EA Sports UFC 3

 PlayStation 4
User Score
4.2

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 297 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 84 out of 297
  2. Mixed: 65 out of 297
  3. Negative: 148 out of 297
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  1. Logi2002
    Mar 25, 2020
    5
    I had to write a review for this game as ive played it since it came out in 2018, now 2020. most peoples reviews haven't tried to put time into the game because its too boring.

    The Good Parts Ufc 3 is the Best Ufc Game Yet, Gameplay Wise. The Striking is Detailed and Competitive Ufc 3 Customisation is better than Ufc 2 and 1 The Bad Parts... The Grappling is Very boring, Even    I had to write a review for this game as ive played it since it came out in 2018, now 2020. most peoples reviews haven't tried to put time into the game because its too boring.

    The Good Parts

    Ufc 3 is the Best Ufc Game Yet, Gameplay Wise.
    The Striking is Detailed and Competitive
    Ufc 3 Customisation is better than Ufc 2 and 1

    The Bad Parts...

    The Grappling is Very boring, Even once you've learned it thoroughly and is almost a copy paste of Ufc 2's grappling with Minor Tweaks.

    Avoid Ultimate Team All together
    Ultimate Team introduced Real life fighters, which takes the fun out of what ufc 2's ultimate team was about. making your own fighter and cimbing the ranks, it makes it feel like ranked mode but your fighter has less moves, and attributes, And the Moves.... Ultimate team is made to take your money, and moves are made easily accessable with real life money, you make around 700 - 300 coins in a normal match, packs cost upwards of 5000 coins.

    The Knockout Mechanics and Physics
    the knockouts get old fast, you'll find yourself seeing the same knockouts you saw ten 5 games ago
    there is no variation and the ufc 2's Ragdoll physics were MUCH better than Ufc 3's
    in ufc 3 when you hit your opponent when he/she going down it gives you the sound effect, but doesnt actually affect them, their head doesnt move, they just follow the same pre made knockdown which takes the fun out of it. the ground and pound.. when you knock your opponent down your ground and pound punches do not vary at all, the same straight punch, every. single. fight. in ufc 2, when you knocked your opponent down (in which the ragdoll was beautiful) you could vary your punches and look like a gorilla smashing your opponent with whatever you had,

    Overall ufc 3 is headed in the right direction with the standup

    Ground game and clinch needs revamped.
    ultimate team needs to be made like ufc 2 again but made better
    Knockdowns need Major improvment, Ufc 2 did it best
    Career mode is not detailed enough and is only needed to be played around twice if you try it without HUD.
    DONT LET ANDRE WARD AND ISACC FROST BE USED IN RANKED MODE ARE YOU DUMB.

    6/10
    In some ways better than UFC 2 and in some ways Not    … Expand
  2. FrenchToast
    Apr 17, 2020
    7
    Fun game to play with friends and the career mode is overall good but the striking is way too slow and draining. It's like there's almost an input delay when you press a button and your person gets gassed after one combo. The grappling system is incredibly frustrating because there's no clear way to get out of a grapple and despite beating the career mode I still don't know how theFun game to play with friends and the career mode is overall good but the striking is way too slow and draining. It's like there's almost an input delay when you press a button and your person gets gassed after one combo. The grappling system is incredibly frustrating because there's no clear way to get out of a grapple and despite beating the career mode I still don't know how the submission system works. Anytime I was put in a submission I had to restart the match because I would automatically lose despite following the in game prompts.

