Tag: UFC video game

10 Reasons “EA Sports UFC” Is the Most True-to-Life Video Game of All Time

(“Alex goes for a leg, gets a hold of a ghost that’s been haunting the arena, and huge takedown.” Props: Tommy Toe Hold)

By CP Reader Mike Kofman

While I may be a bit late to the party, I recently started playing the much maligned EA Sports UFC game. All I can say is, wow! What an accurate representation of what it’s like to be a UFC fan in 2015. Here are some of the highlights:

1) The Ultimate Fighter. You begin the Career Mode by creating a generic fighter who is cast as a member of The Ultimate Fighter. There, you proceed to fight a number of other generic, randomly generated, no-name fighters. It’s nothing short of brilliant how they managed to capture the very essence of being a viewer of that show in recent years. Kudos!


(“Alex goes for a leg, gets a hold of a ghost that’s been haunting the arena, and huge takedown.” Props: Tommy Toe Hold)

By CP Reader Mike Kofman

While I may be a bit late to the party, I recently started playing the much maligned EA Sports UFC game. All I can say is, wow! What an accurate representation of what it’s like to be a UFC fan in 2015. Here are some of the highlights:

1) The Ultimate Fighter. You begin the Career Mode by creating a generic fighter who is cast as a member of The Ultimate Fighter. There, you proceed to fight a number of other generic, randomly generated, no-name fighters. It’s nothing short of brilliant how they managed to capture the very essence of being a viewer of that show in recent years. Kudos!

2) Oversaturation. Once you win The Ultimate Fighter and begin your career in the UFC, you will start to notice that most of your opponents are randomly generated and essentially indistinguishable from each other. In fact, 70% of the undercards are filled with computer generated fighters. I really have to commend the game designers on their commitment to highlighting the saturation plaguing the industry.

3) Bad Judging. You are often subjected to baffling, illogical decisions by the judges, where you are clearly beating your opponent into “a living death” only to see him get his hand raised at the end of the fight (usually via split decision). The look of complete incomprehension on the dead-eyed face of your character only adds to the realism. Once again, great move by the designers to simulate the state of MMA judging.

4) Dana’s Shouting. I really appreciate that after every major milestone in your UFC career, Dana White will appear on screen to shout at you via Full Motion Video (FMV, more on that later). It doesn’t matter if you just won your preliminary fight on The Ultimate Fighter or are about to be promoted to a Main Event, Dana is sure to appear to yell that he is really proud/mad at you. The fact that he is unable to steer clear of profanity just completes the effect. To anyone who ever watched a UFC post fight press conference, this will be intimately familiar. Bravo!

5) State of Creativity in the UFC. Speaking of FMVs, it’s not only Dana who appears to offer you words of encouragement. The game is full of nearly high definition, repetitive videos that barrage you after every single fight. And what better way to highlight the current state of UFC’s promotional innovation than with technology that was considered cutting edge in 1992? The fact that such currently relevant fighters as Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Mike Dolce appear to offer you words (in Chuck’s case, mumbles) of wisdom is just icing on the cake.

6) Music Selection. I remember playing EA’s last foray into the world of MMA (EA Sports MMA) and feeling a sense of outrage wash over me upon hearing Gogol Bordello’s “Immigraniada” or Turisas’ “A Portage to the Unknown” begin to play as my opponent made his way to the cage. Are you kidding me? What a great way to break my immersion in the game, as that is in no way representative of the type of music you hear at an MMA event.  Thankfully, EA Sports UFC corrects this glaring issue.

Now, you are treated to Stemm’s “Bum Rushed”, the venerable “Face The Pain”, and Jarrid Mendelson’s “The Ultimate Remix.” For the adventurous, there are three different versions of Linkin Park’s “Guilty All The Same!” There may be a way to import your own music, but why would you want to? Well done!

7) Terrible Corners. Nothing fools me into thinking that I am watching a real UFC PPV event more than bad corner advice. Luckily, the game has done its homework and does not disappoint. All of the hits are there: From assurances that my character won the round he clearly lost, to emphatic encouragement to utilize my kickboxer’s nearly non-existent ground game against a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master. I am especially fond of helpful shouts of, “It’s ok, you are fine!” as my character stumbles around the Octagon in a near unconscious daze.

