PlayStation 4 Critic Reviews

Overall, EA Sports UFC 3 is the best entry in the franchise yet – but falls a bit short of being the best MMA game ever. The roster is lean on legends, which hurts the ability to do dream matches compared to games like UFC Undisputed 3. The career mode is a huge improvement over past games and the revamped bobbing and weaving system makes combat more enjoyable and intuitive. Anyone who has enjoyed past entries can safely pick up this incarnation and jump right in, while newcomers would be best served trying out prior versions to avoid being in over their head.

It’s about as complete an experience as it can be, and MMA fans will love what EA has done with UFC 3.

By building on its already strong foundation and adding meaningful new gameplay and modes, UFC 3 delivers a terrific MMA experience from top to bottom. Whether you want to play against a friend in a single bout or develop a fighter from local favorite to greatest all time, UFC 3 allows you to live out the fantasy of stepping into the Octagon like never before.

The best thing I can say about UFC 3, having not played much of the previous games and not being a fan of the sport, is that it has me constantly thinking about it – whether that’s how I need to improve my bob and weave game by using the right stick more often or planning out a Mayweather-like undefeated run on a new Career Mode save. UFC 3 is an EA Sports title that is made to attract more than just a niche, hardcore fan base of MMA enthusiasts and it’s all the better for it.

EA Sports UFC 3 is the best the series has ever looked, sounded or played and, despite a small handful of minor shortcomings, is quite simply the best UFC title to date and a very real contender for the fighting game throne in 2018.

EA Sports UFC 3 provides a staggering amount of improvements in nearly every area. EA Canada could have played it safe and iterated, but instead they overhauled major systems, addressing almost every complaint I had about its predecessors. Better striking mechanics, movement, and animations are joined by a fantastic career mode, and a whole host of additional attractions. I’ve still got a few axes to grind on submissions and AI balance, but the rest of the game is an embarrassment of riches.

More technical than both previous games, EA Sports UFC 3 also has a less linear "Career Mode". Still gorgeous, still violent, it's currently the best MMA game of this generation.

The best MMA fighting game on the market.

EA Sports UFC 3 has greatly improved the UFC striking system and the gameplay is more fluid making matches even more enjoyable.

EA UFC 3 is EA's best UFC game yet, and while there a lot of improvements, there are still some things like the ground game and the career mode that still could use some fine tuning.