Game review: No button mashing allowed in UFC3

A fighter lands a killer blow in UFC3.

Last weekend I got into a fight with UFC champion Robert Whittaker, defeated him and then walked off doing the Conor McGregor flappy-arms walk.

The crowd at the Honda Centre lapped it up and gave me a standing ovation. Did I mention that Snoop Dogg was commentating?

UFC3 is the latest instalment of a popular franchise based on the brutal but popular sport of MMA. It features a comprehensive roster of fighters, including New Zealand's own Daniel Hooker, and a chance to unlock combat legend Bruce Lee.

Along with multiple fight modes, career mode has added a couple of important elements, such as less complicated training. It lets you upskill your fighter without having to do those tiresome career mode things such as struggling to learn a jiu-jitsu armbar with a lowly skilled fighter. You choose the length of your training camp and then decide if you will practise skills, spar or do PR things to make your fighter more popular.

The career mode is easy to get into and "create a character" gives you a good shot of making a character who looks just like you. I was disappointed to find that my guy had to have washboard abs though. I always find it funny when a character with a dad bod like mine struts about the cage.

The fight engine is more user-friendly than in the past. The grappling side of things is far less complicated yet remains a challenge, and the stand-up striking element is my favourite for a fighting game in ages.

Your fighter gets tired very quickly if you button mash, so you actually end up paying far greater attention to your distance and angles when striking.

UFC3 keeps you honest. If you think you've got your opponent beat and choose the wrong time to swarm them, things go from great to horrible in a matter of seconds.

By the same token, not swarming a weakened or dazed opponent could let them off the hook. See the great conundrum you've got here?

EA has been a class operator in the sports game world for a while now and UFC3 is up to its normal standard of quality.

EA Sports UFC 3

Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One
Rating: R16
Verdict: With a roster full of stars, UFC has the best striking engine ever