UFC 2 – Do not leave KO, but the license starts to win on points

In a laden proposals in the field of fighting game year where even the Pokémon have dared to make the jump to the battles one on one, the ever versatile Electronic Arts seeks to position itself with a quite different bet than the thickness sharing games genre, it is that ‘EA Sports UFC 2’ will move away from arcade format giving way to finding a simulation system MMA will he win with the change?

‘UFC 2’ comes imbued with the treatment that gives EA Sports to their licenses: a lot of feedback from the previous game, well used and enough game modes to the player to find an experience to taste licenses. However, we face a very different approach to what we are used by the sports division of Electronic Arts.

UFC 2

Have at our disposal a range of real fighters unprecedented editor demanding characters, the graphics engine Ignite demonstrating that it is able to offer much more than a photo – realistic results and the ability to experience the thrill of fighting in the octagonal ring in all its splendor. Will that be enough to stand out from so much fighting game?

It’s time to get back into the ring

Electronic Arts is well aware that its proposal has little to do with the rest of the heavyweights of the genre of fighting, and just the letter of the game is its own tutorial, where we will add the clash between two superstars of the arts mixed martial in the revival of a fight still hot: Lawler against McDonald in the last assault of UFC 189, which can begin even while downloading the game itself.

‘EA SPORTS UFC 2’ SEEKS TO POSITION ITSELF WITH A QUITE DIFFERENT BET THAN THE BULK OF GAMES THAT SHARE GENRE

This first contact has three different objectives for the three types of players who want to get the license: those from the previous release you will see that the most mechanical of prey and submission complicated have been polished and are much more accessible and dynamic; those who have come to the game looking for a good adaptation of the fighting and fighters will be satiated their expectations and those who come to games like Tekken ”WWE ‘or’ Mortal Kombat’ will verify that ‘UFC 2’ is a completely different game.

After us with the mechanical, which incisive further down, we will overcome both game modes and the number of excuses to get in the ring: Race you Mode? Creator custom event? KO mode? Ultimate Team?

However, and although we have more than 250 fighters from different categories at our disposal, we may want to try their luck ourselves in the octagonal ring, and Electronic Arts will give us all possible facilities thanks to a prodigious editor where we can use our digitized and imported from the facial registration system EA and even sculpt, edit and tattooing our character to taste and a more than generous consignment of details that will satisfy the user more detailed image.

Beyond the crescents, explosive punches and ninjas

The first thing to be clear is that this is not the typical fighting game where health bars and special attacks define our strategy. While this sequel to the title that appeared last year inherits a mechanical based on the physical performance of the character on the technical characteristics of combat, which has its pros and cons that no sparks of colors cartwheels does not imply this octagonal ring lacks showmanship.

Wrestlers’ blood left in the ring, literally, and each blow will affect not only its appearance but also its performance and readiness for combat. Thus, if we attack forcefully ribs repeatedly our opponents will have trouble articulating movements involving that area of the body, although in this particular example we must insist many more punches than in other areas such as the thigh or head, which will affect their balance but will be better protected.

THE FACT THAT NO SPARKS OF COLORS CARTWHEELS DOES NOT IMPLY THAT THIS OCTAGONAL RING LACKS SHOWMANSHIP

The mechanical control is again the original appeared two years ago. Each of the keypad buttons activates one of our limbs while the rights triggers used to manage the protection of our character. The left trigger will serve for dodges and maneuvers as well as to activate our most powerful movements and finally the right stick is used to activate the system submissions and dams.

However, the role of each meeting is divided into four fundamental to emerge victorious in the ring factors: control bar stamina with maximum efficiency, which works in a very similar manner ‘Dark Souls’ wear out with each attack and gradually recovering; master the submissions, which are much more dynamic and accessible with respect to the first installment; dodge, protect and exploit the failures of each blow missed our rival; and bear in mind that the fighting can be very long but can be won in a few seconds with two strokes very well given.

A technical section that will leave Knock Out

We will lobby with a large panel of characters, adding more than 250 if we pool all categories offered both male and female. Of course, following the tradition of sports titles from EA Sports, the volume of personalities and licenses available is as generous as glamorous and we must recognize that even though there are similar more accomplished than others, the visual outcome remains outstanding.

