EA has finally released some gameplay video for EA Sports UFC, and it features the (hopefully) upcoming title fight between Anthony "Showtime" Pettis and Jose Aldo. There's a lot to take in with this video, so let's break it down.
 

Visual Fidelity

It's no secret that this game looks good, but seeing it in action really demonstrates how off the page some of the visual detail is. While it's true that there's a bit of repeating animation in the intros (watch Pettis' walk), and there is some uncanny valley in the eyes (Bruce Buffer seemed the most prominent), there is a great deal of detail here that is really something to behold.

I absolutely loved the camera work for the intros and during the fight itself. It had the right amount of height to show everything that was going on, and the way it swept over the Octagon really mimicked the real-life product. The fighters themselves still look ridiculously good, with some incredible skin tones and believable faces. That shot of Jose Aldo looking down in the intro is downright crazy.

It was nice to see that the crowd, Octagon girls, referee, Bruce Buffer and the cornermen all looked pretty good too. They didn't stick out like a sore thumb like in previous UFC products, and it seems that a similar level of visual treatment went into making them look appropriate for the next-gen setting.

Footwork and Combos

It was also exciting to see the footwork and player movement in action, with Pettis and Aldo both actually propelling their bodies around the cage with the right foot-planting and momentum. It was cool to see their feet actually impacting the mat and stepping correctly based on body position, and the way they cover ground when moving in on each other really works, on the whole. I also liked that there was the odd animation of them bouncing or readjusting, which definitely helps with the immersion factor.
 

Just as impressive were some of the combos landed by each fighter, as the fluidity during those sequences was encouraging to see. The best of these was Pettis' scintillating left hook that just stunned Aldo, and then he followed up with two right-hand shots to the body, further injuring Aldo. After that, he sets up that beauty left and tries to land another right as Aldo is dropping, but that whole sequence looked filthy.

Little Details

I love that the game features a great sense of personality for each fighter, from their visual detail to their animations. We've previously seen stuff like Benson Henderson adjusting his hair during the match, but here we get great details like Aldo's pawing hand posture, Pettis' ridiculous hairline, and both fighters' crazy setups when they're throwing vicious leg kicks. Speaking of leg kicks, it's great seeing them checked with such a good animation, as it looked really fluid and believable when it happened in that video. The way both fighters lunged on certain punches looked awesome as well, especially when it was a glancing shot or a strike with a bit less power.

Also of note was the crowd audio that reacted to what was going on, and the cornermen were quite active with their chatter as well. Credit to EA for making a referee that seems to stay out of the way, as Yves Lavinge worked his way around the Octagon and appeared to be an actual person in there. Then again, we haven't seen how it looks when he's breaking things up or stopping a fight. The Octagon itself also looks spectacular, with all of the correct branding and some great lighting.
 

Some Stiff Animations

I certainly don't want to dwell on this point, as I think the speed of the fighters, the settings used for this video and the nature of videogames has a lot to do with the pace and animations seen here. To be truthful, a lot of the gameplay looked fluid and believable, with some crazy techniques being thrown in for good measure. I liked what I saw of a good deal of the punches, and the leg kicks looked great.

Still, there were some awkward transitions when bridging from certain strikes, and both fighters appeared to walk through a good deal of shots that should have stunned them or slowed them down some. The flying knees also seemed to be set up a bit out of nowhere, and the reaction of the opponent to them was quite flat.

A Few Unrealistic Elements

Aldo's slam comes to mind, as it was a bit much based on the double-leg takedown he was struggling with. I know some of the older UFC games were hindered because of too much slamming and easy takedowns, so I hope a player will actually have to work for them or counter correctly in order to gain a position on the ground. The amount of headkick techniques being thrown in this video was also somewhat goofy, with both fighters trying kicks in a proximity that they'd never attempt in real life. I totally concede the fact that a user can input when they want, but I've always wondered if a cooldown system on some of these "special" techniques would help with the realism here.

Commentary

I can't say that I expected a revelation in the commentary from previous UFC products, but damn if that actually didn't sound worse than what's come before. The pre-match stuff seemed fine, with Mike Goldberg providing the tale of the tape and some other banter. But during the match? Yikes. Long silences, erratic interjections and unfocused comments. It's always going to be a problem to keep up with a sport that has as much strike-spamming potential as MMA, but what I heard during that match sounded incomplete. Maybe the developers at EA Canada are thinking less is more, but what I heard here didn't sound all that hot.
 

Submissions

One of the biggest elements we still haven't seen in video form is the submission system. We've heard a lot about the minigame and working your way through the "gates" to progress to the next stage, but it would be nice to see it in action. I presume the PR folks likely wanted to show the "wow" stuff first, so it makes sense that they'd delay showing something that breaks the immersion. I'm really curious to know how submission skill, submission defense and stamina are going to play into the submission portion of the game, but that's likely something we won't know until we have the final product in our hands.

Stamina

I'll chalk some of the gameplay video's speed up to the weight class of the fighters and the need to show off a lot of striking in a short period of time, but it did feel a touch spammy for my taste. To be sure, I liked a lot of what I saw, but there didn't seem to be much stamina conservation going on. Both fighters were flinging off techniques like it was going out of style, and there were no signs of slowing down. Again, I expect that the difficulty level, stamina settings, weight class and the nature of this PR video are partially the culprit here, so hopefully the full game allows for a bit more pace and responsibility for throwing that many strikes.

"Finish the Fight" Moments

While there were a couple of "rocked" moments in that video, there was nothing that really showed us how a fight would actually finish in this game. I'm going to assume it probably takes the shape of the THQ games, where a fighter has a specific damage amount threshold that's reached, and then a few subsequent strikes send him into a final daze. I would hope you're able to block intelligently and attempt a desperation grapple in these moments, but again, none of this was really shown.

Outlook

I'm still incredibly bullish on EA Sports UFC, especially after seeing this video. There's a lot to be excited about, even if every little animation or detail isn't quite exactly how it may have been described beforehand. I love what I'm seeing from the game visually, and the gameplay appears to have a very strong foundation, if nothing else. I'm eagerly awaiting more gameplay that can show us submissions, stamina conservation and fight-finishing scenarios, but I'm sure we'll see that stuff soon.