I will copy and paste most of the article here.
On the feel of the game:
My biggest problem with THQ's UFC effort last year was that the fighting was too mechanical. At times it felt like you were playing Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots whether on the ground or standing. EA Sports has gone to great lengths to ensure that their game has a more organic feel to its combat. Fighters can throw punches simultaneously without waiting for their opponent's animation to finish. We saw player models for Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers grappling on the ground. Fedor threw punches to Brett's head as Rogers struck the Russian's side.
On the AI:
Also adding to the natural feel of the fighting is the artificial intelligence of the fighters. When the two combatants are far away from each other in the ring their guard will go down and they'll have a more relaxed strut to their walk. As they get closer they'll put their hands up and get into their fighting stance just as you'd see in a real fight.
On the engine being used for the game:
The combat in EA Sports MMA is all handled by a heavily modified version of the Fight Night Round 4 engine. EA Sports' Tiburon Studio has been working on the game for more than two years, but their building blocks for the striking began with FNR4 and then incorporated technology from many other EA Sports properties. Expect to see realistic hit detection no matter where you strike your opponent. EA Sports is also putting a lot of effort into making sure that each of the bruisers in its game play as close to their real life counterpart as possible. If you're worried about the same counter system from Round 4 making its way to EA Sports MMA, don't be. I was told that the counter and parry system in EA Sports will be much more organic, thus eliminating the "super-punch" tendency of EA Sports' boxing title.
On the control layout:
As for the actual combat in the ring -- and there will be different rings aside from the standard cage setup -- EA Sports was being a bit cagey when asked to dive into the specifics of controlling both the ground game and stand-up game. Standard striking will be handled by the analog stick by default, though all of the controls can be customized if you prefer something different. The developers want kicking and punching to be the same movement on the analog stick regardless of whether you're on the ground or upright. How you'll handle moving from mount to half-guard (as well as other transitions on the mat) is still a bit of a mystery.
Dale Jackson, Executive Producer on the game, said that, much like the striking, advancing position will be the same movement or button press regardless of where you are in the ring. If you're in the clinch, it's going to be the same motion to advance your position as if you're on the ground. The same goes for defense. We know that face buttons will make an appearance and that the complexities of the ground game will be handled with a combination of analog stick movements and face button presses, but beyond that little was revealed. Jackson went on to say that they want to keep the control scheme as simple as possible so gamers can learn the moves and instinctually react in the ring.
On career mode:
EA Sports was also secretive when asked about the game's career mode. Obviously you'll be able to create your own fighter and an improved version of EA Sports' Photo GameFace will be employed to create your virtual likeness, but how you'll grow your fighter is still up in the air. They did say that there will be more than just the Strikeforce license in the final product, so it would stand to reason that fighters would begin with small real world MMA leagues and then work their way up the ladder, with the eventual goal being to sign with Strikeforce and earn title belts.
We were also given a quick look at training locations. EA Sports MMA will apparently let you travel around the world to focus on different forms of martial arts. For Brazilian Jujitsu you'll go to Brazil, for Muay Thai you'll make the trip to Asia. There's still no word on whether real world trainers will make an appearance, but I wouldn't discount anything at this point. Training itself will be a teaching exercise so gamers can learn how to fight. I suspect that means that you won't be lifting weights and punching and kicking different areas of the heavy bag to get ready for a fight.
On the graphics and animations:
Visually EA Sports MMA is already looking very impressive. Fighters move and strike accurately when compared to their real life counterparts and the amount of detail on each model is definitely impressive. Fedor's fighter has a large scar on his face, just like the Russian does in reality. One member of the press commented that Fedor's model looks more like Fedor than the picture that was super-imposed to compare to the screenshot. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it's definitely close.
The animation work is also very impressive. We were shown a leg kick at the beginning of a fight and a leg kick several minutes in after plenty of damage had been inflicted and the reaction was totally different. At first Fedor was able to take the kick without budging, but once he took a few more, one leg kick was able to send him reeling, thus opening the door for a takedown. Now all EA Sports has to do is add in the muscle flexes and ancillary body movements that will help bring the action even closer to the genuine article. It also won't hurt that EA claims everything will be running at 60 frames per second by the time the game ships.
On roster:
My look at EA Sports MMA was definitely short and sweet and left me wanting a lot more. EA Sports was understandably guarded about the specifics of things like the career mode and the controls which are likely still being finalized. My one concern is the number of fighters that will be in the game. When asked about the number of fighters on the roster, Jackson said that EA Sports is focusing on the quality of each fighter rather than having a huge roster. Sounds to me like it won't be as expansive as what was seen in THQ's UFC game, but we'll have to wait until more is revealed for the real answer to that question. It's also interesting that EA is considering adding a women's division of fighters. I, for one, completely support that move if it happens.
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