EA Sports MMA - October 19, 2010

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CAGiversary!
The demo is now available for download.

It's fairly rough cut as there is no announcing during the fights. The demo's "MMA 101" tutorial is not much of a tutorial as it is a "We see you pushed this button, this is what it does in this situation". As somebody trying to get the fight mechanics down, I didn't find this rather helpful.

Before I get into the fight controls, I want to first state that somebody had it in for UFC Undisputed's too oft held-down power punch toggle button. In EA MMA, that's the feint button. If you were used to the Undisputed control scheme, get ready to eat some shots while you're flailing fakes for a little while.

That said, the default setting is Total Punch Control which should be familiar to the Fight Night aficianados; the right thumbstick controls jabs and straights with flicks while quarter circles control hooks. Kicks can be added the mix with the push of a trigger button. Clinches, sprawls, takedowns and submissions are assigned to face buttons; the simplified ground/clinch game takes alot of the frustration out of trying to get the mount but repeatedly having to roll back and forward between side control and north/south to get there.

I had a bit of trouble toggling between punches and kicks; a simple jab snap low kick combo can be difficult at times and trying something like a body blow, hook, high kick is absolutely discouraging with Total Punch Control. Attempting to stuff a takedown in the middle of a striking battle can be frustrating at times as it requires discipline pretty quick reflexes to stop flicking the thumbstick to try to mash a face button. On the plus side, the simplified sprawl and submission controls make it as easy to submit an opponent as to knock him out. It definitely brings in some relief for those that felt Undisputed favored striking.

Overall, I would say it's a welcome addition to the MMA game landscape, but it could use a little more polish judging from what I've seen in the demo.
 
I like the demo and I think the different aspects of the game are well appreciated and new. Like watching a friends live broadcast, or watching others fights and stuff. I have mine pre ordered. Can't wait for it.
 
There's very little chance that anyone we know will be chosen for the live broadcast feature, unless you mean that there is a spectator mode for fights. Also, I believe I read that only "live broadcast" fights are saved for later viewing.
 
The features and modes are great (watching random fights, sharing fighters, creating an online fight card with friends and being able to watch it, etc.) but I didn't dig the gameplay at all. For one, the fighters felt like they were just gliding around the cage. The up/down movement was ok, but forward/back was weird looking and way too fast. I also had a hard time with the Total Punch Control style. Part of that is just being used to the UFC controls, but part of it is also awkwardness.

To me, it doesn't feel right using a modifier to change between throwing a punch and a kick. IMO, UFC's system of a modifier to change the type/height of the strike makes more sense. Plus, the strikes feel incredibly weak. Maybe it's the lack of effects in a very barebones demo (even though it was one of the largest demos I've ever seen), but basic punches felt like they did nothing, and even when I rocked a guy, it was really anti-climactic. The stick also felt a bit unresponsive, as I was having a hard time getting off combos with any kind of crispness at all. The delay between strikes usually left me wide open for a takedown.

I also think it's dumb to have the head meter only show up in the corner of the screen...while you're striking, taking your attention away from the actual fight, making it easy to miss a takedown attempt. Again, it just felt awkward. And I don't know that I enjoy transitioning by pressing the A button. Sure, it takes away the "frustration" of learning how to do a quarter circle movement...but I just think it dumbs it down too much.

With rotating the stick, you can actually see your limbs moving and feel like you're controlling the speed and timing of the gesture. But playing the MMA demo, I was just pressing A and hoping my guy would do what I wanted him to do. There were times when I didn't even feel like I was controlling anything. For people who hated auto-block in UFC 2010, I don't see how this is any better.

I do like the submission system though (although I have no idea what the "find the zone" part is...as that wasn't in my tutorial at all). I like that not every attempt will even grab the submission and that you lose stamina for even trying. I also like that you have to manage your stamina and that it's more of a struggle back and forth to lock it in (like in real life). I also like that you have time to sprawl when somebody shoots on you, and it's not just an instant takedown. Though, my enjoyment of that has more to do with how badly UFC botched it this year and how overpowered takedowns were. So, really, assuming THQ fixes it by the time their next game comes out, that won't be anything special.

