UFC Vs MMA: Grudge Match

12 Apr 2010 at 00:00:00 by Andy Alderson

As Dana White is keen to remind the world at every opportunity, mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in the world. Once a bit of a taboo in the fighting world, due to the fact that there were less rules than people in the ring, it seems the world is now warming to the idea of MMA. Or perhaps that's a bit of an understatement given the meteoric rise of White's UFC franchise, which is threatening to overtake boxing to become the world's most popular combat sport. It seems the MMA game is now big business and there is a huge potential market for a decent game. UFC 2009 Undisputed proved that, not only selling millions of copies, but also receiving good feedback from gamers and critics alike who were impressed by the deft balance of striking and ground game mechanics. With a sequel due to follow soon, THQ can presumably look forward to another boatload of cash from Undisputed 2010. However, this time the publisher may not have it so easy. See, back in 2009, THQ had no competition and now it does.

EA Sports announced at E3 that it was throwing its considerably-sized hat into the arena with EA Sports MMA, a direct competitor to THQ's throne. And in classic fight fashion, there was a bit of smack talk on offer. UFC's famously shy and retiring president Dana White claimed he'd pitched the idea of a UFC game to EA and was told, rather unceremoniously, that “you're not a real sport.” White, presumably not too happy about EA's MMA, declared that any fighter to appear in EA's game would be kicked out of the UFC. Something he has presumably backtracked on as it has since been announced that a few UFC big fish like Randy Couture will be appearing in MMA.

EA Sports' Peter Moore countered White's comments by stating “I love mixed martial arts” (some of my best friends are mixed martial artists) and that EA had been working on an MMA concept for over two years. The war of words was not to end there, however, as THQ's Paul Pucino stated that the UFC brand strength meant Undisputed was “premier league” and that “we'd rather be in our position than any other position.”

All bravado aside, there is no doubt that THQ will be keeping a close eye on EA's MMA and that the critical and commercial gap between the two titles will be considerably smaller than it claims. And this, dear readers, is great news for gamers, In the same way that the EA-2K rivalry has offered gamers a wealth of quality in American sports titles (lets ignore the last 2K hockey game), it seems likely that the THQ-EA rivalry will ultimately benefit the MMA fan.

Looking at Undisputed first, Pucino was right to say that THQ's strength is the UFC licensing. From a presentational point of view, there's every chance Undisputed will have the advantage over MMA. While EA has the increasingly popular Strikeforce organisation on board, there's no doubt that UFC is still the more powerful brand and with a bigger roster of fighters than Undisputed 2009 and the iconic Octagon, ring girls and telecast style all add up to make something endearingly familiar to fans of UFC. Factor in the Ultimate Fights category, which rewards the player with video highlights of classic UFC match-ups, and you can't deny that THQ will have some strong presentation. That's not to say MMA will be a shabby old mess, but the varied roster of fighters and organisations could mean EA's title lacks a little focus. Pure speculation, of course, but arguably the weakest aspect of EA Sports titles in recent times has been presentation (2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa aside).

However, if THQ arguably has the edge in branding and presentation, I'm gonna stick my neck on the line and predict that MMA will have sturdier gameplay. The reason for this, I suspect, will be that EA's title is based on the excellent Fight Night Round 4 engine. Although it's been heavily modified to adapt it to the principles of MMA, the physics mechanics in the game engine are some of the best we've seen in a sports game so far. In Fight Night Round 4, scripted punch animations were abandoned in favour of a physics-heavy approach and we suspect this will have some pretty profound implications in MMA and could make for some spectacular knockouts. 

That's not to say that Undisputed's gameplay won't have improved too. In fact, early reports suggest that the game feels a little slicker than its predecessor with more fluid fighting mechanics and less-wooden animations. More fighting styles, including Greco-Roman Wrestling, have also been added to the game meaning you'll have even more moves at your disposal. Nevertheless, while the game engine has been seriously overhauled, I can't get over EA's physics bomb which could give the game a significant advantage in gameplay and a more realistic feel.

Perhaps the two areas which will decide the winner in this contest will be career and online modes. Developer Yukes knows that the career mode in Undisputed 2009 was bobbins. Another calender-tastic grind fest with little sense of reward and progression, as well as the occasional vicious difficulty spike. Things will be different in the sequel, we're told. A new “Game is Watching You” feature means that you won't simply be able to pad up the same stats and advance. Instead you'll need to vary your training as the game will adapt to your style and you'll need to follow the advice of some of the UFC's legendary fighters and trainers. You'll also need to fight your way into the UFC and hopefully Yukes will manage to capture the atmosphere of the really big fights. In terms of online, THQ is offering online training camps which will act like clans, allowing you to put your own teams together and take them into online competition.

Of course, EA Sports has also put a lot of effort into its career and online functionality of late.  Compare the big EA Sports franchises from 2009/2010 with their predecessors from a few years ago and you'll see huge leaps forward (the Be a Pro phenomenon, for example). However, there remains the question of how EA will be able to create a compelling progression system when it features multiple, competing, MMA organisations.

While, of course, this is all pure speculation, one thing that is for certain is that this competition will be good for the gamer, bringing MMA into the mainstream of sports gaming. Which game will prevail? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.   

Comment