EA's MMA

[Jason]

Yes, I'd give it a very high rating. I haven't been playing as much as I'd like, but that has more to do with lack of time and older games still holding my interest.

In comparison to UFC 2009, I think the graphics are equal or better with much smoother transition animations. The stand-up game is much better due to using Fight Night's "Total Stick" control and stamina plays a huge part in winning and losing. Actually, success and failure really depend on executing a strategically fought fight. Nothing feels cheap in the game and you'll really feel like you won or lost based on how well you fought, since smart fighting is rewarded.

Probably the best thing I can say about EA's MMA is that you can do everything that you can in UFC, but without the complicated button/stick combinations. The control scheme is simple yet very deep and that's where the game really shines.

UFC has the bigger-name fighters, but that means little to someone that's not a big fan like myself. Having said that, you can download and use any user-created UFC fighter from EA's Fighter Share web site. Most of the popular fighter downloads on the Fighter Share web site are just as good as any of the included fighters in UFC too.

I haven't gotten too far in the career mode yet and I don't remember the career mode too well from UFC, but from what I've heard, MMA's career mode is better.

Finally, it's one of those "just one more fight" types of game, where you find yourself having a hard time putting the controller down. Did you ever try the demo?

[Jason]

What’s up EA Sports MMA Community. First off we’d like to thank everyone for their patience in regards to a new patch! We’ve been actively reading the forums since our last patch and have been collecting your feedback and suggestions. We are happy to announce that a new patch has passed testing, and is scheduled to go live tomorrow. The items that have been patched include:

•   Fixed a crash that occurred when editing multiple fighters in Create a Fighter
•   Updates to the Live Broadcast tools to improve stability.
•   Fixed Stamina exploit bug during Arm submission battles.
•   Fighters created using Create a Fighter Attribute Cap exploit can no longer be used online.
•   Minor changes to select Create a Fighter data.

The game team is still exploring, investigating and testing other items that you have brought to our attention in regards to gameplay tuning for a potential future “hot fix”. We appreciate everyone’s feedback and encourage everyone to continue sending in your comments and concerns. We should have some news on this very shortly.

Thanks again for your continued support of EA Sports MMA!

Source: EA Forum

[Jason]

EA has released a gameplay update today:

What’s up EA SPORTS MMA Community! Since the games release, we’ve been monitoring the forums looking for your feedback and opinions. We have compiled this information and have been investigating ways to address some of the concerns that had been brought to our attention and are happy to report that a tuning pass has gone live for Heavy, Middle, and Light weight classes. Some things you can expect from the new tuning pass include:

-   Blocking now takes priority over parrying. The block effectiveness has been raised so players will be able to block more strikes than before. A missed parry will result in a higher likelihood of stun so use your parries carefully.

-   Stamina System has received a major overhaul. Strikes will now drain more stamina than before, however stamina regeneration has also increased.  This is done to discourage spamming and encourage more realistic striking combinations.

-   Health will regenerate slower than before, especially while blocking. This in combination with the adjusted blocking will require you to be more methodical and plan for a longer fight where you slowly chip away at your opponent.

-   A few windows and timers have been adjusted on the ground. You will now have more success knocking
people out from positions other than mount and backmount. You will also have to carefully balance when you decide to block, parry, and pass.

-   The power of knees and the stamina loss in the clinch upon failed takedowns has been adjusted. We have more accurately captured the devastating power of a knee to the face, but you have to be very careful about when you use this because it requires a lot of stamina.

-   We have updated all of the fighter records and adjusted a few fighters that we thought needed to be more balanced.

These are significant changes to gameplay and they will take some time to adjust to. I am sure many of you will appreciate the changes that have been made and find that fights feel more balanced. I encourage you all to play as much as possible and give feedback on the forums. We will continue to take your feedback and improve things to give you the most balanced gameplay possible.