Honestly, I'd be happy if THQ just ripped off all of the good ideas from this game, and just built off of what they already have. Really, that's what UFC 2010 SHOULD have been. I'll spend some more time with the MMA demo and see if it grows on me. But so far, it just feels like a "first try" at an MMA game. And with two years of UFC under my belt already, I don't know that I have the patience for that.
 
I have no idea what game you guys were playing that you got anything positive out of the gameplay. The only redeeming quality I found in the game was that the graphics look really good and the blood effects once someone got cut open looked much more realistic than UFC. The animations also looked really smooth transitioning from ground positions.

As far as the gameplay goes, the controls were terrible. Your fighters move around way too fast in the ring. I was able to constantly circle around and hide behind the ref, which shouldn't even be possible. In fact, the AI actually let me circle around the ring for over a minute without actively trying to chase me down to start one round.

Stand up fighting felt unnatural with both the right stick method and the "classic" aka UFC controls. Apparently EA isn't confident in it's stand up game either since the AI opponent in one and a half rounds made TWENTY-SEVEN takedown attempts. Eventually I got the hang of stuffing them, but once on the ground after I had been taken down it seemed like it was way too easy for me to transition into being able to flip them over and then punch them a few times from the top position. Ground defense is entirely lacking.

Also, what's up with not being able to pick high or low punch placement on the ground? I could only chose high or low with one hand, while the other was forced into only body punches, despite having a huge opening in my opponent's defense that could have been exploited. While I was mounted, I tried using the block button, which apparently to EA means put your hands behind the opponent's back and pray to God he doesn't punch you anymore. Why the hell would I ever want to cover up? Also, when we were in the up/down position and I had my opponent on the ground, apparently in order to kick him I had to hit left punch. The kick buttons didn't do anything.

Refs had no control in the match either. Not once in my near hour experience with the demo did the ref step in to break up a clinch that had lasted for over a minute or stand up a ground battle that was going nowhere. There was just no excitement in the game. The punches and kicks didn't feel like they did damage. The submission system is weak and boring. No fights ever had that feeling like they could end at any second like you get play UFC. I honestly hope that they pull an NBA Elite and develop this game some more.
 
God dammit...

Despite everything I just said, they might have me by the balls. I just saw the achievement list and found this:

Narcissist 20
Create a fighter using Photo Game Face
Click to expand...

So, I can see my actual face get pounded in by Fedor? God dammit, EA...
 
[quote name='Matt Young']There's very little chance that anyone we know will be chosen for the live broadcast feature, unless you mean that there is a spectator mode for fights. Also, I believe I read that only "live broadcast" fights are saved for later viewing.[/QUOTE]

There is a sorta league thing going on where you can create a card with all your friends and watch them play out. You should play the demo. It's not in front of me so I have to look into it some more.

But I can't wait for it. Breathe of fresh air for me since I got really tired of UFC. Considering UFC won't be making a 2011 title it will fill the void.
 
[quote name='xcoax']No fights ever had that feeling like they could end at any second[/QUOTE]

Playing as Overeem vs Lashley, I felt at points that catching Lashey in an early armbar or Kimura was entirely too easy even on Normal. The tug of war for joint locks seems a bit too offense-leaning compared to what I've gathered is a blind game of keepaway in choke battles. I'm pretty sure that's what's going on, but to reiterate, the MMA 101 tutorial is like a last-second substitute teacher on the first day of class.

Also, there's something wrong about having Lashley continuing to shoot for a takedown after I've stuffed it or countered with a knee an equal amount of times. The AI needs some major tweaking, and not in a Madden-esque "AI losing... losing... GOD MODE ON!" sort of way.
 
[quote name='Vulcan2422']But I can't wait for it. Breathe of fresh air for me since I got really tired of UFC. Considering UFC won't be making a 2011 title it will fill the void.[/QUOTE]

You got tired of it? You had it like 2 weeks before your wife broke it, lol. Maybe it was just a timing thing. It had a horrible launch, but it did get better. It just seems telling with EA MMA that almost every "review" I've read had people thinking the right stick was unresponsive. It seems most everybody will be using the "classic" controls.

Ahh..ahh! EA, my balls again!

Brotherly Love 15
Fight Frank Shamrock versus Ken Shamrock in Fight Now or Online
Click to expand...