    The ai difficulty curve is fantastic as long as they aren't doing grappling. Sometimes you'll have a fight that goes the distance and other times you'll win a fight with a lucky shot 30 seconds in. The controls are a bit more intuitive than 2 as well as the difficulty being much more manageable. If you're a UFC fan pick this one up.    … Expand
  3. Celiomsl
    Feb 2, 2018
    5
    Man WTF have you done with my most worth bought of my PS4? I had much more fun playing ufc 2 and ufc 1. To trow a spinning kick now I have to press R2 + L2 + L1 + X + O at same time! WTF?! I can`t remmenber 1/4 of my moves, imagine combinations! Besides the GOAT mode that SUCKS! UFC 2 I was able to play on the most dificulty level, in ufc 3 I suck on normal! I liked the new mechanics likeMan WTF have you done with my most worth bought of my PS4? I had much more fun playing ufc 2 and ufc 1. To trow a spinning kick now I have to press R2 + L2 + L1 + X + O at same time! WTF?! I can`t remmenber 1/4 of my moves, imagine combinations! Besides the GOAT mode that SUCKS! UFC 2 I was able to play on the most dificulty level, in ufc 3 I suck on normal! I liked the new mechanics like not having to catch strikes anymore and you can counterattack the kicks, but what they did with the mechanics of falling and getting up in a few knockdowns is simply unfortunate! You can not reach the opponent to the ground to end the fight 90% of the time, besides the difficulty of throw strikes now.... UFC 2 was the game that was worth buying my ps4, was the most played. But this ufc 3 you are joking with your fans. Besides that, the crap site that I can not create my GAMERFACE, its stuck in the last GAMERFACE I had done yet for UFC 2, does not load the new image after 2 days of tryings. It was not worth my 80 dollars. I do not recommend.… Expand
  4. SuperkenGaming
    Feb 6, 2018
    6
    UFC 3
    I appreciate its attempts, but its just not fun.
    UFC is a pretty bare bones game.. theres a microtransaction filled card based ultimate team mode, a fight mode both local and online, a career mode, and a create a fighter option. Career mode is one of the better career modes in a sports game, there are rivalries, and time management as youre putting your character through different    UFC 3
    I appreciate its attempts, but its just not fun.
    UFC is a pretty bare bones game.. theres a microtransaction filled card based ultimate team mode, a fight mode both local and online, a career mode, and a create a fighter option.
    Career mode is one of the better career modes in a sports game, there are rivalries, and time management as youre putting your character through different camps to learn different moves and earn perks throughout for fighting career on your path to be the greates of all time. Aka the goat as the kids would say.. There are cutscenes here and there but longshot from madden has changed the game in terms of campaign and career modes…
    so if there isn’t a real story, get this garbage out of here.
    Just kidding, its not garbage.. its fun building your character up, but still, this game is lacking substance and a proper campaign woudlve gave this game just that..
    Online here had a few hickups with lagging, but most of the time worked fine..
    But now lets dive deep into the actual mechanics.
    As a mixed martial artist myself I appreciated what the team was trying to achieve with its different systems for stand up and ground, but ultamtely found the balance here to be unrealistic.
    UFC 3 is a stamina based fighting game.. on paper that sounds great
    You have to know when to block, and know when to strike
    When your character is low on stamina they become vulnerable for a knockout, all of this is true for real fighting
    You lose stamina by missing shots or just straight up striking, no issue there.. this again forces balance.. it forces you to pick your shots… however this system is highly in favor of a defensive player like this is boxing or point karate.. which it isn’t.. this is cage fighting
    Power is going into strikes here, these arnt love taps
    It makes no sense for my character to get in dozens of unanswered strikes while my opponent just absorbs them all and im now at the disadvantage for using up all of my stamina…
    Being hit with a clean strike should effect opponents stamina as it does in an actual fight
    But it doesn’t, their stimana is only effected when theyre striking back
    I am happy with the detail put into the stand up game though, youre able to move your head with the right stick, switch stance at any moment, every character has their own move set to stop them feeling completely the same even though at the end of the day.. every character handles identically.. slight alterations in their move sets do give the fighters a bit of personality..
    This fighting system is not beginner friendly though..
    It takes a lot of memorizing combinations and commands for roundhouse, front kick, side kicks, jab, uppercut , if youre going to strike with lead, if youre going for body or head when you hold down a certain shoulder button.. it takes practice and then you have to learn to balance the stamina..
    What im not happy with though is the ground game…
    its just not fun, it’s a game of stopping transitions and positioning yourself to be able to attempt a submission which takes you to a mini game of blocking escape attempts and flicking the left stick before your opponent to get to the next step of the submission, but there is thankfully a setting to turn it into a button mashing game, or a stand up only knock out mode if youre against ground game completely… but there is also submission only if you want to play around with the confusing mini game that is the ground game here…
    UFC 3 has promise with its attention to detail…
    but its stamina system needs balance that favors offensive and defensive players equally and a nice story mode wouldn’t hurt either.    … Expand
  5. Calitoris
    Feb 1, 2018
    7
    Striking is hit and miss (70% hit) but there are times when you try to throw and uppercut and end up throwing a leg kick (uppercut is two buttons at once) even with that being said stand up has improved immensely. Ground game is still OK and not great. You can get pinned down until you die basically still with relative ease. I believe the game will be a great game with future updates likeStriking is hit and miss (70% hit) but there are times when you try to throw and uppercut and end up throwing a leg kick (uppercut is two buttons at once) even with that being said stand up has improved immensely. Ground game is still OK and not great. You can get pinned down until you die basically still with relative ease. I believe the game will be a great game with future updates like the last two. KO's look a little goofy still, but overall the best start to a UFC game there has been… Expand
  6. Tkolive
    Jan 30, 2018
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gameplay - has improved vastly Striking is much better, Stamina management much better, Damage system much better. Ground game remains the same with a few minor tweaks with quicker gates etc.. 8/10 for gameplay**

