i ran through career mode and it got extremely tedious and samey, there's like 5 people you fight over and over, the commentators say the exact same soundbites every time, i know that's a limitation of most sports games, but it was extremely fast and noticeable when this game started repeating. the actual fights were pretty fun but honestly i barely had a grasp of what was good or bad i just kinda kept winning, probably could have turned the difficulty up though that's a little on me but still the base gameplay is a bit tedious and at a very casual level like i'm at feels way more tedious compared to other sports games. it also crashed my xbox once i closed it and that sucked. i really don't know why i played this...

This is basically the same game as the last three, but I try these every time they drop to see if the career mode has been fixed up so it doesn't fall off a cliff halfway through. There's always this moment at the mid-point, where your fighter becomes a double champ and you've maxed all your stats, and you're just too strong for everyone in the division. Round 1 knockouts are a given, so you actively try and go easy on your poor victim before they get laid out, and you're basically just handed 50-year-old variants of Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson to smack the shit out of and continue your 40-0 record.

And EVERY YEAR the end of the campaign is still just inherently bad after you become double champ. I realised after battering Islam for the 9th time in a row that they've just left everything as it was. The same terrible rivalry system that means nothing. The same awful social media mechanic where you can't just call out that one fighter you want to challenge. The same lifeless tweets where JuiJitsubabyxxx says that you have a weak chin even though you haven't even been rocked once.

The whole thing needs an overhaul with more events and fun stuff to do towards the end of your career. Hell, drop all my stats when I age. If Cowboy can spend his last years in the UFC getting eviscerated by anyone and everyone, let me become an old man who gets KO'd in one minute. HUMBLE ME, EA. PLEASE.

The fact that this game was three years in the making is a complete joke. EA have released a carbon copy cash grab as always and I resent that I gave them my money.

A few positives. The graphics do look nice and the addition of the new damage system is cool. The career mode is as enjoyable as 4's because its the exact same. The contracts are pretty fun and the online career mode seems alright. I will say that there are shades of UFC 2's combat through the impact and ragdolls but its so minimal that you wouldn't even notice it.

Now the negatives. There is nothing new at all. No new game modes, no new cosmetics and the worst of it NO NEW FIGHTERS, in fact their is even less fighters than in 4 as they have removed the DLC fighters from the last game and other fighters like Ngannou. They have even removed small details from 4 like shortening down Buffers intros and removing the other ref's besides Herb Dean. CAF creation is identical down to the tattoos, you can make your CAF from ufc 4 identically in this game.

That all being said I do enjoy this game as I really liked 4 and i hope to God that EA add something down the line to make it a bit different. I just hate that EA have once again proved that they dont care about their games and will release the same thing over and over again all just to hover in money.

First of all, whoever gave you that quote is a fuckin' pussy and a fuckin' #4&&07 and a fuckin' liar and everything else whoever gave you that quote. Everything that comes out of your mouth is fuckin' stupid. Why would I give a shit who represents who? Yeah there's no doubt. There's some guys out there that have managers that are absolute sleezy dirty fuckin' scumbags. Hey Loretta, if you're gonna write a story, you fuckin' moron, make sure it's fuckin' true and you have some facts, and if you're gonna put some fuckin' quotes in there, get some quotes from people who have the fuckin' balls to put their fuckin' name on it. I mean, how do you write a story from a guy who fuckin', it's like an interview where they put a fuckin' black thing over the guys face, change his voice and shit. Fuckin' dumb bitch. Fuck you Loretta.

EA Sports UFC 5 isn't just fundamentally the same as EA Sports UFC 4, it is almost the same exact game. It has the same exact roster, missing a large number of top 15 UFC fighters, and it has the same exact career mode. Unfortunately the slight gameplay improvements is not enough to make this game worth buying.

The Positive:

There isn't much positive here, but there is a little bit. The ground game feels much better and the submission system is clearly an improvement. It's still a little too stall based but the ref stand ups are faster and in simulation with the slower clock it doesn't feel as bad.

The striking is fundamentally the same, but it does feel a little smoother making for a overall better gameplay experience but not one that is different enough from UFC 4 for it to be the only improvements made in the 3 year development cycle.

The Negative:

I will try to keep it short. At the end of the day you are paying for the same game. We get mad that most Sports games are just a roster update, and well, UFC 5 doesn't even give you that. It feels like they ported UFC 4 to a new engine and told you it was a new game.

A game like UFC 5 had massive potential with career mode. The UFC owns old promotions like the WEC, WFA, Strikefore, and PRIDE. Instead of leveraging this and creating a MMA career mode for the ages that allowed you to go to multiple promotions and win title, living the ultimate MMA simulation fantasy, you are just some former street fighter who gets a chance on DWCS and if you fail fights for the WFA and lives the same exact career as every play through you'll ever have. It is extremely unfortunate that THQs UFC Undisputed 3 still has a far better career mode.

Unfortunately if you buy UFC 5 you are basically buying UFC 4 Remastered. If that's something you're into then I say go for it, but I can't recommend this game.

Update:

Digging deeper even the A.I in this game isn't good. If you play NBA 2K, for the most part, Steph Curry will play like Steph Curry. In EA UFC 5 a wrestler will wrestle but they all fight in similar ways. Islam Makhachev doesn't fight like Islam Makhachev. Mike Tyson and Kimbo Slice are essentially the same fighter. It makes for a very repetitive experience. The most unique thing is fighting those who have unique animations but they don't necessarily fight differently. It would be nice to see upgraded AI that had Isreal Adesanya keeping distance using teeps, leg kicks, and question mark kicks but not being extremely active. Staying on defense and looking to win rounds but take the finish if you leave yourself open for it. Instead Adesanya fights much more like any good kickboxer AI in the game. It's upsetting to see as a fan of the sport.