Completely irrelevant and washed up fighters. But do I want to see that match up? Yes, yes I do.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']You got tired of it? You had it like 2 weeks before your wife broke it, lol. Maybe it was just a timing thing. It had a horrible launch, but it did get better. It just seems telling with EA MMA that almost every "review" I've read had people thinking the right stick was unresponsive. It seems most everybody will be using the "classic" controls.

Ahh..ahh! EA, my balls again!



Completely irrelevant and washed up fighters. But do I want to see that match up? Yes, yes I do.[/QUOTE]

Probably was just a timing thing or something. I'll probably be the only one in here who thinks it's worth admission. I know nate wants it just for the cheezemints. Hell, I wonder how good gameface has gotten since...what was it? Oh maybe I'm thinking of Rainbow Six Vegas instead. lol Oh well. I like it, so I'll take the flak.
 
[quote name='Vulcan2422']Probably was just a timing thing or something. I'll probably be the only one in here who thinks it's worth admission. I know nate wants it just for the cheezemints. Hell, I wonder how good gameface has gotten since...what was it? Oh maybe I'm thinking of Rainbow Six Vegas instead. lol Oh well. I like it, so I'll take the flak.[/QUOTE]

Gameface wasn't great with FNR4, but just the idea of having my face on an MMA fighter and it being bloodied by Fedor or even Ken Shamrock appeals to me in an extremely twisted way, hahaha. When I pre-ordered back in April, I was able to lock in a price of $48...so I'm trying to decide if that's a good enough deal to just keep it.
 
to quote xcoax - the gameplay is garbage. i don't care what features they have in the game to make it seem good... the gameplay sucked.
 
I haven't played it yet but from what I've seen looks like they ported the Fight Night engine (gameplay, rules, mechanics) all over to this, hence no FN this year; also this may explain why they have the Blue and Red corners swapped and introduced in the wrong order.

Oh, and TPC is garbage; that's why they had to bring the buttons back for FN...
 
Well, it's not as bad when using the "classic" control scheme (which is basically "UFC Lite" controls). But as I mentioned to a friend yesterday, if I'm switching the controls to be more like UFC, why not just play UFC? I feel like the game itself doesn't warrant a purchase without several qualifiers.

1. "Old school" fighters - Having guys like Bas Rutten, Ken Shamrock, Kevin Randleman, Pat Miletich, etc. makes the game more appealing to me.

2. Being able to put my own face in the game, watch fights online, download fighters, and the possibility of custom music (don't think this has been confirmed or denied yet) makes the game more appealing to me.

3. The fact that there won't be another UFC game until 2012 makes the game more appealing to me.

Without those three factors, I'm not sure how much I'd care about the game. Is that enough of a reason to buy it? ...No, really. I'm asking. Somebody help me out here, haha. :)
 
I'm not sure what to think of this game. I want to give it a chance but its just laughable. My first fight was Shields vs Miller. I press a couple of the face buttons and got a takedown and boom, kimura out of nowhere in less than 30 secs. I had no idea what I pushed, but apparently that was enough to win. This was on whatever the default difficulty was.

Second I tried Overeem/Lashley, they seemed to move just as lightning quick as the middleweights. I played around with the striking. Which sucks. Floaty and non-responsive, along with needing a trigger for kicks were not fun. Also each strike that makes contact makes both fighters drip sweat uncontrollably. Its like that Schick Hydro commercial with the ridiculous amount of water that pours off. They definitely should have saved that detail for hard hits. But anyway just like the first fight once I played with the face buttons I got an armbar without really trying. The find the zone thing was way too forgiving as I was basically just flinging the stick and quickly got the victory without being penalized for my mistakes.

The game lacks polish for sure, the super sweating had me cracking up. The entrances and presentation where awesome, Rockstar plastered everywhere was hilariously accurate. But when it comes down to gameplay it does not feel like an MMA game. It feels like Fight Night Backstage Assault if I had to make a video game analogy. I actually like the idea of how the submissions system works but its too arcade-y and easy in the approach. Maybe I have to look into it and its deeper than I think, but whatever the default difficulty is makes is too easy for subs. Either that or I'm the Royce Gracie of EA MMA.
 
