What’s going on Game Marks. I’m back with my first game review on our website here. I am a big fan of the UFC Series and I figured I would share my thoughts and opinion on the newest release, UFC 4.
So for some background, I was big into the UFC games on Xbox 360 years ago, especially UFC Undisputed 2009 by THQ. EA Sports MMA was released the same year, but I never touched that series as I really enjoyed knocking people out with Forrest Griffin’s High Kicks or mushing faces with Brock Lesnar.
Fast forward to last year when EA Access came out. I had taken a little bit of a break with gaming other than casually playing NHL and some Fortnite (I know, I know), but EA Access is a no brainer. If you haven’t checked it out, do yourself a favor and take a look, it has EVERYTHING. So I downloaded UFC 3 as soon as I purchased the pass and it was love at first sight. Fortunately for me, a few of my friends also had this game so we were able to play online a ton, but my favorite part was the career mode. UFC 3’s career mode was a little bit clunky and it took a while to get from fight to fight, with all the in-between training and moves you have to learn. But let’s dive into UFC 4. On the surface, UFC 4 looks almost the same as UFC 3 but the slight tweaks they did make to this version, speaks volumes.
The Clinch
The clinch defense was something I struggled with in UFC 3. I never really knew how to get into it and how to get out of it without taking a few strikes. This years title it is way easier to get into a clinch and also to escape the clinch. They made it super simple while adding new depth to strikes and takedowns. You can clinch a guy against the cage and hip toss them into side control if you must. I like this. A LOT!
Ground Game
The default controls in UFC 4 are very different from UFC 3. There are minimal options, no transitions, just submission, get up, and ground and pound. The left stick basically tells you what is best but this is no way to win. You can turn on the UFC “Legacy Control” which adds the right thumbstick like the classic UFC controls. This adds a better dynamic with more transitions and new postures.
Submissions
Submission games have also changed. Chokes now have a WWE style submission wheel, where you must either escape by moving your bar away, or placing your bar over the top of your opponents to get them to tap. Arm and leg holds have a similar style but rather than the thumbstick, you use the triggers to move left and right to escape or make the tap. If you’re like me and could barely escape a submission in UFC 3, you will love this.
Career Mode
Ok, so like I said, in UFC 3 the career mode was a little bit clunky and it took a long time to get from fight to fight. What I mean by that is, after you complete a fight, you must train specific aspects of the fight and learn new moves by training in different gyms. If your opponent belongs to the gym you are a part of, you must train somewhere else. So if you want to work on wrestling, but your opponent belongs to your wrestling gym, looks like you are going to the boxing gym! It just took too much time and it never feels like your fighter is complete.
This year, they changed all of that. Rather than learning moves with lengthy timed sessions, you build relationships with other fighters and basically pay for them to teach you the move. For example, you choose Tony Ferguson, pay 50k, and it will tell you how to do a 6 to 12 elbow. Hit Tony with it for 200 damage and there you go, you now have that elbow in your arsenal. It’s fun and super easy!
Another aspect I feel is better is the sparring. You can select Boxing, Wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and hitting the bag. In timed 2 minute sessions, you work on one aspect and after you complete your goal it’s open spar. So for example, if you choose boxing you might have to land 5 jabs. Once those jabs are complete, during the open spar, leg kick endurance might be 45% increased. Another cool concept that doesn’t take a long time to finish.
Coach Davies is another cool part of this game. He coaches and guides you throughout the career mode and helps you make decisions. There are some fun cutscenes included before you compete for Championships and move up or down a weight class for Super Fights.
Another piece they updated is you can now reply to tweets, which affect your relationship with other fighters (which you can use to learn new moves) and also help solidify some cool fights. There are also updates about fighters retiring, which in my case, my fighter is in year 2039 and there aren’t many left on the roster.
Conor had called me out early in my career and since I replied to his tweet respectfully, we got a slot on the next card. Meanwhile, as the champ, I got called out by Jorge Masvidal to move up a weight class and fight him in a Super Fight. I responded with the cockier response and the fight was set! You can kind of control your fighters destiny. #DoubleChamp.
Arenas
So other than the classic arenas in this game such as MGM Grand, Madison Square Garden, O2, T-Mobile Arena etc., you can now play in a Mortal Kombat esque arena known as the Kumite arena. This arena slaps! The music is great, the hits sound like an old school video game and the whole background and ring are just really cool.
There is also a backyard cage with dogs barking, locals cheering and patchy grass. Another cool arena but Kumite is where it’s at this year. It’s fun to see them include stuff like this in a UFC game.
All in all I really like this game and it’s a big step up from UFC 3, even though I didn’t think that was possible. I highly recommend it if you are looking to pick up an MMA/Fighting game. The best part is, if you are unsure, you can get 10 hours free to try it before you buy.
Look for The Game Marks Podcast Twitch Channel to go live, because you never know when i’ll pop back up with some more UFC 4.
Thanks for reading! Game over, MARKS!
-Johnny Clash @jclash21
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