the adding of more movement in the game. Players can not only parry by blocking (which too has been improved by making the right bumper and trigger as the block buttons for the head and body respectively) and tapping one of the strike buttons at the same time, but also bob & weave, lean & slip in the same manner as a boxing game. The fluidity of these movements adds a level of depth players thought would be a part of the last game, but just never came into fruition.
Tying into the improved stand-up portion are knockouts. The first “EA UFC” game featured abrupt, unimpressive KOs aplenty. Though there is a good chance for stunning, quick finishes, those usually only come from being competent in how to effectively move the fighter & counter strike, or the opponent just goes crazy and doesn’t reserve their stamina. The brutality that comes from landing a perfect knockout blow is incredibly varied and, at times, unpredictable in the best way possible – definitely evoking the same emotion one would get watching the real thing and seeing something like Anderson Silva knocking out Vitor Belfort with a front kick and watching “The Phenom’s” body lifelessly collapse.
As much as one can praise a single facet of “EA UFC 2’s” gameplay, one can’t but be a little disappointed with the other – in this case the grappling system. The previous game featured “EA Sports UFC” adopting “Undisputed” grappling system built on quarter-stick turns via the right analog stick. For some reason, the grappling in “EA UFC” just wasn’t as intuitive as its inspiration. Rather than improve on the system or even utilize the grappling style seen in “EA MMA” featuring one-button presses, “UFC 2” sees a simplifying of the system where all the player has to do is hold the right analog stick in one of four directions. Thanks to the HUD, the player is told exactly what position in the clinch or on the ground their character will move to if the gamer goes left, right, up or down with the right stick. While it definitely makes things easier and smoother than the last game, the grappling in “UFC 2” becomes less of a chess match and more of a game of chance as completed transitions might not be effective as the opposition somehow wins the “race” to a better position. The windows for blocking and/or reversing transitions vary and can be hard to get a handle on; especially in the online realm.
One aspect of the gameplay that features little to no change is the submission system. In the “Undisputed” series it was about button mashing and trying to move in a circular motion. “EA UFC” introduced the “Gate” system where the fighter on the losing end of a submission would have to move the right analog stick in various directions in hopes of attaining freedom while the player initiating the submission would try to match their opponent’s direction while waiting for a prompt to move the left analog stick in a certain direction to advance the positioning and effectiveness of the hold. There are several variables that make submissions effective in the game including character’s attributes, stamina and the power level of the intended submission. But the system itself still feels flawed and rigid in execution. Average to very good players will, most likely, find submissions rare against higher levels of competition both against the computer and real opponents. Like the ground game, it’s hard to find a satisfying way to implement submissions into a game like this that will appease the majority (not even “Undisputed” got it right on its first two tries).
But having entertaining gameplay will only keep a game fresh in players’ minds for a short time. Unlike “EA UFC”, “UFC 2” provides several modes to give the player an incentive to play the game for days on end. First there’s the aforementioned Career Mode where a player can take either a created character or a real UFC fighter through the ranks in hopes of not only winning the World title, but also putting off the curse of age and wear & tear fighters all know as “retirement”. Unfortunately, Career Mode is as barebones as one can get. The only thing that makes Career Mode worth playing is the action itself. Depending on the level of difficulty chosen (including “Adaptive AI” where the computer grows stronger and more aware of the player’s skills as he/she moves gets closer to main event status), Career Mode can be a thrilling experience bell to bell that can feature truly impressive opponents and fights. Sadly, it’s everything else about the mode that is lacking. Other than doing training sessions by completing the same “Skill Challenges” one can complete in a separate “tutorial” in the menu, there’s nothing else. There are little things meant to make Career Mode dynamic like shortened training sessions, boosts in popularity (the only thing that can push back the bar that visibly represents just how close a fighter is to retiring), and the “Fighter Challenge” (optional challenges for specific fights such as “Land 20 shots from the clinch in one round” that reward you more fans). These additions don’t add much to the longevity of Career Mode.
Also for offline players is the new “Knockout Mode” – which is exactly what it sounds like. Players can pick two fighters to stand up and go to war (no grappling allowed) in the UFC version of “HORSE” where each character has a specific number of bars representing one’s health. With each significant shot comes a dwindling of the bar until one character is in a fetal position. “Knockout Mode” is a fun “party” mode where friends can sit around and see who goes down first. Why “Knockout Mode” wasn’t offered online is beyond comprehension as it would’ve been incredibly fun online just as much as it offline.