    Ultimate Team - No longer able to create a fighter and take online the way you would want without opening packs to find the correct match that suits your play style... microtransactions need i say more UT-4/10**

    Career Mode - Completley flawed and falsely advertised all the critic reviews baffle me giving this mode a good score.

    There is no presss conferences or weigh ins just a couple second cut scences, the rival system is completly flawed you are locked in with your rival every contract so say if you get a contender contract (Goals - 5 fights, break into top 15) you can lose your first four fights of that contract but will still end up fighting the 15th ranked guy on your last fight, if you win this youll progress to next contract top contender (5 fights - break into top 5) as stated above you can lose all four fights of that contract but youll still end up fighting the number 5 guy on the last fight, if you win that last fight youll progress to champion contract, you get the jist! Makes no sense and makes 90% of career mode fights pointless yes youll lose longetivty if you lose but you shouldnt be fighting the 15th or 5th ranked guy after a 4 fight losing streak
    ...

    Its all far too scripted rivals are also locked in to the same weight divisions - Travis Browne for top 15 HW - Overeem Top 5 HW etc.. So there is no replay abilty unless you obviously start career with a different weight class but even still only 5 fights really matter in your career and thats the rival fights making the mode pretty much pointless there is no climbing up or down the rankings rather a very linear story with you must beat the "rival"/boss fights to progress to next stage..

    Champions in each division also stay the same throughout so you will have a 45 year old connor mcgregor to fight on your lightweight career or a 55 year old micheal bisping in middleweight (yet to be updated to Robert Whitaker)

    The mode was advertised as deep and immersive but lacks in all those departments...

    Yeah training varied gyms are nice but there all 30 second - 1 minute activities.

    Yeah in game social media is cool but tweeting the same thing over with no real meaning is pretty boring.

    Overall very disappointing Career Mode 2/10**

    Roster - Missing alot of key fighters - Mike Perry, Colby Covington, Josh Emmnett to name a few but still a good amount in game plus DLC will fix this Roster - 7/10**

    Overall - For a game that has been 6 years in the making with 2 year devolopment gaps unlike other sports titles they have still lacked to make one deep, immersive career mode for offline players, adding snoop dogg to knockout mode is fun but its a gimmic and how much of the budget was spent getting him in when basic fundamentals like grappling and a good career are broken? The false advertising of press conferences and weigh ins is a trick one that i hope many looking for a good sports fighting career mode dont fall for. There seems to be an awful lot of copy and paste of models from UFC 1 (6 years ago) same refs, same ring girls, presentation, tale of the tapes, fighter models.