8. Inane Commentary. I am amazed at how accurately this game portrays the fight commentary prowess of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. Goldberg’s exclamations of “Body shot!” during a head kick, and Rogan’s in-depth analysis on how a fighter utilizing his strengths while avoiding his opponent’s will probably win the fight makes me really feel as if I’m watching an actual UFC event. The added shrieks of, “Oh!” and “Wow!” whenever anyone on screen does anything of note just adds to the immersion effect.

9. Late Stoppages. As you progress through your career in the game, you can’t help but notice that the referees sure take their sweet time stopping the fights. Often, I found myself pummeling my clearly knocked out (possibly dead) opponent while the ref is nonchalantly standing by. I would not be surprised if Steve Mazzagatti or Jerin Valel was brought on as an expert consultant. The attention to detail in this game is truly amazing. Speaking of which…

10. Bad Sportsmanship. The fact that I still have no idea how to properly perform a friendly glove tap at the beginning of a round speaks volumes for this game’s adherence to the old sports adage, “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.” The attention to detail here is stunning, as I was frequently allowed to hit my opponent after the bell, kick him in the head while he’s clearly down, and hold onto submissions for way too long (bonus points for simulating my opponent’s agonizing convulsions as he cradles his clearly destroyed appendage). The level of research that the game designers invested in this product is truly impressive, as my character was never penalized by the tranquil looking referee. If I must level one criticism, it’s that there is no apparent way to grab the cage in order to prevent being taken down, something that I’m hoping the sequel will address.

These are my initial thoughts on this amazing simulation of the current state of MMA. If only there was an option to use PEDs, the immersion would be complete.

The 12 Most Awesome/Terrible ‘EA Sports UFC’ Demo Videos Created by Actual Users

(Nut shots. It’s in the game.™)

By Ryan Harkness

Last week, the much anticipated EA Sports reboot of the UFC video game franchise went live in demo form — those fortunate enough to already own a next gen console got to take control of Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson and beat the living piss out of each other for as long as that stayed entertaining. And based on the hundreds of user-uploaded videos, it seems like people are indeed entertained…if not always for the right reasons.

We’ve now dug up the 12 best videos created thus far so you can get a closer look at how the game plays when in the hands of semi-competent gamers. Follow me after the jump to see all the best knockouts, tap-outs, and glitch-outs that EA SPORTS UFC has to offer.

A lot of YouTubers tend to upload knockout videos that are 8 minutes long and feature two to three knockouts. This is terrible. So don’t bother with any other allegedly ‘hilarious’ and / or ‘brutal’ knockout highlight videos. Watch this one, which crams over 25 knockouts into less than two minutes. Some compelling ass-kicking music and 1080p rendering really lets you enjoy watching Alexander Gustafsson recreate such famous KO poses as the Etim, the Salmon, and the Quarry. What, no Schaub trying to catch his soul?


(Nut shots. It’s in the game.™)

By Ryan Harkness

Last week, the much anticipated EA Sports reboot of the UFC video game franchise went live in demo form — those fortunate enough to already own a next gen console got to take control of Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson and beat the living piss out of each other for as long as that stayed entertaining. And based on the hundreds of user-uploaded videos, it seems like people are indeed entertained…if not always for the right reasons.

We’ve now dug up the 12 best videos created thus far so you can get a closer look at how the game plays when in the hands of semi-competent gamers. Follow me after the jump to see all the best knockouts, tap-outs, and glitch-outs that EA SPORTS UFC has to offer.

A lot of YouTubers tend to upload knockout videos that are 8 minutes long and feature two to three knockouts. This is terrible. So don’t bother with any other allegedly ‘hilarious’ and / or ‘brutal’ knockout highlight videos. Watch this one, which crams over 25 knockouts into less than two minutes. Some compelling ass-kicking music and 1080p rendering really lets you enjoy watching Alexander Gustafsson recreate such famous KO poses as the Etim, the Salmon, and the Quarry. What, no Schaub trying to catch his soul?

I’m still having a hard time getting my takedown defense up to even British levels of consistency, never mind pulling off fancy submissions on the ground. But others have mastered the system and have created a playlist featuring every sub in the game. There’s some pretty fancy ones like the inverted triangle and Peruvian necktie, but my favorite remains the kimura because of the epic poopface fighters make while going for it.

