I’ve been an official fan of boxing games since EA released the all-time classic Knockout Kings 2000 back on days of the N64 in 1999. Since then, a myriad of boxing games have been released but few achieved greatness until the first Fight Night hit store shelves more than 4 years ago. Since then, the Fight Night series saw two more games, including Fight Night Round 3 which became an instant classic among gamers and set the standard of what boxing games should be. Three years have passed and EA Sports has spawned a new game in the Fight Night series which by many, should be the best boxing game ever produced. Let’s take a look and see if players’ expectations are being met.

EA Canada, the studio behind some of the most successful videogame sports franchises (NHL, FIFA, NBA), has stepped up for the development of this new Fight Night game since FNR3 developer EA Chicago closed its doors last year. It’s clear in gamers’ minds that when a game is being developed at EA Canada, the words “refinement” and “improvement” comes to mind. While a boxing videogame can’t have the same amount of new features and additions compared to a football or hockey game, Fight Night Round 4 improves a few notable things over its predecessor without being a fully transformed videogame depiction of the real thing. Improvement is well present but it’s has a few things that stops it from being the perfect boxing game.


Gameplay

48 licensed boxers are being featured in the game, most of them present in FNR3 (Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard, the late Arturo Gatti, Roberto Duran, Muhammad Ali) and new ones in the likes of George Foreman, Shane Mosley, Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson. However, the first thing you will notice about Fight Night Round 4 is that most of the complaints addressed in FNR3 have been worked out for the better.

First of all, you can say goodbye to the button controls and say hello to a new and improved Total Punch control scheme, which brings a more realistic way to play the game. While it was given as an option in FNR3, it has now been implemented as the sole control option. Fear not, fighting with the analog stick is way more responsive this time around and not so complicated to use, that’s if you’re willing to be patient and take the time to learn it. Since the Total Control scheme will require you to throw punches intelligently, tactics like blocking, leaning, moving around and stamina management will become very important if you want to drill a devastating and well-placed haymaker into your opponent’s skull, knocking him out for good. Believe me when I say that it’s even more intuitive to use rather than punching your way out by randomly smashing buttons like a hoot. The learning curve is a bit steep but far from being complicated. Speaking of analog sticks, FNR4 makes also usage of both analog sticks to get up after a knockdown. On the count of ten, you will be asked to use the left stick to find your balance while the right stick will make you get up. Sensitivity and patience are required because if you move the sticks too fast, your boxer will simply not recover. The first knockdown will be easy to recover from but the more you go down, the harder it will be to get up. This is just another great way to add realism to the whole mix.

However, the new fighting system will not please everyone. In FNR3, recurrent Haymakers would eventually tire your opponent and drop his stamina considerably to increase your chances of winning. In FNR4, no matter how powerful your punches are, the effects are less effective. Stamina decreases slowly and the health bar will returns to a 100% state faster. The new Total Punch Control scheme forces you to play more strategically by reducing the number of devastating Haymakers and increase you focus on their accuracy and quality. Timing will then become your best friend. Let’s not forget counter punching as it will be become really important in your quest for victory. This new system will frustrate adepts of the “punch fast and hard to win the match” but it’s greatly appreciated by many of us that grew tired of getting beaten in 10 seconds in FNR3, especially online.


One way to get better and understand this new fighting mechanics, besides the short tutorial given at the beginning of the game, is to start a career through FNR4’s Legacy Mode. Once you have chosen your character (either by choosing from a list or create a custom one), the game presents you a calendar in which you can schedule fights and participate in important training sessions in between fights. Then, attribute points will be given to improve your pugilist twelve skill ratings. To help you get there, FNR4 offers six mini-game training activities that are incredibly effective but certainly a bit complicated to pull off as the difficulty was ramped up compared to those in FNR3. Practice does make you better and Fight Night Round 4 acknowledges it. However, here’s the downside: your career calendar limits you to a certain number of training exercises before each fight. By making the exercises tougher to accomplish, improving your attributes the way you want it might not be possible. Additionally, if you skip it by choosing the auto-training option, you will be getting only half of the points you could have had. Also, when you start your career as a 19 year old, your boxer will age as your career progresses (even in between training sessions), which means that if you missed an opportunity to rank up appropriately, that opportunity might cost you a championship belt during your career. This will also have a direct repercussion on your boxer because the opponent you will have to face in certain matches will be too strong for you. It will be possible to win but the task will be arduous as throwing strategic punches for the sake of scoring points will become your best bet to win.