And then there’s the online portion of the game. Not shocking, “Quick Play” and “Ranked” online modes return with the latter focusing on a player not only winning titles, but also moving up numbered divisions where the higher the division the harder the real-life competition (most of the time). Connections and finding fights are usually strong and easy respectively; though I’ve witnessed a few laggy encounters including one that resulted in me losing my title. The biggest addition to “EA UFC’s” online offerings is “Ultimate Team” mode. “Ultimate Team” allows the player to create up to five fighters to battle other online competitors with the intent of moving up the leaderboard, earn coins and become a champion. Similar to “Madden” and “Fifa’s” “Ultimate Team” modes, “UFC 2’s” version features the usage of cards to advance the player’s team. But since the player doesn’t earn characters with these cards, EA opted to give out moves, attribute boosters and fitness enhancements – the latter due to the addition of a “Fitness” bar that depletes with each fight.
But the crux of “Ultimate Team” is a “pay-to-win” mentality that comes with micro-transactions. Coins earned via fights are essentially meaningless without buying points with real money to purchase move packs. Thankfully, packs are offered when one levels up their team and/or participates in “Live Events” mode (a fantastic, pseudo-fantasy UFC mode where the player is allowed to “bet” on upcoming events with the potential of winning card packs depending on who walks away with the victory and in what way during the next UFC event). But to get those real good moves you have to either be a psychic with your “Live Events” picks, dominant in “Live Events Competition” mode, racking up “Ultimate Team” wins and leveling up like crazy, or spending extra money on a game that you’ve already purchased. Why the lowest priced pack featuring nothing but low-tier moves and boosts couldn’t be a “coins only” purchase just shows how greedy game companies can be nowadays. (Patch 1.07 Note: Thanks to the latest patch at the time of this review players can purchase one special pack at least once a week featuring moves, fitness boosts and “Fighter Showpieces” that when collected in full provide “epic” rewards for free. This is a great help for starting players and those who don’t have the time to grind a single mode)
There’s also a terrible limiting in “Ultimate Team” when it comes to the available divisions. While every UFC weight class is represented in the game, “Ultimate Team” fighters can only participate in one of four divisions (Heavyweight, Middleweight, Lightweight or Women’s Bantamweight). It’s disappointing that a majority of the weight divisions aren’t available in “Ultimate Team”. While the mode is fun simply because you usually aren’t fighting overall 100 level created fighters like you would in “Quick Play”, it’s still incredibly flawed due to a system built on micro-transactions and limitations.
Other than “Custom Events” mode (where you can create and play your own custom fight cards) and the obvious exhibition, there’s nothing else when it comes to the mode offering in “UFC 2”. Create-A-Fighter is worlds better in this game than the last due to the ability to morph a fighter’s face as well as utilizing the “Game Face” upload interface. Though not as in-depth as a WWE game, “UFC 2’s” CAF system is really good. The graphics, which were a highlight in the last game, are somehow better this time around; especially when it comes to the created fighters when put side-by-side with real fighters. The animation can get a little janky at times with clipping and unbelievable falls, but nothing close to the ridiculousness of “EA UFC”.
The commentary courtesy of Joe Rogan & Mike Goldberg has the tendency of getting repetitive if you play a lot, but is, arguably, better than most sports games going today. While my time with “EA UFC” was mostly fun for a short time, its sequel provides a memorable experience that didn’t leave me disappointed and still has me coming back for more.
Should You Play “EA Sports UFC 2”
MMA video games are a strange beast being unlike any other fighting game in the genre. Thanks to the complicated nature of the sport in general, MMA games prove to be more for the dedicated and willing whom usually are knowledgeable fans. “EA Sports UFC 2” looks to negate some of those accessibility problems that have plagued previous MMA games including its predecessor to mixed results. Gameplay modifications have produced overall improvements to what happens inside the virtual octagon, but the other means of keeping things fresh and interesting fall short of reaching the promise of what would’ve helped the bell-to-bell action. “Knockout Mode” is only available offline. “Career Mode” is somehow just as, if not shallower than the last iteration. “Ultimate Team” mode is based less on skill and more on chance with the implementation of randomized card packs and micro-transactions. While “Custom Event” and “Live Events” modes are great additions, they don’t make up for the most highly promoted modes being incredibly underwhelming. Thankfully the strength of this game is in its gameplay, producing the type of fun one would’ve hoped for while playing the latest UFC game following the pinnacle of MMA gaming – the “Undisputed” series. For all of its flaws when it comes to modes, “EA UFC 2” gets the gameplay mostly right and is definitely a good time when you’re focused on simply fighting either offline or online, or both.