Question for readers: Does Jon Jones’ use of the Five-Point-Palm Exploding-Heart-Technique make him a dirty fighter? Don’t forget to let everyone know what an asshole you think he is in the comments.

There are a couple of animations that seem to pop up a lot in this demo. There’s that pro wrestling body slam that makes up for 33.33333 percent of all takedowns, and then there’s this super stunned staggering business, which can get a little over the top at times. Never give up hope though — Frankie Edgar looked twice as bad during those Gray Maynard fights and still managed to pull out the win.

Just like in real life, video game Jon Jones is poking everyone in their facenuts. Video game Alexander Gustafsson’s response to this is one of the best delayed reaction performances you’re going to see outside of soccer.

On the next page: Sudden paralysis, heavy petting, and the ONE WEIRD TRICK to winning every time…

The 15 Derpiest Looking Characters From EA Sports UFC


(Ah, the good ol’ days.)

By Ryan Harkness

EA has finally pulled back the curtain on its much anticipated UFC video game, and while the extra horsepower from next-gen consoles has the sport looking better than ever, it is also ratcheting up the phenomenon known as the Uncanny Valley.

The hypothesis goes that the more realistic a human recreation gets, the more small imperfections begin to stick out in our minds, screaming at us that something is very, very wrong. A useful evolutionary trait if you happen to be trapped in the Antarctic with John Carpenter’s The Thing. Not so useful when trying to play EA Sports UFC without getting the heebie jeebies.

That being said, I don’t want to imply that the game suffers from Polar Express levels of uncanny valley. Most of the modeling looks freaking great. Video game Chuck Liddell looks exactly like real-life Chuck Liddell and not some Iceman furry from the seventh circle of Hell. Conor McGregor is perfectly recreated right down to the King’s Crisps crumbs in his beard. And the actual gameplay videos look pretty damn smooth too.

But capturing the exact essence of over 100 people is tricky work and there are still some fighters with just enough je-ne-saix-quoi to cause many to recoil in horror. Let’s take a look through through some of the best worst examples to find out who ended up the pound-for-pound derpiest character in the game…


Georges St Pierre was so busy being a hotshot action star that the EA people had to scan the wax GSP statue from Madame Tussauds. And then just like in Jurassic Park, they added some Frank Trigg DNA to fill in the gaps and bada bing bada boom! L’essence du Georges!


(Ah, the good ol’ days.)

By Ryan Harkness

EA has finally pulled back the curtain on its much anticipated UFC video game, and while the extra horsepower from next-gen consoles has the sport looking better than ever, it is also ratcheting up the phenomenon known as the Uncanny Valley.

The hypothesis goes that the more realistic a human recreation gets, the more small imperfections begin to stick out in our minds, screaming at us that something is very, very wrong. A useful evolutionary trait if you happen to be trapped in the Antarctic with John Carpenter’s The Thing. Not so useful when trying to play EA Sports UFC without getting the heebie jeebies.

That being said, I don’t want to imply that the game suffers from Polar Express levels of uncanny valley. Most of the modeling looks freaking great. Video game Chuck Liddell looks exactly like real-life Chuck Liddell and not some Iceman furry from the seventh circle of Hell. Conor McGregor is perfectly recreated right down to the King’s Crisps crumbs in his beard. And the actual gameplay videos look pretty damn smooth too.

But capturing the exact essence of over 100 people is tricky work and there are still some fighters with just enough je-ne-saix-quoi to cause many to recoil in horror. Let’s take a look through through some of the best worst examples to find out who ended up the pound-for-pound derpiest character in the game…


Georges St Pierre was so busy being a hotshot action star that the EA people had to scan the wax GSP statue from Madame Tussauds. And then just like in Jurassic Park, they added some Frank Trigg DNA to fill in the gaps and bada bing bada boom! L’essence du Georges!


This is Demian Maia working a kimura. And taking a mighty poop.


Check out Roy Nelson channeling his inner Abraham Lincoln. Four score and seven hamburgers ago…


Jose doesn’t say much since the incident. He doesn’t move much either. He just kinda sits there all still-like, staring out. Out into the endless void. I don’t know what he sees, or if he will ever come back to us. Some would say death is cleaner.


