If you’re a boxing fan, or a fighting game fan, chances are you’ve already heard about the latest Fight Night to hit the market, and the slight controversy surrounding the game’s controls.
Fight Night Round 4 changes up the control setup from Fight Night Round 3 and shifts control of your punches to the right analog stick.

OMFG the sky is falling! Patch! Patch! PATCH!

Oh wait, the game is actually incredible and superior to Round 3, partly because of the new control scheme. I guess a lot of gamers need to stick with the much more simplistic (but still fun) Punch-Out!! and leave the challenging and technical fighting games to the rest of us.

Fight Night Round 4 gets you started off with a quick tutorial, which does a good job of showing you the basics, though it could spend a bit more time explaining stamina. You have 48 real life fighters to choose from, ranging from flyweights to heavyweights, plus the option to create your own fighter.

Weight class and reach have a profound impact on gameplay this time around, with the differences between a hulking goliath throwing powerful short range punches, and a lightweight tossing jabs at range, being blatant and realistic.

The ‘Fight Now’ mode lets you fight…now. You simply pick a weight class and a fighter and way you go to kill some braincells. ‘Legacy Mode’, which is basically career mode, lets you select an existing fighter, or create one of your own, and guide him through a career starting at age 19 (you age in Legacy mode so time is finite) and (hopefully) ending with your retirement as the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T!)

You schedule fights, pump your stats through training sessions, and slowly climb the ranks in your weight class. Your fighter starts with base stats (12 attributes rated from 1-100, with base being mid 50’s for all 12), and you must train to improve them. Training can be a real challenge, and auto-train only nets you 50% growth, so expect to put a fair amount of time in.  Sort of like being a professional boxer. ‘Legacy Mode’ could use more training sessions between fights, and a higher payout for completing them, but on the whole the mode is incredible.

Online, the weight classes are condensed into three (light, medium and heavy) which makes it easier to find a match. There is also the option to create a character and enter ‘World Championship’ mode. With only one belt up for grabs in each class, regardless of where you’re from, winning one is no small feat. I mean, really, you could be the online Heavyweight Champion of the world! How cool is that?

Character creation in Fight Night Round 4 is so detailed it puts the creation tools found in most RPG’s to shame. Not only can you tweak what your character looks like, but just about every other facet of the game, from regulations to damage levels, can also be adjusted. There is even a simple replay editor that lets you create your own highlights and upload them to EA Sports World.

Fight Night Round 4 is a bit complex, but still accessible. You’ll have fun from the very start, but you’ll need to devote some real play time to get the most out of it.

Lots of people are crying about having to use the right analog stick to punch; they want a patch to take the controls backwards to more of a Fight Night Round 3 setup. I understand this, since Round 3 was the Fight Night that got me into the series, but I’m not going to jinx myself and say they may not get some sort of patch in that regard. The problem is — and I know I am not alone in saying this — now that I have invested the time into actually learning and practicing, I have no interest in using the old control scheme. I just can’t see static button combination’s being as fluid or organic as the analog stick.

Yes, it would still look good, and, yes, it would be easier, but both require practice regardless — one just requires more. Using the analog stick, the rewards are ten times as satisfying and the feel is much, much closer to boxing than it ever could be with the old style. Nothing in Fight Night Round 3 looked half as amazing as watching an online opponent weave between punches, throw two left jabs, weave right and drop a hook and then step back for a devastating straight left, because it all looked like one solid, fluid movement thanks to the analog stick.

The game makes good use of a savvy counter-punch system triggered by blocks and dodges, as well as signature punches, illegal blows, clinching, and powerful haymakers. Keep those gloves up!

Fight Night itself looks great and very true to life, with an impressive amount of detail applied to everything from the fighters, to the ring and even the crowd. The title’s in-game physics, in terms of the realism of the punches and body movements, really has no peer right now as far as fighting games go. Even the fight commentary is fantastic, and the sound effects are bang on.

If you’re a boxing or fighting game fan, you owe it to yourself to pick this game up. If you are one of those Fight Night Round 3 enthusiasts, please play for longer than an hour before you whine. No other boxing game has ever been this good.

From now on, if you got beef with PacManPolarBear, I am more than willing to settle all differences in the ring.

“When you are as great as I am it is hard to be humble.” – Muhammad Ali

Update: DLC is on the horizon. An update is coming in September that will include a new button control scheme. Does that mean button-mashers will square off against stick-users? Because that is a recipe for disaster. Other improvements like new gameplay sliders,  a new training gym, and new equipment are also in the works.

Source: G4TV

Popularity: 1% [?]