    Unfortunatley a triple A Game with Triple A price but the gameplay is the only thing vastly improved suppose we will have to wait another two years, unless you like Ultimate Team and mico transactions.

    Overal 5/10***    … Expand
  7. MaxPayneIsGod
    May 17, 2022
    7
    I really, really like UFC 3, but there are some huge issues with certain aspects of the game.
    I've put a lot of time into Career Mode and feel that I have enough experience with the game to voice an opinion.
    As a whole the game is really solid, it looks good and there are plenty of game-modes to keep everyone busy. Where the game lets itself down is the AI. I understand how damage,    I really, really like UFC 3, but there are some huge issues with certain aspects of the game.
    I've put a lot of time into Career Mode and feel that I have enough experience with the game to voice an opinion.
    As a whole the game is really solid, it looks good and there are plenty of game-modes to keep everyone busy.
    Where the game lets itself down is the AI.
    I understand how damage, stamina and stats work but some of the things that the AI does is simply superhuman. I don't care how good a certain fighter is in the real world but when they are rocked twice in quick succession and knocked down they are not going to be able to whip out an arm bar from the bottom position when you are at near full stamina.
    It feels like the game was almost ready but EA or maybe UFC demanded it be released without that little bit of polish that it needed.
    Some of the physics are kind of janky too, the collision detection at times is all over the place, but again, on a whole the game is really good.
    Its a technical fighter, almost a strategy game where you need to think and pick your punches. Its nothing like the cartoony violence like MK or SF. The blows are brutal and the damage is visceral. You can really feel the hits.
    Overall, there is a really good game here if you want to put the time in and work past the AI inconsistencies. I'm going to keep playing, because there's nothing else out there like it and I am looking forward to UFC 4. I just wish people would stop moaning about it like they do, its pretty cheap now on PSN and if you're a UFC fan you really owe it to yourself to give it a go. 7/10    … Expand
  8. ProNoob
    Nov 4, 2018
    5
    Career mode is ok, but once you win the belt it's repetitive, pointless and done with.

    Online ranked is the best mode. UT has been stripped of giving you a created CAF and you have to grind like mad to get one, but apart from that it's typical EA pay to win garbage. Quick fight etc are all...fine. Coming from previous games it isn't really all that different. Ground game is    Career mode is ok, but once you win the belt it's repetitive, pointless and done with.

    Online ranked is the best mode.

    UT has been stripped of giving you a created CAF and you have to grind like mad to get one, but apart from that it's typical EA pay to win garbage.

    Quick fight etc are all...fine.

    Coming from previous games it isn't really all that different. Ground game is almost identical, and I enjoy the ground game, but they could have updated it as it's nothing new and not very fluid. Undisputed got it way better and it was way more fun.

    Stand up has improved as you can now move and strike at the same time. Well done developers, you've managed to do something to make the game better.

    The rest of it is exactly the same as every game before it. Same skins on everyone outside the fighters, same boring crowd etc.

    Create a fighter is so outdated and lacking customisation like it's still 2000.

    It's the only MMA game we have, but man is it unoriginal and bland.