All trane and no cravat shopping makes Rory MacDonald a dull boy. All trane and no cravat shopping makes Rory a dull boy. ALL TRANE AND NO CRAVAT SHOPPING MAKES RORY A DULL BOY!


Alistair Overeem looks like he’s trying out for a live action version of Shrek.


“Smells like piglet savages in here.”


This Brad Pickett comes from an alternate universe where Brad gave up on his fight dream, became a dentist, and now lives a quiet life in Northamptonshire with two parrots and no trilbies.

Hit that “next page” button for Grandpa Nate, Super-Creepy Joe, Sad Rashad and more…

Five Things We Want To See In The Next ‘UFC Undisputed’


(If you’re controlling the Japanese fighter against Rampage, just hit down, down, up, X, down to poison his food.)

By Jason Moles

Two weeks ago, fans around the world were delighted to partake in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s latest attempt to broaden its revenue streams with the release of UFC Undisputed 3. It didn’t take long before word began to spread about just how incredible the game is. But despite all of the improvements and advantages that Undisputed 3 has over the game’s first two installments — such as an improved submission system, a less cluttered career mode, and the inclusion of two additional weight classes and a PRIDE mode — the game just isn’t quite “as real as it gets.” At least not yet. Here are five things that UFC and THQ need to add the next go-’round if they want to put a little truth in their advertising and gain some more street cred among UFC die-hards.

Hat Thieves: If you’ve been watching the sport for any amount of time you will have noticed that fighters love to promote their sponsors with every opportunity they get, from donning their gear to slapping a sticker on everything they wear. Some even go as far tattooing a logo on their calf. One of the easiest ways to rep a company that gives you a paycheck for the exposure is to throw a ball cap on your head on the way to the Octagon…and hope that you still have it on when you hit the Harley Davidson prep point.

Hat snatchers are the lowest of the low, depending on whom you ask, and yet they add a comically endearing bit of chaos to the broadcast. C’mon, admit it. You chuckle every time a hat vanishes into the crowd. Therefore when my created fighter, The Bulldog, makes his way to the cage, I want to see someone snatch his hat. Then, and only then, will I know I’ve made it.


(If you’re controlling the Japanese fighter against Rampage, just hit down, down, up, X, down to poison his food.)

By Jason Moles

Two weeks ago, fans around the world were delighted to partake in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s latest attempt to broaden its revenue streams with the release of UFC Undisputed 3. It didn’t take long before word began to spread about just how incredible the game is. But despite all of the improvements and advantages that Undisputed 3 has over the game’s first two installments — such as an improved submission system, a less cluttered career mode, and the inclusion of two additional weight classes and a PRIDE mode — the game just isn’t quite “as real as it gets.” At least not yet. Here are five things that UFC and THQ need to add the next go-’round if they want to put a little truth in their advertising and gain some more street cred among UFC die-hards.

Hat Thieves: If you’ve been watching the sport for any amount of time you will have noticed that fighters love to promote their sponsors with every opportunity they get, from donning their gear to slapping a sticker on everything they wear. Some even go as far tattooing a logo on their calf. One of the easiest ways to rep a company that gives you a paycheck for the exposure is to throw a ball cap on your head on the way to the Octagon…and hope that you still have it on when you hit the Harley Davidson prep point.

Hat snatchers are the lowest of the low, depending on whom you ask, and yet they add a comically endearing bit of chaos to the broadcast. C’mon, admit it. You chuckle every time a hat vanishes into the crowd. Therefore when my created fighter, The Bulldog, makes his way to the cage, I want to see someone snatch his hat. Then, and only then, will I know I’ve made it.

The Ultimate Fighter Online Capability: Think of The Sims if they were all ready to destroy a door or ejaculate on their roomie’s food. You create a fighter, get a few local fights, and hope to pass the TUF tryouts. Survive the TUF house by training and beating anyone that gets in your way and snag a six-figure contract in the UFC. The best parts of the new TUF mode are the coach’s challenges and the down-time in between fights and training. Just think of the fun to be had in the virtual mansion as you hide a dude’s gloves preventing him from hitting the heavy bag later on or sprinkling itching powder on someone’s bed.

