Video game review – EA Sports MMA

EA Sports MMA
Electronic Arts
XBox 360/Playstation 3

EA Sports MMA is EA Sports’ first venture into the Mixed Martial Arts gaming genre.  As the only alternative to THQ’s UFC Undisputed series, EA MMA brings a fresh gameplay style, highly enticing online capabilities, and a deep, rewarding career mode that is sure to keep your class attendance at an all-time low.

If you’re one of the people who, like me, thought UFC Undisputed was clunky and unpolished then you should be pleasantly surprised with EA Sports MMA. 

EA’s fluid “Total Striking” control feature – borrowed from their hit boxing series Fight Night – adds a very organic feel to the game. If you want to throw a left hook, simply move the right stick with the same motion that you would move your arm when throwing a real hook. EA Sports MMA extends this system to all kinds of attacks, making it easy to launch whatever kind of combo you need to get the job done. The system works beautifully.

Fighting on the ground is also intuitive and fun. Advancing or defending your position on the ground is easy to pick up, but also rewards skill. The submission engine is fun as hell. Both choke holds and joint-locks have respective mini-games that each player must try to win in order to complete, or survive the submission. It’s a refreshing alternative to the joystick twirling madness that guaranteed blisters in UFC Undisputed.

The Career mode is exactly what you would expect from a developer of EA’s caliber. The campaign offers lots of depth, plenty of variety, and excellent replay value.  The Career Mode also features a wide range of fun training mini-games to help you mould your fighter into a killing machine. Then, it’s just a matter of scheduling fights all over the world and kicking ass. Old school MMA fans will enjoy fighting in Japan, where soccer-kicks and head stomps to grounded opponents are allowed.

Online Mode offers plenty to the more competitive gamers out there. Climbing up the online rankings, unlocking achievements, and fighting for online title belts are all part of the experience. EA’s new Fight Live Broadcast allows for the best players in the world to compete while thousands watch live and real commentators cover the action.

If you’re a fan of MMA, you owe it to yourself to give EA Sports MMA a shot.

Dietrich Neu
Contributor