Should you Play UFC 4 in 2022?

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I’ve been a UFC fan for more than a decade now and it feels like I’ve been playing the UFC games for around the same amount. I’ve seen the ups and the downs of the UFC games and I was entertained, but unimpressed with UFC 4 when I played it back it 2020. While the game had some fun elements and displayed some improvements it still had some of the warts that been with the UFC games since the Undisputed series. However, It’s been two years since the 4th installment of the UFC game series was released. Over the last year Xbox and EA has been consistently rolling out updates that one might argue this isn’t the exact game that dropped in 2020. Does any of that matter and should you play UFC 4 in 2022?

Lets dive into it.

UFC 4 in 2022 - Image 1 — UFC 4 in 2022 – Image 1

The Pros:

Let’s start with the good. I’ve played this game on the PS5 and the Xbox series X and damn does it run well. UFC 4 received a 60 FPS boost on both consoles and honestly it’s never felt better. The motion flows more naturally as opposed to felling like your fighter was trudging through a pool of Syrup.

Speaking on the moment the updated ground and submission system is much improved over UFC 3. Let’s be real here…It was a damn chore to submit anyone in the previous games. The submission system was so complex that anyone new to the game would ignore it altogether. You can tell that EA took a bit of inspiration from the submission system in the WWE 2k games.

The Roster:

The Roster in this game is stacked. There are about 240 fighters and each of them have their own pro and cons. Another get aspect of this large roster is that EA is consistently adjusting the fighters ratings based on what’s occurring in real life. For example, if there’s a new champion in real life then the game reflects this by upping the fighters attributes. It makes it feel like it’s a modern ongoing game rather than a two year old sports game. This is a system some other sports games should utilize. That sports game publishers can come out with games biannually and work on substantial improvements as opposed to releasing a game every year with minimum improvements.

The Career Mode:

The best mode in the game is undoubtedly the Career mode. This mode is all about progressing to be the GOAT while drumming up interest in yourself and each upcoming fight. There is a deep roster of opponents in each division to go against and each fighter has different styles. In order to overcome opponents you have to be well rounded. This mode has mini games and sparring sessions to earn skill points that allow you to level up different areas of your game. Best News is that this mode doesn’t try sucking your wallet dry with micro transactions. The mode does a great job at periodically changing things up with rivalries and learning new moves. It really prevented this mode from become boring.

UFC 4 in 2022 - Image 2 — UFC 4 in 2022 – Image 2

The Flaws:

No game is perfect so let me tell you about some of the faults of it.

One of the major flaws of the game is that to this day people still laugh at gameplay clips of this series and for good reason. This game still has moments where a fight will go into full jank mode and start doing its best exorcist impression. The game is filled with bugs especially when it comes to knockouts. I’ve experienced quite a few bugs where my fighter has an appendage that bends in an unnatural manner. While it is amusing, it does break up the immersion quite a bit.

Another flaw of the game is the lack of a story in the Career mode. The game sets up a story at the beginning of Career mode that they abandoned very quickly. Its a shame. Don’t get me wrong the narrative wasn’t great to begin with, and if you weren’t going to give us an actual story then don’t bother to pretend to at the beginning of the mode.

Overall/Should you Play UFC 4 in 2022:

Let’s answer the question though, should you play UFC 4 game in 2022? The answer is a emphatic Hell Yeah. You should Especially if you are a fan of sports games or the UFC. Despite is some ragdoll Janky Glitches this is still a hell of a good time. Taping or knocking out opponents is so satisfying. Heads up…If you want to try UFC 4 out it was a PS Plus game recently and its on EA Play. If your an Xbox gamer then your in luck because it’s also on Xbox Gamepass. Overall this game has its ups and downs and it’s flaws, but its a fun single player experience that will give you hours of entertainment. So go forth and knockout someone’s ass out.