Verbal Assaults and Coaching Advice from Belligerent Fans: “Get a room!”, “Kick his ass!”, and “Punch him with your punches!” are all things shouted by inebriated fans. Sure, I can see how you’d think this was a bad thing to add to the game, but just imagine the look on your girlfriend’s face when your fighter is on his back with GSP in full mount showing off his spectacular Lay and Pray. (Yes, this is really a selectable gameplan in Undisputed 3.) As soon as a FOX noob in the stands yells, “Get a room!” she’ll smile and inform you that that was exactly what she was thinking. Is it as annoying as listening to the same questions being asked to fighters by three or four different so-called journalists? You bet. But that’s how the game is played.

Weight Cutting Mini-Game: An optional feature, the weight-cutting mini game before each fight would challenge you to get your fighter on weight by performing a correct sequence of buttons, like dancing in GTA, or hitting the correct buttons at precisely the right time a la Guitar Hero. Each successful button pressed allows your fighter more time in the sauna thus, he has a greater chance of making weight. On the other hand, should you miss weight you will be penalized 20% of your purse in Career Mode and your stats will be impacted negatively in all modes, including online. If you fail as miserably as Anthony “Rumble” Johnson did, you may just get cut from the UFC and demoted to a spot in Supremacy MMA.

Joe Rogan ‘Castigation Mode‘: Ahh, Joe Rogan. Is there nothing controversial that doesn’t involve you? Don’t get us wrong, bro, we love you on the stick and your antics are indeed comedy gold, but some of the ish that comes out of your mouth is complete insanity. For better or worse, Rogan will forever be linked to ultimate fighting and some of the crazier things that have happened will forever be remembered thanks solely to the masterful commentary of “Balloons.” I especially love your ‘Spilled Bag of Ice Meltdown‘. In this much-needed addition to the next installment of Undisputed, gamers would be treated to the following:

– Auto-correction of improper Rubber Guard technique
– Referee challenging
– Challenging a fighter’s preparation
– Diamond MMA cup plug
– Mocking fighters who clearly don’t know $%*@ about BJJ
& much, much more!

What do you think? Tell us what you want to see in the next UFC video game in the comments section.

Whoa! PRIDE Mode Looks Pretty Awesome for UFC: Undisputed 3

(Video courtesy of YouTube/IGN)

If you’re going to make a PRIDE mode promo for the new Undisputed game, there’s nobody (not even our good pal, Jerry Millen) better to pump us up for it than Bas Rutten.

IGN posted this awesome trailer for UFC: Undisputed 3 today and it makes us want to go out and soccer kick and headstomp fools to prove that “PRIDE never die.”

Maybe we’ll save the urge until tomorrow night when we head down to the local watering hole to hang with a bunch of drunken MMA experts to watch the UFC 138 re-broadcast. Either that or we’ll do what we always do and make bets with the idiots who are either too drunk or too oblivious to know that the fights happened earlier in the afternoon.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/IGN)

If you’re going to make a PRIDE mode promo for the new Undisputed game, there’s nobody (not even our good pal, Jerry Millen) better to pump us up for it than Bas Rutten.

IGN posted this awesome trailer for UFC: Undisputed 3 today and it makes us want to go out and soccer kick and headstomp fools to prove that “PRIDE never die.”

Maybe we’ll save the urge until tomorrow night when we head down to the local watering hole to hang with a bunch of drunken MMA experts to watch the UFC 138 re-broadcast. Either that or we’ll do what we always do and make bets with the idiots who are either too drunk or too oblivious to know that the fights happened earlier in the afternoon.

Admit it, you’re going to try using our well-crafted plan tomorrow night. A word of advice: wait until after the second or third main card bout since most people are still warming up at that point and it sucks to be called out for scamming Mr. Spray Tan and Frosted Tips, especially if you have to make the walk of shame out before the end of the event.

Until then, re-watch this clip a few dozen times and daydream about how fun it’s going to be to stomp your online opponent’s melon into the PRIDE canvas until he “mysteriously” disconnects from the server.

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but this game actually might be better than PRIDE FC: Fighting Championsship for PS2.