EA SPORTS UFC 5

UFC 5 surpasses its predecessor in most of its sections and is a title that 100% meets what MMA fans expect.

Ultimately, UFC 5 is in an interesting space – it’s a sports sim that also holds appeal for casual fighting fans. While not perfect, this is the best rendition of the sport to date, and a great launching point to take the series in exciting, new, more narrative-driven directions.

A really good simulator, with several improvements in both graphics and gameplay. The technical section is excellent, with maniacal attention to detail, while the gameplay is fluid and the combat system quite solid. The content offering is also top notch, especially the new online career. It will certainly satisfy lovers of mixed martial arts.

While not a particularly significant leap over its predecessor, EA Sports UFC 5 nonetheless tightens up and improves the series' fighting mechanics, while offering an expansive roster of fighters, and a nice selection of modes. Punchy.

UFC 5 is a must-buy for fight fans and an easy entry point for newcomers to get into the action.

UFC 5 really succeeds in giving players the visceral feel and impact of MMA fighting while providing a solid set of modes that will keep players engaged for a good amount of time. Sadly there are a few missed opportunities and I feel like more casual fans will drop off quickly as a result.

UFC 5 is EA Sports' most ambitious bid to date. After a hiatus of almost 3 years, the best Mixed Martial Arts category returns to the next generation consoles, but it's not all roses, as the game is very good in most areas but fails in the most important little things.

Having watched UFC and MMA for many years, making sure I catch every main PPV I possibly can, and met a handful of fighters, I really enjoy watching the competition, and what UFC 5 does so well is recreating the brutal sport. Being accessible enough for those that want to simply stand and bang by button mashing, to the hardcore fans that want to showcase their submission skills online, UFC 5 is the latest contender to enter the octagon, being as real as it gets, though can feel like simply a prettier UFC 4 at times.

EA Sports UFC 5 successfully grapples with the challenge of enhancing an already dominant franchise in the MMA gaming world.

After a fairly great entry in UFC 4, EA Sports returns with another stellar entry in its fighting series. The addition of a deeper impact system, changes to the submission system, and new striking mechanics make UFC 5 not only more fun to play, but just as thrilling as its predecessors have been.

UFC 5 is the strongest MMA game ever released, and I’m excited to see where the team takes it online. But if you’re not interested in fighting other players, there’s probably not enough meat in the career mode to fully recommend it right now.

The thrill of the fight is fantastic in UFC 5, with improved visuals and animations, and gameplay that elevates fights to a new level.

UFC 5 is fun to play, looks great, has a ton of fighters, though the career mode is a glorified tutorial. If you love the sport this seems like the best one yet, and should be well worth checking out.

EA Sports UFC 5 is the best game in this sport. The new graphics engine has brought new life to the series, but otherwise not much has changed in the three years since the last game was released.

UFC 5 really just doesn’t have enough enhancements to make the game a worthwhile purchase for most gamers. For a game that comes three years after its predecessor, I expected a lot more. I loaded up UFC 4 after playing UFC 5 and it really felt just about the same. The graphical downgrade in UFC 4 was noticeable once I saw fighters up close and especially in career mode cutscenes, but that is about the only thing that UFC 5 does better than UFC 4. The gameplay is still just as good as UFC 4, but UFC 5 is just too much of the same overall. Hardcore fans of this series will benefit the most from UFC 5, but I know hardcore fans wouldn’t even be reading this review – they already have the game and are happily playing it and could care less about what I have to say. For the rest of us though, UFC 5 just feels like a mediocre upgrade that isn’t really worth its asking price.