The team at EA Canada follows you scandal the game engine Ignition, squeezing every texture in search of a hyperrealism that is felt with each presentation, but certainly when looking for the Knock Out where really shine physical spectacular impact, updated and recreated to the millimeter that result in realistic and believable movements that reflect the strength of each blow both textures and physics own skin, which is teetering if we make a sufficiently powerful attack.

Tremendously impressive both in its graphic section and the movements themselves, it is their system – level competitive game where we find some mechanical complications. To start the response of each action and own tessitura of each combat is much slower, which is logical because if this is a simulator Mixed Martial Arts is normal to drop a quick free or give a roundhouse kick to the third assault our character does not offer the same smooth and instantaneous reaction showed at the beginning of combat.

YOU WILL NOT FIND A GRILL BALANCED CHARACTERS. SOME FIGHTERS ARE WELL ABOVE AVERAGE AND OTHERS HAVE IT MUCH HARDER.

However, as happens when selecting soccer teams ‘Fifa’ or basketball in ‘NBA 2K’ there are fighters who are second to none and others, against another user on an equal footing, have almost no chance to win. In ‘EA Sports UFC 2’ you will not find a balanced grill characters, but fighters with statistics well above the average and others that will be much more difficult.

You will be left over to fight excuses

Although we can fight with a tremendous amount of selectable add that we believe in ourselves, what really brings variety to ‘UFC 2’ are its game modes. In this sense, he noted the first installment and offers an extensive range of options both online and offline for that we make the most of every battle and we improve as players while we improve our fighters.

The career mode returns much more worked, giving us the ability to bring our character to the top, and options online competition will continue to offer the fastest and most direct way to deal with other users and implement our acquired skill.

However, these modes remain somewhat decaffeinated against the new title. The KO mode voids submissions and grips, which will return the game to a much more arcade, direct and aggressive system. Mode Custom Events offer us the possibility of recreating an event to our liking by choosing the most emblematic places, hiring arbitration figures and adjusting the details of combat that once everything is ready, take control and start the show. There is even a way where we can recreate and participate in actual combat predictions of the ‘UFC’ rewarding players who match the results.

But the way details and pampering have received has been the ‘Ultimate Team’, which is released in the series in this issue and allow us to create our own team of fighters and empower them based training and cards that can be purchased with currency in-game or real if we prefer. In this case, the letters represent physical improvements, attributes, passive skills, movements, training and even special cards that offer great skill attacks based on the hits of the stars of the octagonal ring.

The first round was warm, but the third will be decisive

This second installment of ‘UFC’ comes ready to show that it has taken note of all the weaknesses that were in the first, but will maintain more profound experience of simulator Mixed Martial Arts, which ends up resulting in offering the experience closer to the actual fighting ignoring the fact that no need to resort to energy bars, attacks fantasy or a plot that somehow involves world domination.

‘UFC 2’ NOW IS MUCH MORE THAN A COLLECTION OF LICENSES LEGENDARY MARTIAL ARTISTS AND GUESTS

However, despite that extends the gameplay experience and get astonish outstandingly in its visual aspects, the game continues limping on two of the basic aspects to be competitive: the players are not balanced and control, although simple and very simplified well, it is not sufficiently fluid and varied. This means that ‘UFC 2’ is much more accessible than the original appeared two years ago, but still have to polish your gameplay options if you want to be measured with ‘Street Fighter’, ‘Super Smash Bros.’ or ‘Tekken’ when expanding their user community through its online modes.

Not that it’s unplayable, quite the opposite. It is a game that perfectly recreates the struggle, passion and wears every star in the octagonal ring. The license does not want to compete with the formulas of technical mechanical balanced and systems arcade development of most games in the genre. However, this second installment shows that the ‘UFC 2’ now is much more than a collection of martial licenses and legendary guest artists.

‘EA Sports UFC 2’ is a title of obligation to the hardcore MMA purchase, but now it’s up to EA Canada take notes for this experience goes beyond that audience. Did you get in an alleged third installment?