Its Fight Night y’all! (but not THAT one)
As a noob to UFC in general I really just expected this play like a modern fighting game with some punches, kicks and grabs. I was pretty much right, but what I didn’t understand is that the grapple game in UFC felt deeper than any I had used in a wrestling game. While I can’t speak to what differences are present in UFC 6 from last year’s UFC 5; but what I can promise you is my brutally honest opinion, as is tradition.
So, UFC 6 has quite a few modes for players to pummel opponents in, there is even a story mode; which you know, let’s start there. First of all, when did we require deep narrative in sports games? I haven’t played any sports game for real since my son was born, but I remember a HUGE deal was made when Spike Lee, THEE Spike Lee directed or wrote the story for NBA 2k. I mean, ok, that’s cool but we are just shooting a ball into a hoop, I don’t need why we need a story for all that. Well anyway, UFC 6 has a narrative that wants to be deep and personal. Known as The Legacy, players will take control of Chris Carter; a decorated collegiate fighter who is trying to live up to his father’s legacy.
MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $69.99
Chris’ story feels like one that has been told in a ton of movies and other narrative. His coach, a friend of his fathers, his ultimate rival; a friend whose ambition grew beyond their friendship and onto a fast-track for a collision in the octagon. The developers even found a way to have Chris fight outside of just the sanctioned bouts as players will throw hands in the club and back alleys. This story mode actually is a tutorial and prologue that will prepare and seamless transition players into the UFC Career Mode. Honestly, I thought this was a pretty neat way to present, the whole affair felt like an intentional onboarding for the controls and core gameplay, and I am not going to lie it really helped me.
I’m not going to lie, the controls in UFC 6 are in a word; overwhelming. I mean you will literally use every single button on your controller for something, whether it’s a hold, a low punch, a high kick; there is a button for everything. So, I am super thankful of the inclusion of streamlined controls. This maps punches to the X button, kicks are the A button, grabs with Y, it made it so I didn’t have to remember 80 buttons just to have one fight. For those that want the experience of using every single button on their controller though, there is the default controls and I wish you well with them.
Career mode is where I spent the most of my play time, I looked at the roster and there is a lot of folks to choose from including woman fighters. I chose to just make my own guy because I have no idea who these people are outside of seeing Rhonda in Fast and Furious and the million memes I have seen about Conner McGregor. UFC Career Mode has all the most exciting things about being a MMA fighter, you know stuff like social media interactions which amount to players choosing a response. Fitness management, because who doesn’t love going to gym, and of course training camps; look I am being facetious, I know these things are apart of the life and for what its worth, the game does a decent job of implementing it all and making players feel like they are living the live.
Visually speaking, I mean the game looks great. Its running on the Frostbite engine which already is known for its impressive visuals. The real-world fighters all look like themselves, I had some fun going to town on Randy Couture in training. His face was all kinds of messed up when I got done, which I love the tech involved to show the damage sustained from these fights. Cuts and bruises appear as time ticks on, when players have an opponent in a hold on the ground faces start to turn red and purple as they become oxygen deprived. Fights felt brutal, violent and I guess most of all realistic; I liked seeing the various styles of martial arts on display.
As a noob to UFC in general I really had a good time playing UFC 6. Coming in fresh I felt like the developers did a good job of kind of easing me into things. I do think it’s weird that the customization in this is a shadow of what is offered for players of the 2K sports games but it works. With some incredible visuals, and a dope physics engine that adds to the charm of the game, UFC 6 managed to land more punches than it missed with me. I may not be a full-on fan for life, but I will be coming back to this game to try my hands at some multiplayer.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