Now, we all know that boxers don’t fight every two weeks, which explains why the aging system had to be truly implemented in the game. One question does arise: can the aging system versus the effect of the training sessions could be presented in a less punitive way? Only EA has the answer. That’s being said, the Legacy Mode has flaws that can become really irritating to some players but does not negatively affect the finished product’s quality. However, we could only wish for a better and improved career mode in the next Fight Night game.

Certainly the coolest feature in FNR4 remains the Create-a-Boxer tool which makes a return but only better. The game lets you create your own boxer from scratch, choosing its own weight class, fighting style and even its attitude to adopt during simulated fights. Not only lets you create and save up to 40 custom boxers at one time but you can also use the “Photo GameFace” feature, take your picture with either the Xbox 360 Live Camera or any other USB camera on your PS3 and create a boxer to your image. Even cooler, you can upload real digital camera pictures of you through EASPORTSWORLD.com, import them into the game and create a way more accurate version of you. If I had to recommend one of the two, I would say go with tools offered through the EA website. The addition of this neat feature resulted in the presence of great selection of custom boxers, all created by the EASPORTSWORLD online community. It may not be huge for some, but if you’ve been begging for new boxers to add to your game, this new customization system deserves my two thumbs up. Always wanted to know who would win between Borat Sagadiev and Harry Potter? Now you can!

Graphics and Sounds

While the game shines in terms of new features and tweaks, FNR4’s visuals are very impressive but not as strikingly as FNR3 was back in 2006. Some will say that a boxing game will always be about two guys exchanging punches with one getting beaten senseless until the bell rings. With that in mind, the idea to bring an even bigger visually realistic experience may not be possible. Still, EA Canada did the necessary by bringing a new physics engine that brings more fluidity to the fights, the same highly detailed boxers and an improved lighting system. However, the “wow” from three years ago isn’t shouted with the same intensity. Other little changes such as a toned-down facial damage and a pulled-back camera view can also be noticed. Regardless of this, EA Canada brought the extra polish and detail missing from the previous game to deliver an amazing visual feast to our eyes once more. FNR4 focuses more on the gameplay mechanics rather than the visual aspect of the game but it doesn’t sacrifices it either. The game remains visually impressive.


In terms of the audio, FNR4 is a sensorial treat giving players a great mix of outstanding and colourful commentary, an interesting selection of music tracks and the most impressive environmental sound effects. The force of the punches, the crowd cheers and jeers, everything was captured to make you feel like you are in the ring getting or giving the beating. If you have played FN Round 3, you will find lots of similarities in the commentary however, it feels better this time around as it is perceived more natural rather than cheap scripted lines often seen in other sports games. Plus, the announcers relate the trials and tribulations of the pugilists in action, adding a touch of authenticity to the whole experience. What do I think of the game’s soundtrack and EA Canada’s choice of the music genre? I must say, whether you like it or not, hip hop is heavily favoured in FNR4 but it does offer other types of songs to compliment the different players tastes (something that the FNR3 definitely lacked). However, being a hip-hop fan, I’m enjoying the fact that songs from Three 6 Mafia, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def and RZA are being featured alongside other smaller hip hop artists. Now, if the game’s soundtrack doesn’t please you enough, the Custom Soundtrack option can easily help you out.

Value

If Round 3’s replay value was very good (people were still playing it up until Round 4 got released), I can safely assure you that FNR4’s value is as big as its predecessor. Whether you like it or not, the deeper but not necessarily perfect Legacy Mode also plays an important role in the game’s replay value. Plus, the online part of the game, even if it can be a daunting and frustrating place to be, will still make you spent countless hours with your friends, which I highly recommend. The online world in FNR4 hasn’t changed much since FNR3. You know what I mean?

Conclusion

Fight Night Round 4 can easily be described as “the most accessible and yet challenging boxing game ever created”. The fighting mechanics have been revamped and refined to please hardcore boxing gamers but EA Canada has also found a great way to make the game incredibly less frustrating to newcomers as well. Yes, the online matchmaking world remains a daunting place to be however what the game has to offer besides that makes up for it. If you grew tired of FN Round 3, this new chapter in the Fight Night series is definitely worth the upgrade.