Playing on PS4, performing these moves required a combination of a shoulder button and square for the back fist, or triangle for the Superman punch. Suffice to say, they became staples of my repertoire, even after adding some leaping Muay Thai knees and leading uppercuts. Two of the first moves I unlocked for my fighter were the spinning back fist and the Superman punch. The seconds it takes to recover feel like an eternity when in the ring with Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Minotouro Noguiera, or Daniel Cormier, who will press that advantage.Īs realistic as this aspect of the game is, there are also moments where the game tries too hard to be realistic, which can shake you loose from the immersion you may have experienced. The stamina bar for your fighter, looming overhead at the top of the screen, might be the single most important factor in each fight if you become gassed, there’s almost nowhere to run in the cage. You also can’t spam moves, even if your opponent seems susceptible to one or another. Knowing what parts of the body to focus on (and when) are a critical part to any MMA fight, and the feedback in UFC 3 does a stellar job of telling you what is going on moment to moment. You can also see how close you are to potentially “rocking” an opponent, an event that is triggered when you or your opponent are at particularly low health for a body part, and thus more susceptible to KO. Or, you might focus on blows to the head if they have a particularly weak “chin,” a new stat added this year to more accurately assess damage your noggin can take. If you notice your opponent has weak legs, you might try to TKO them by focusing on-and potentially breaking-the limb.
Keeping an eye on these health bars, which pop up upon proper impact, are also critical to your strategy. And, when you step into the Octagon to deliver those blows, it looks like an actual fight in some instances, with incredibly fluid movement, startling realistic body contortion, and accurate impact (that is reflected by both your fighter and his health bars). A larger, more customizable moveset for any created fighter helps you craft the type of combatant you want to be. Some new bells and whistles add depth to the things that worked before, but there is still a fair amount fundamentally wrong with the game-and not all of the changes introduced this year have been for the best.īuilding on one of the strengths of previous games is the striking. Everything outside of that, however, has been varying levels of disappointment, and I’m here to tell you not much has changed with EA Sports UFC 3.
In the past, with two fighters standing, trading fists and feet, the series has done a bang-up job of representing MMA. Since EA Sports took over video game rights to the UFC, they’ve had issues trying to find that perfect balance between making a fun fighting game and simulating the actual action that takes place within the Octagon.