EA Sports UFC 4 was released on August 14, 2020, and was made part of Sony’s PlayStation Plus free game of the month for February 2022. The promotion of UFC 4 as part of the free game list might be due to EA’s planned announcement of UFC 5 later in 2022. Most people have their UFC odds on the game being announced around May or June of 2022.
For those that missed out on the free offer, you will have to pay the full price of $59.99 in the PlayStation store if you want to enjoy a UFC fighter game before the next release comes out. While the price is high for a year and a half old game, it is also a highly praised game in the PlayStation critic community. So what makes UFC 4 such a popular game for fans of the sport?
A Roster of UFC Fighters From Past and Present Times in the UFC
UFC 4 has some of the biggest names that have fought in the UFC like Brock Lesnar, Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya, Tito Ortiz, and Chuck Liddell. Ortiz, Lesnar, and Liddell being in the game appealed to the old school fans of the UFC, while EA also had some attentional cross-over fighters for more mainstream fans of the UFC. Those crossover fighters that EA added to the game are names like Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, which were a huge selling point for UFC 4 when it was first released in 2020.
The Five-Star Rating System: How this New Feature Evaluates UFC Fighters
UFC 4 added a new feature to their game in 2020, the five-star rating system. EA Sports put the system in place to help rank UFC fighters based on their individual skill sets, which seemed unconventional but yet fascinated others. The rating system is updated based on a fighter’s real-life performance in the UFC cage, making this experience of UFC 4 feel more in tune with reality than its predecessor UFC 3.
As fighters win and lose matches, the system adjusts the rating based on how they won or lost. According to EA’s website, the system evaluates fighters’ stand-up, ground game, health, and moves as part of their star rating. All of this helps with the real-world feel of UFC 4.
Some Down Sides to UFC 4 that Critics Pointed Out
While UFC 4 did receive high praise from critics, it wasn’t without its flaws that critics were quick to point out to customers. One of the top complaints about UFC 4 was that long-standing problems with the ground game from previous UFC games were still in UFC 4. Another complaint about UFC 4 was that the game’s visuals weren’t up to par for a game coming from a triple-A title made by a company like EA, who has been known to have stellar visuals in their other sports games like Madden NFL and FIFA soccer.
While some players can overlook visuals, a lack of a refined ground game for UFC 4 can hurt the game’s playability. Even with this flaw, the game mostly received a score of 80 or more from most critics. But with a UFC 5 announcement expected this year, what can fans look forward to with a new UFC game?
EA Has Been Tight-Lipped About a Release of UFC 5
EA hasn’t said one word about a release of UFC 5. However, history has shown that the company releases a new UFC game every two years, making 2022 the two-year mark for the next UFC game. EA has also signed a ten-year deal with the UFC back in November of 2020, just months after UFC 4 was released, which means that it is very likely EA will be publishing another UFC game here shortly.
When UFC 5 does get announced, fans will be looking for improved visuals and a better ground game system for this next instalment. With UFC 5 most likely being a release for PlayStation 5, the pressure will be on EA to have the stellar visuals that they are known for with this game being on a next-gen console. So until EA makes an announcement, everything about a UFC 5 is pure speculation.