    Let the franchise go to a development team that have imagination as you guys clearly don't.    … Expand
  9. mattyhat1
    Feb 9, 2018
    5
    Registered onto Metacritic just to say this. The previous UFC game was great and I played it only for the ultimate team mode. This new UFC 3 game has changed ultimate team in a terrible way. For example, to just custom create a fighter you need to get a special 'create a custom fighter card' by grinding away elsewhere in the game. Utterly, utterly gutted as the new graphics , career modeRegistered onto Metacritic just to say this. The previous UFC game was great and I played it only for the ultimate team mode. This new UFC 3 game has changed ultimate team in a terrible way. For example, to just custom create a fighter you need to get a special 'create a custom fighter card' by grinding away elsewhere in the game. Utterly, utterly gutted as the new graphics , career mode etc look great. What on earth were you thinking EA?… Expand
  10. BlitZeR_95
    Aug 9, 2018
    6
    A little improvement from EA Sports UFC 2, especially in the stand-up striking but still far from a perfect UFC game. Hoping one day EA will be able to release a good UFC game.
    One major problem that still remains is that the AI seems to have infinite stamina while your stamina depletes making it almost impossible to win. Another problem is the crazy difficulty spike between matches. It's    A little improvement from EA Sports UFC 2, especially in the stand-up striking but still far from a perfect UFC game. Hoping one day EA will be able to release a good UFC game.
    One major problem that still remains is that the AI seems to have infinite stamina while your stamina depletes making it almost impossible to win. Another problem is the crazy difficulty spike between matches. It's like EA didn't bother testing it and just released the game straight away.    … Expand
  11. 613th
    Dec 23, 2018
    5
    My first game of this series. Was very excited to play the game, but carrer mode become rather boring to the middle.
    Online modes are not so good and developed as in FUT, not so many players here.
    But the fighting part of it looks pretty good to me, so it is about 510 in summary.
  12. ToshLichev
    Jun 21, 2020
    6
    Overall good gameplay and great visuals can't change the fact that this game feels like it was made by an EA Game Generator AI - empty, generic and unimpressive.
  13. 5150-Gonzo
    Sep 2, 2021
    6
    The grappling and the submission in this game are such a nightmare it will have you pulling your hair out. Be warned, the striking in this game is fantastic, everything else is absolutely horrid.
  14. Bloodnes
    Feb 16, 2020
    5
    Как и предыдущая часть, игра не залетела, не понимаю данную игру, управление, логики нет в кнопках. Исключительно для фанатов, движения в игре, как по мне, далеки от совершенства и играет напоминает больше аркаду чем файтинг. 5/10Как и предыдущая часть, игра не залетела, не понимаю данную игру, управление, логики нет в кнопках. Исключительно для фанатов, движения в игре, как по мне, далеки от совершенства и играет напоминает больше аркаду чем файтинг. 5/10
  15. drewbrees9
    Apr 29, 2020
    6
    Carreer mode is Amazing (except some inexplicable bugs) and I also like gameplay except for the submissions that are annoying and frustrating. Nice online 1vs1, but Ultimate Team is really useless and it feels like UFC 3 needs some more modes.
  16. Maurer
    Jan 13, 2021
    6
    Carrier mode is okay, online really could be better and solo mode is boring. Indeed this is a game, but powerfull strikes should deal more damage and KO should be a little easier due to how many kicks and power strikes on head oponent can take. Sadly the best way to win is to spam lowkicks. Grappling aginast AI is incredibely hard.
  17. GODvaria
    Feb 1, 2021
    5
    Это конечно та еще помойка,но по сравнению с 4ой,еще более менее дыхабельно.
  18. Davidnotavailab
    Jul 1, 2023
    7
    its pretty fun. playing it with your friends is fun, the online can be pretty fun at times, but other than that not much

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018
79
#79 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 56 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 56
  3. Negative: 0 out of 56
  1. CD-Action
    May 16, 2018
    80
    Revamped career mode is extremely enjoyable this time and the game as a whole is a step forward for the franchise. UFC 3 looks amazing, as you can clearly see the effects of trading blows – injuries, blood staining the shorts, sweat trickling down the skin. What needs to be dealt with in the next installment is the ground game, which trails way behind entertaining, dynamic stand-up fighting. [04/2018, p.70]
  2. games(TM)
    Mar 22, 2018
    80
    Brilliantly realised for hardened MMA fans. [Issue#198, p.75]
  3. PLAY! Zine
    Mar 22, 2018
    75
    After turbulent end of the last year, EA managed to release a good game in UFC 3 without many scandals. The game itself is better than its predecessor, but it still lacks a way to connect with players new to this sport. New GOAT mode is a great innovation and adds a new twist to the known career mode. Fighting, even though it’s very good, still has problems, which are already annoying the players.
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