Let’s do it… In the case of EA’s mixed martial arts fighter, that means strengthening your Thumbs to a texting teen level and developing Jedi-type anticipation skills.
In a genre where button mashing can usually get you most of the way home, two minutes of career mode in EA MMA will prove otherwise. Under the direction of Bass Ratten, the big hit in the world of Ultimate Fighting, you will get acquainted with different aspects of this sport. Basically, this means using the right stick and the L2 button (on the PS3) to apply a combination of punches, kicks, low kicks, stomach knees, uppercuts and blocks. That is, as long as you are standing. If you managed to knock an opponent to the ground and saddle him, with good, old-fashioned athletics-style button strikes, then you can hit with your elbows and fists in the face.
However, try to act arbitrarily with a stick during fights and you will pay for it. Incorrectly calculate the time of your shift and you will pay for it. Skip the block and you will pay for it. Lose focus during a fight on the canvas and you will pay for it. Even in training duels, your opponent demonstrates… well, if not a full-fledged artificial intelligence, then at least a strong moral one. They will squirm, try to block your legs and try to turn you over. They will also succeed on a very regular basis, requiring a little work with the buttons for recovery and, as a neat, albeit unexpected touch, a little patting on the grip to apply the perfect suffocating grip.
Of course, this is assuming you complete the training, because even that’s not the simple experience you might expect. The tutorials, although incredibly detailed, go beyond the basics to give you an idea of what awaits you – strict standards and a reward for hard work. I may have a particularly flabby thumb, which is unlikely after years of doing this, but the speed at which you have to throw combos to continue is exhausting, and the range of skills to master is huge: so huge that I can really feel a newfound respect for real participants in this sport.
In addition to the career mode, everything is at the highest level you would expect from EA. The settings are detailed and simple, the multiplayer mode says “entertainment after the pub” everywhere, and the online interface is stylish and varied (and will even include a live stream of the weekly “best of” fights).
If there is a catch, then it seems to be the lack of big names, a dispute between EA and the forces behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship. This, for hardcore fans, can be an obstacle to reaching an agreement. It would be a shame if that were the case, because even for that he is not a beat-em-up fan (I’m a PES fan, not a fighter) EA MMA is clearly a carefully designed and precisely realized game. Surprisingly impressive.