EA Sports have brought the octagon to life with their first attempt in the latest in the MMA franchise.

We’ve seen UFC titles before, and we’ve had some great fun with them, but on the next-gen consoles with all the power that developers have to work with, we’re beginning to expect an experience as close to stepping in to the octagon ourselves as possible…without getting the face boxed off us.

With EA’s latest effort, they have definitely come close, and the game flows in a way that the previous incarnations didn’t, or probably more accurately couldn’t. The game has a pace to it that is enjoyable without being impossible to control, as you do need to be able to counter and get your own shots in. It’s the usual problem of difficulty balancing, and in sports games in particular striking that balance can be quite difficult.

This UFC title does seem to have found it well enough, and there were plenty of fights when we were playing where you can be on the back foot and pull it out of the bag with a spectacular strike or knock out. Given that this game uses the Fight Night engine, the strikes are pleasing and they do feel devastating when you manage to land a knockout blow. They’re not quite as glorious as the hits in Fight Night, but they look great, as does everything with this game.

The visual element to this game is really great, and from the entrances to the way that players react and move, you can tell that a lot of work was put in to that element of it. In terms of gameplay, it’s slightly different.

First off, if you’re unfamiliar with the sport then there are a lot of controls to get used to, which could be very daunting. The game doesn’t just throw you in though, they guide you through the process with an 18-step walk-through at the very start. That says it all really, and remembering all the controls that are thrown at you there is very, very difficult, considering that you have to deal with striking, countering, ground work, submission, and a whole host of other things. The best analogy is to perhaps imagine what it would be like if you had to play FIFA for the first time; you’d get the basics, and as you go on in the game you get a better grip of what’s going on.

On the other hand, that also is a part of the game and the sport, so the number of controls can’t be helped. There has been a bit of criticism over the fact that the game doesn’t lend itself to button bashing as perhaps the THQ titles did, but that is an improvement and not something to criticise it for. The submission system is more difficult, but it also demands more coordination and has an added element of realism to it.

Where the game does fall down a little is in the lack of options: you can create a fighter and go through a career, and you can do a single bout or fight online. That’s really about it, but again, using the sports game analogy, there’s little else in your average FIFA game either, and it’s still a hugely successful franchise. It’s a feature of the sport perhaps rather than the game. However, it does feel like there's a bit more work to do from here, and given EA's record they should be able to accomplish what they need to.

Overall if you’re a UFC fan, then this is one that you have to get, but if not, this game is a great gateway into the sport. You can learn the stars, you can understand the techniques and the moves, and the spectacle of the whole thing. The visual element to this game is beautiful and the online mode is fun, which is all you can ask for from a sports game.

Platforms: PlayStation 4 (Reviewed copy), Xbox One

Developers: Electronic Arts

Genre: Sports