Not long after THQ first released UFC Undisputed 2009, EA Sports announced an MMA game was in development. Little details were released at the time leaving many to speculate whether EA Sports was planning a hostile take-over of the UFC license.

After a short while though the stance on fighters appearing in the game softened and a few ex-UFC fighters and some which are still on the books make an appearance with the most notable being Randy Couture.

Stepping into the mixed martial arts arena for the first time must be a daunting prospect for any newcomer, but you wouldn't know it looking at EA Sports MMA. A contender for the UFC Undisputed series' previously uncontested crown, EA Sports MMA steps into the ring with a swagger that belies its...

Controls are intuitive and responsive; Rewarding Career mode; Good options for lag-free online play; Fights force you to focus on defense as much as offense

Unconvincing AI opponents; Camera gets a little crazy sometimes; Load times are occasionally longer than fights; Strikes don't always feel like they have much power behind them

My shins sore and calves tired, we began sparring -- practicing the technique from the lesson of the night. Putting any apprehensiveness to rest, I took a combo to the face that smashed my cheek off my black rubber mouth guard. Whoa.

Realistic and balanced fighting engine; Forces you to play smart; Multiplayer is fun

Online connectivity issues; Classic control abuses; Needs more signature animations and customization

A contender in every sense of the word. For a sport as popular as mixed […]

+ Deep control scheme; + Great animation; + Online broadcast mode; + Robust career mode

Steep learning curve; Roster feels empty

For those who don't know UFC had a gaming series on the previous generation of consoles, EA MMA have come out fighting with this game and I look forward to a rivalry between UFC and EA in the future, just to let everyone know EA announced in December that a sequel was still in the works despite the...

Although the footwork is a little weird looking and the ground game is too simple for me because you just use one button to transition, the striking and submission systems are great. If this game had some of Ufc 3 mechanics for transition and more fluid movements on the feet it would be perfect.

EA Sports MMA is a very different kind of fighting game.

good career mode; good online; progression is fun

controls can be a bit stubborn at times; could use polish

The fighting styles are basically, boxing, kick boxing, wrestling, & judo. I know I'm probably not saying everything, but remember I'm new to mma games in general. The training sessions are nice and teach you how the controls work, because normally with EA Sports games the manual is horrible, and...

** This review is also on ciao.co.uk by Honest-Dan** Being a huge MMA fan and having previously played the UFC titles I didn't really expect much of this game, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well the gameplay is and honestly prefer it over the more common UFC titles.