EA Sports UFC 2 released in 2016 to decent reviews, but many folks found the career mode underwhelming (myself included) due to no real feeling of game completion. You trained, you fought, you won a title, and eventually had to retire. There was no real story or feeling of accomplishment tied into that mode. It was a decent game overall, but with no real end-game goal, it left folks wanting more. EA heard our complaints and addressed this issue with UFC 3. I recently sat down with Creative Director Brian Hayes and he walked me through a character’s road to the UFC, and showed me the path to being the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time).

Impressive Combos
Before jumping into the career mode, Brian and I did a little toe-to-toe warm-up as he showcased some of the polished animations. The fluidity of a multiple strike combination caught my eye and it turns out that combinations are handled differently now in the development process. With previous titles they would use motion capture to record different strikes separately and then let the AI copy and paste them together as needed, creating a lack of fluidity at times. With UFC 3 they decided to motion capture a full combination from a fighter, creating a lot more work for themselves, all the while creating a much more fluid fight scene for the gamer. The Real Player Motion tech EA is using is a definite improvement. Path to the UFC
Your path to the UFC in the game isn’t a set path, but instead can go in several differ...