I think my best comparison was that this is kind of like how the TNA game came out and was nowhere near as good as the Smackdown vs Raw games. Sure, if you're into the subject matter it could be interesting and you would probably enjoy it, but for everyone else that isn't really into it you probably would be best to just go with the established franchise that you already enjoy.

I'm hoping that my metaphor holds true in multiple ways and that this game goes bargain bin super fast. Despite spending more time yelling at the game for sucking than actually enjoying it, I want to give the full version a try. Looking at the EA forums it seems like there's a unanimous complaint about the takedown AI spam, so perhaps they'll fix it before the game gets released.
 
For the best chance of enjoying the demo, I advise people to put the difficulty on easy and fight as Jake Shields against Jason Miller. I even left the controls on TSC and did all right. Miller won't shoot for takedowns, and the biggest thing you'll have to defend is a clinch attempt. This is probably the best way to try to get a taste of the striking game. Combos still feel slow, but they're at least possible this way. And most importantly, you'll be able to feel your way around the controls without ending up on your back every 5 seconds.

EDIT - Oooh...I think I've got it, haha. After a fluke win with Lashley against Overeem (clinched against cage, slammed him, threw 4-5 punches from top...over), I tried learning how to actually defend on the ground. To me, the trick seems to be slow everything down...A LOT. Don't panic and try to get back to your feet immediately. What you have to think about is that these are 5 minute real time rounds. The controller vibrates when your opponent is going for a transition, so once you learn the deny/reverse timing, you should be able to flip him over or at the very least, prevent him from advancing his position.

At first, I couldn't ever get a reversal, but after blocking several transitions, I was able to advance from side control, to half guard, to full guard, and eventually, McCarthy stood us up. I also got out of two armbar attempts. Finally, I think I wore Overeem down, and after one last reversal, I gained mount, postured up, and just started dropping bombs. KO. Fight over. I still don't think the controls are as good as UFC, but I do like the pacing. I'm starting to see how it could be a lot of fun with a larger variety of fighters.
 
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Strikes don't have much oomph to them, takedowns are floaty, but with the classic controls, I found myself enjoying the ground game. The drawn-out finishing system is going to get very repetitive very fast, but at least it's not the only way to knock a fighter out.
 
[quote name='seen']I haven't played it yet but from what I've seen looks like they ported the Fight Night engine (gameplay, rules, mechanics) all over to this, hence no FN this year; also this may explain why they have the Blue and Red corners swapped and introduced in the wrong order.

Oh, and TPC is garbage; that's why they had to bring the buttons back for FN...[/QUOTE]

EA MMA and Fight Night are alternating years.

I can't pass judgment till I play the demo, but I can't see myself getting the game at release. The videos I've seen made the game look very good. I just hope the Gameface has improved. Somehow, in World Series of Poker, I made a guy who looks just like me using the XBL vision cam, yet Photo Gameface with an image uploaded from a digital camera through EA's site looks nothing like me in Fight Night and Tiger Woods.

Seen, I loved Total Punch Control in Fight Night. However, strikes seem to have very little impact unless you use the haymaker modifier.
 
Honestly it didnt even feel like fight night to me with the exception of using the stick for punches. I didn't know what the hell I was doing ..
 
I gave the game another try yesterday and tried to keep the most open mind possible. I used their total punch control system and actually got pretty decent with the game. The right stick method isn't entirely as responsive as I would like it to be, like sometimes when I would try to throw hooks, I would end up throwing a left and right jab instead of a single hook. Honestly, it's still not good compared to UFC, but has it's own merits. The controls are just too simple for me, the entire ground game reduced to one single button for transitions, but would definitely appeal to an MMA fan who found UFC to be too in depth to enjoy. I know some of my friends actually hate playing UFC against me because they couldn't pick up the ground game.

There are still some strange anomalies that bother me, like how if I'm in a dominant ground position it costs me stamina to try to stand up while the guy on bottom didn't use any while holding me down. I'd pick it up for under $20.
 
The ground game doesn't bother me much in EA MMA after playing the demo for a bit. The transition animation seems to have a fairly lengthy window to block while better timing reverses the transition. Spamming the transition and stand up buttons appear ineffective on harder difficulties unless you mix it up with strikes and time the moves for when the opponent strikes.

