Round 1 – Let’s get it on!

The EA Sports MMA demo lets you play in two weight divisions: heavyweight and middleweight in either a 3 or 5 round match. You get to choose between Lashley or Overeem in the heavyweight class and Shields or Miller in the middleweight class. No Couture or Fedor action in the demo unfortunately, but you can unlock classic Couture by inviting your friends to play the demo. You get 25 credits for each friend and get to unlock Couture when you hit 300 credits.

This game inevitably will be compared to UFC Undisputed and rightfully so since Undisputed was the first legitimate version of an MMA game ever made. So how does the demo stack up? Well let’s dissect it and find out.

Let’s start off by saying that the computer loves to shoot in and go for take-downs. Almost to the point where the computer will spam takedowns but this is ok as you can easily transition off you back to better positions or even go for submissions. Advancing positions and blocking transitions is very simple to execute but hard to time. In order to advance your position you need to time pressing A, to block a transition you will press B. Pressing Y will initiate the clinch and allow you to get off knees or dirty boxing. Submissions are simple to get off by pressing X but very different to finish depending on the type of submission. Triangle chokes can be finished by rotating the left analog but finding a certain spot in the circle and making it get smaller until the person tap, while arm bars are done by attacking with X.

EA Sports MMA at times can feel like a button masher but you will find out that there is a lot of technique associated with not gassing your fighter out by mashing buttons. Timing will be key in this game and conserving stamina as well. One gripe I do have with the game as it stand is that punches at time don’t feel hard at all, like if you land a devastating blow the impact just isn’t there. Punches and kicks are all put together using the right analog stick, this is great for fans of old Fight Night games but may take some getting used to for people new to the motions.

No commentators are in the demo, so do not expect color commentating from anyone. There is some music from Linkin Park that I was not expecting which was a nice addition. Graphically the game looks great and character animations are spot on. I am hoping the full release had some extras like modifying your entrances and walk out gear, but that we will find out later. There is some info on the career modes and the ability to showcase your fights online which is pretty cool. The game is boasting lots of features and I think stands up very well to Undisputed so far with the ability ot possibly knock it out because of the ease of use in comparison, a common complaint form people was that Undisputed was very difficult to get a hang of especially on the ground.

So is the EA Sports demo fun? Hell yes. Will it leave you craving more? Indeed. Go download it now and see how EA Sports MMA stacks up against UFC Undisputed, in my opinion it does a good job overall. I am definitely looking forward for this title to drop so I can start tapping out opponents.