EA Sports UFC 5 Reviews

The UFC has long been the red-headed stepchild of the EA Sports roster, as the games only come out every two years, and the last couple of entries have been pretty lightweight in terms of content. Well, EA Sports UFC 6 is here (just in time for the sport to debut on the White House lawn of all places), and this time around, EA Vancouver is promising a more muscular update.

A deeper, smarter fighting system held back by recycled systems, familiar modes, and uneven progression.

EA Sports UFC 5 successfully grapples with the challenge of enhancing an already dominant franchise in the MMA gaming world.

If EA Sports UFC came out every year, I wouldn’t feel as pessimistic about UFC 5, but after a three-year wait, this is only a serviceable attempt at best; you will only have as much fun as the people you match up with want to. Too many legacy issues are glued onto this game, and it’s such a shame that EA Vancouver doesn’t have any desire to do anything other than this odd half-live service deal with outfits.

UFC 5 is a good game, but the move to a new engine isn’t as revolutionary as it has been in the past for other EA franchises. Sure, it looks and sounds better, but I could never escape the feeling that I was just playing a nicer-looking UFC 4. If you have that game you don’t need to buy this one, you’ll enjoy your time all the same.

The EA Sports UFC series has certainly been one of their most consistent quality-wise, and EA Sports UFC 5 continues that trend. Career mode is still the core of the experience as you climb the ladder to the top, and Fight Week has a lot of potential once it launches, though how good that actually is remains to be seen. Where the series continues to shine best, though is the stellar presentation and the well-executed and authentic gameplay, which even made some improvements to the often maligned ground game, to where EA Sports can add yet another victory to the win-loss record with EA Sports UFC 5.

After a three-year wait, UFC 5 feels like a slap in the face to fans of the series. The fundamentals are there, and there are definitely some nifty features that made me go "oh, cool", like the Kumite mode being one 25-minute round with all decisions resulting in a draw, but it's hard not to feel like the only substantial change from UFC 4 is the upgraded engine. If you enjoyed UFC 4, you're going to enjoy UFC 5. But don't go in expecting a brand-new game, because this feels more like UFC 4: The Cuts And Bruises update.

EA Sports UFC 5 is more of a remaster of UFC 4 than it is a new game. This may not be a surprise to folks who are used to the annualized sports franchises from EA Sports, but UFC 5 had three years to make major upgrades since its predecessor. Most of the effort has gone into remaking the character models in EA’s Frostbite engine, making a few control tweaks, and adding an impressive cut system. However, the roster, career mode, and presentation have been copied over with little effort and in some cases left to atrophy.

EA Sports UFC 5 fulfills its premise and sets a new standard for the franchise through a huge leap in overall immersion and the debut of the game-changing Real Impact System. But the lack of attention given to other areas may underwhelm those who were hoping for something more.

A target appears on your back when you’re a long-reigning champ. No longer the enigma you once were, contenders begin studying your body of work to figure out the path to ending your time at the top. The best way to fend off would-be challengers is to continually build and evolve. Developer EA Vancouver seems to understand this because while no legitimate contenders have emerged in the mixed-martial-arts genre, EA Sports UFC 5 retools several key areas to show the franchise isn’t resting on its laurels.

While not a particularly significant leap over its predecessor, EA Sports UFC 5 nonetheless tightens up and improves the series' fighting mechanics, while offering an expansive roster of fighters, and a nice selection of modes. Punchy.

EA Sports UFC 5 is the Ultimate MMA experience of this console generation. With great attention to detail, over 300 fighters, and plenty of game modes, there is something here to enjoy for all MMA & fighting game enthusiasts.

There’s no doubting that EA Sports UFC 5 is the best representation of the sport yet, with stellar visuals and realistic animations now powered by the Frostbite Engine. There are some brilliant new features here, too, the most impactful being the gruesome injury system. For some though, the changes from UFC 4 might not quite be enough to convince them that it’s worthy of a purchase. That is of course unless they’re won over by the idea of an actual online career mode. EA Sports UFC 5 isn’t a reinvention of the series for the current-generation of consoles, but it at least has some advancements that make it somewhat compelling.