I don't like the quick floaty way they run around the cage, striking also feels really weak. Every KO I've had looks like I love tapped the guy to death.
 
I have only played the demo for around an hour or so but I can say that so far I'm liking it. I just hated the UFC game this year with a passion, the career mode was still complete shit imo. The difficulty was so damn erratic, you would win your first handful of fights in your career and then you would get to that one fight that no matter what you would lose, it just sucked. And the controls were getting too damn complex for their own good. Trying to posture up in the mount was a joke, more often than not I would transition to north/south position just because I moved the stick 10 degrees too far one way..... NOT FUN. Anyways I really dislike that game and I was glad to hear THQ was taking next year off, they need to really revamp that series already.

Here are my early thoughts on the EA demo:

Likes

Graphics - not the best I've ever seen but they get the job done, fighters look great imo
Animations - the fighters hardly ever "spaz out" when on the ground, it all flows smoothly together unlike Undisputed when it looks like 2 guys constantly having a seizure
Stamina - This is my favorite part of the game, it really plays a big part in everything you do, you constantly have to pay attention to it
Fighters feel different to me - more so than the UFC games at least to this point, we will see how it is in the final game though
Controls - I like the simplicity of the controls, a nice change from UFC ( I can see how some don't like this though)
Use of rumble - best use of rumble in a game in a long time imo, I like its implementation here
Round length - I LOVE the real-time clock for the fights, it makes the fighting seem much more genuine to me
Pacing - It seems a little slow on the feet, but I like it better than in the UFC games when everyone seems to be on crack

Dislikes

Standing controls - I like using the sticks but it doesn't feel near as responsive to me as Fight Night was
Clinch game - I find myself wishing there was a little more complexity to the clinch game, more positions, control over them, ect.
Computer AI - I need to test this more but the AI doesn't impress me at this point, they seem to have one strategy and just repeat the shit out of it (takedowns from Lashley, clinch from Mayhem)
Pause menu controls - I wish the controls that you look at during a fight would be position aware like in the UFC games (if you look at controls when in mount show me the damn controls from a mounted position!)


Anyways just my 2 cents so far, I am close to pre-ordering the game but want to sink a few more play sessions into the demo before I commit to anything.
 
I've only played this demo once so I definitely want to try it out more before the game comes out. Overall I'm liking it a lot so far and will have to decide if I want to buy it at launch or not. There are definitely a few things that this game doesn't do as well as the UFC games but I feel it is stronger in other areas.

- I have only used the TSC so far, I see people in here recommending trying the Buttons. I'm still kind of terrible at striking so definitely need to practice more (I havent played FNR4).

- I will agree that the striking on the feet feels a little weak, it doesn't feel like your punches and kicks have that strong of an impact.

- I really appreciate how with the takedowns you have to strategize as to when you go for the takedown. If you have a strong wrestler you can't seem to just get the takedown any time you want to. You have to wait for an opportunity as takedowns are easier to stuff.

- So far I'm a big fan of the ground game in general. I appreciate how it is slowed down and it is not about spamming half turns of the stick. I like how you have to manage your stamina. I have to get used to just pressing a button once to try a transition or to block one. I just feel it looks a lot more natural on the ground.

- One thing that could use a lot of work is when you pause during your fight to look at the controls. This part feels pretty lackluster compared to the UFC games.

Overall so far this seems like a very solid first attempt for EA. In certain areas they may have simplified things a little more than they needed to. On the ground however they did a good job of simplifying it in my opinion. I felt like the ground game in this year's UFC game was starting to get too complex for its own good. So far I think I might like the standup game a little more in the UFC games (although this could mostly be because I'm pretty terrible in this demo so far) but I think the ground game is a little better in EA MMA.
 
I tried this briefly and was pretty disappointed.

I was playing easy to try to get the controls down and I was using heavyweights. Lashley took me down repeatedly so much so it became a joke. He would take me down and I would get up immediately only to be taken down before I could move. It repeated this way the entire first round. No damage done or taken. Even the stamina bars remained unchanged which I figured should have at least changed as the take downs occurred. Maybe it was because it was on easy.
 
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