I remember what a huge deal the first game based on the UFC was on the Sega Dreamcast! So with that being said, UFC video games are something I have had a very close eye on for years now. EA Sports UFC 3 as the name suggests is EA’s third attempt (well fourth if you count their non-licensed MMA game) at bringing the world of MMA to gamers.
How to Download EA Sports UFC 3
You can download EA Sports UFC 3 for your PS4 from PlayStation Store of for Xbox one from Microsoft Store. And if you like EA Sports games, you should also check out their cricket, or soccer titles.
The Game Review
EA Sports UFC 3’s biggest change is in the striking game. EA has clearly spent a ton of time on this and it shows. You can now use the right stick to dodge your opponent’s strikes before smashing them with one of your own. The striking game feels awesome and each hit feels like it hurts! The collision can be a little iffy here and there, but for the most part, the new striking system is the best gameplay improvement to EA Sports UFC 3.
Unfortunately, they have not spent as much time on the ground game and this can be frustrating. It can be very hard to know what you did wrong on both offense and defense, but especially defense. This sometimes can be frustrating, I think a better tutorial would have made the world of difference here. It is not bad, but when the striking is so much fun the ground game stands out like a sore thumb.
The main gameplay mode is the career and WOW! EA went above and beyond for the career mode in EA Sports UFC 3. You create your fighter and then try to take them to the top. There are so many decisions that you have to make and each one will have a result on your career going forward.
You pick a gym and what kind of fighting style you want to focus on like wrestling, boxing and so on. Then you have points which you can spend each week and these points will really make you think in regards to how you use them. Learn a new move, improve something, promote your fight to get more eyes on you, learn something about the guy you are going to fight are all things that can help you out.
Career mode really is a lot of fun, but as you progress through the ranks and start fighting better fighters and becoming a title contender the difficulty has a really, really sharp spike. Sometimes it feels like the AI is instantly reacting to what you do, it can almost feel like it is sometimes cheating and this is very frustrating to deal with. With just a little tweaking on the difficulty side of things and I dare say that the career mode would be perfect!
As this is an EA Sports game it, of course, has a card based game mode that is full of Microtransactions. I did not dig too deep into this, but you have to use coins to buy packs that you do not know what they contain. You can earn these coins (painfully slowly) through gameplay, but if you want to be really competitive you have to spend real-world money. Thankfully this is a side mode so you do not have to bother with it if you do not want to.
EA Sports UFC 3 is a great third entry for the series. The striking game is a lot of fun and if they work on the ground game for the next game, well that is a very exciting prospect indeed. It has plenty of game modes in addition to the excellent career (including one all about knockouts) so there is a lot to do in EA Sports UFC 3. If you love MMA, you will love this!
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Frequently Asked Questions
What gameplay overhaul did Real Player Motion Tech bring to EA Sports UFC 3?
Developed by EA Canada and released in February 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, EA Sports UFC 3 introduced Real Player Motion Tech with over 5,000 newly captured animations, letting fighters strike fluidly while moving, slip punches seamlessly, and chain realistic countercombinations.
How does G.O.A.T. Career Mode work in EA Sports UFC 3?
For the first time in the series, G.O.A.T. Career Mode combines octagon performance with outside-the-cage promotion. Between fights you choose training camps, manage gym budgets, learn signature moves, build rivalries on in-game social media, and negotiate bigger UFC pay-per-view contracts.
Which fighters and bonus modes are included in UFC 3?
UFC 3 features over 230 licensed MMA fighters across men’s and women’s weight divisions, headlined by cover star Conor McGregor, plus arcade-friendly Knockout Mode, Stand and Bang (striking only), Submission Showdown, and custom Tournament brackets with commentary by Jon Anik and Joe Rogan.
Is EA Sports UFC 3 available on PC or only on consoles?
EA Sports UFC 3 was released exclusively for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (and runs via backward compatibility on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S), without a native Windows PC port.
