Fight Night Round 3 Review
This is gonna be good...
Fight Night used to be known as Knockout Kings - the series started in '98. Then in 2004 they decided a name change would bring more attention to the revolution of the controls - the Total Punch Control System. Fight Night uses the right analog stick for all punches. Depending on your handedness, a diagonal upwards movement to either side is either a straight (same side has your main hand) or jab (opposite). Crosses are preformed by pushing straight out to either side than rolling the sitck up to the top. An uppercut is right or left downwards and then rolling the stick upwards to the top, much like the actual movement of the arm.
You also use a button modifier to lean. Leaning forward will have all of your bunches targeting the body, while away and to the sides will allow you to dodge punches. Each punch takes away stamina, a bar that slowly regrows. However, over time the bar's maximum while become smaller to cub those who let their "hands go" too frequently. Above your stamina bar is your health. Once this goes all the way down, you enter a KO situation where any power shot will bring you to the floor. If you can stay out of the way or clinch your opponent you gain some health back and get out of the situation. Like the stamina bar, the maximum for health goes down as you take more damage, making you suspectible to knock downs later in the fight. Cuts and swelling will weaken your defenses, so if you cut open your opponent's left eyes. Any punches that hit it will take away much more health than usual.
Got it? On with the review!
(Review system)
Graphics: As usual, EA has some of the best graphical artists around. While not a great upgrade from last year, some of the animations seem smoother and the collision detection is accurate, making most of the superfluous replays realistic. There's still that odd reaction to knockdowns from the virtual boxers - basically they become ragdoll models and fall in very unrealstic ways. They fall backwards in two, something that should break their spines. They also try vigorously to fall totalyl flat, so legs and arms flail to try to touch the mat while they hump at the gorund. Usually good for a laugh but ultimately dissapointing. 6/10
Sound: Sure, half of the crap the commentating team is some sort of commercial (more on that later), but they do a solid job of keeping up with the fight. Most players throw four hundred punches in any given fight and the guys in the booth manage to talk about the heavy-hitting combos. Still, there are hiccups - this year refs can stop fights if one of the combatants aren't defending themselves enough, and the commentators will say "He's threatening to stop the fight..." about eight times in a row as the round goes on. It's really, really annoying. 6/10
Enjoyability: Why are there commercials in this game. I mentioned this earlier in the week. The fact that you can hire the Burger King to be your trainer is surprisingly nauseating. Most of the title fights have a real sponser - the UnderArmor "We must protect his house!" guy opens that particular fight. It just feels cheap that I spent $40 for a minimal upgrade and have to sit through advertisements so EA can make even more money. I hope this doesn't become more of a trend in the future. 1/10
Value: The career mode is pretty much a bunch of fights strung together to get you money and unlock more stuff to use. There are no storylines other than fights with your rivals, who are randomly determined. Still, EA added new punching and defending styles for you to unlock, so there is a bit to do. Still, it's all done through fights, which can become boring once you get your tactics in place. 2/10
As usual, EA presents their product well with sounds and sights. But even a box of crap that says "Roses" on the front and smells like roses is still a box of crap. 3/10 (Playable)
-Casey
Fight Night used to be known as Knockout Kings - the series started in '98. Then in 2004 they decided a name change would bring more attention to the revolution of the controls - the Total Punch Control System. Fight Night uses the right analog stick for all punches. Depending on your handedness, a diagonal upwards movement to either side is either a straight (same side has your main hand) or jab (opposite). Crosses are preformed by pushing straight out to either side than rolling the sitck up to the top. An uppercut is right or left downwards and then rolling the stick upwards to the top, much like the actual movement of the arm.
You also use a button modifier to lean. Leaning forward will have all of your bunches targeting the body, while away and to the sides will allow you to dodge punches. Each punch takes away stamina, a bar that slowly regrows. However, over time the bar's maximum while become smaller to cub those who let their "hands go" too frequently. Above your stamina bar is your health. Once this goes all the way down, you enter a KO situation where any power shot will bring you to the floor. If you can stay out of the way or clinch your opponent you gain some health back and get out of the situation. Like the stamina bar, the maximum for health goes down as you take more damage, making you suspectible to knock downs later in the fight. Cuts and swelling will weaken your defenses, so if you cut open your opponent's left eyes. Any punches that hit it will take away much more health than usual.
Got it? On with the review!
(Review system)
Graphics: As usual, EA has some of the best graphical artists around. While not a great upgrade from last year, some of the animations seem smoother and the collision detection is accurate, making most of the superfluous replays realistic. There's still that odd reaction to knockdowns from the virtual boxers - basically they become ragdoll models and fall in very unrealstic ways. They fall backwards in two, something that should break their spines. They also try vigorously to fall totalyl flat, so legs and arms flail to try to touch the mat while they hump at the gorund. Usually good for a laugh but ultimately dissapointing. 6/10
Sound: Sure, half of the crap the commentating team is some sort of commercial (more on that later), but they do a solid job of keeping up with the fight. Most players throw four hundred punches in any given fight and the guys in the booth manage to talk about the heavy-hitting combos. Still, there are hiccups - this year refs can stop fights if one of the combatants aren't defending themselves enough, and the commentators will say "He's threatening to stop the fight..." about eight times in a row as the round goes on. It's really, really annoying. 6/10
Enjoyability: Why are there commercials in this game. I mentioned this earlier in the week. The fact that you can hire the Burger King to be your trainer is surprisingly nauseating. Most of the title fights have a real sponser - the UnderArmor "We must protect his house!" guy opens that particular fight. It just feels cheap that I spent $40 for a minimal upgrade and have to sit through advertisements so EA can make even more money. I hope this doesn't become more of a trend in the future. 1/10
Value: The career mode is pretty much a bunch of fights strung together to get you money and unlock more stuff to use. There are no storylines other than fights with your rivals, who are randomly determined. Still, EA added new punching and defending styles for you to unlock, so there is a bit to do. Still, it's all done through fights, which can become boring once you get your tactics in place. 2/10
As usual, EA presents their product well with sounds and sights. But even a box of crap that says "Roses" on the front and smells like roses is still a box of crap. 3/10 (Playable)
-Casey
posted by HardScores at 9:21 AM
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