Fight Night Round 4 (Sony Playstation 3, 2009)

I love fight games!...(read my UFC Undisputed Review). I got to play this before it's official release(June 23, 2009). Yes, this is the follow up to Fight Night Round 3. Pure physics in the development of this game makes it as life-like as you could only imagine. Okay, so the fighters have the 1000 yard stare, zombie eyes...who cares. You're buying this game to throwdown and throw hands, and that's exactly what you'll get. No hurky, jerky movements, true fluid motion from each fighter. When a fighter gets "hurt" you can finish him off and feel your pulse racing with each punch. The graphics are revolutionary! With every hit to your opponent, you can see him feeling the pain and watch his body absorb each blow with realistic, physical alterations in his face, ribs, stomach, etc...it's that good. Sound, adds to the pain you're inflicting. All factors in real life play in to the overall gaming experience(footwork, stamina, adrenaline rush, boxing strategy).

What to look forward to? The trailers don't lie...pit a young Mike Tyson against Muhammad Ali in his prime. Iron Mike bobs and weaves and throws awesome uppercuts. Ali uses his jab with an insane reach advantage, lightning speed and graceful footwork. A true nostalgic ride for lifelong boxing fans, like myself.

Bottom Line...a must have fight game for all boxing fans. Easy to use controls, great graphics, etc... For non boxing fans...if you like mindless violence and watching 2 guys in shorts beating the living crap out of each other in a near lifelike manner...then you've found the right game.

At the end of the day Fight Night Round 4 is, to put it plainly, a wonderful boxing game. There are certainly issues to be found in the new Legacy Mode, but it’s much closer to what players want from a career mode. The online offering, while not hugely different from the previous Fight Night, still delivers where it counts. I didn’t experience any lag in my fights and the World Championship mode will hopefully be something that fans cling to.

Aside from the modes, you’ll find the best boxing experience in gaming in the ring. Punches sound and look great, fighters move fantastically well with muscles flexing and blood flowing and spattering from cuts, and if you want a boxer that isn’t included in the original roster of more than 50 (including Mike Tyson for the first time since Punch-Out!!), you can use Photo GameFace to put them (as well as yourself) in the game. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s a cool replay editor that lets you create clips of you rendering people’s faces unrecognizable. I have my issues with Fight Night Round 4 – and so will you – but when you get down to it FNR4 is just a great all-around videogame experience.

Since the first Fight Night game, the fighting system and graphics called the attention of every boxing and fighting games fans. Throughout the series, every new game brought some improvements and some experiments, creating the expectation for a great and better games every new game on the series.

This is not a bad game. It´s only another game with some new stuff, but no surprises. In my opinion, the first Fight Night was so interesting and compelling game, that none of the new "Fight Nights" gave the same feelings. Probably, if this was the first ever Fight Night I've played, this would be the best boxing game. But as log as you have played the previous releases, you will find something new you like and miss some stuff of the previous games.

So, my advice is: If you are a great fan of this title, you can play it no delusions here... there are plenty new things to develop, but no surprises; If you have never played Fight Night games, and you are a boxing fan, you can try this and have a lot of fun and challenges!

Features: 1-2 player
Online gameplay up to 2 player
Custom boxing attire, ring entrances, music and boxing styles

Fight Night Round 4 revisits the fundamentals of what has made boxing such a popular sport with longevity that will surpass the hands of time. All of the key elements of boxing are here: the mind tricks of throwing a leading punch to bait an opponent into a critical blow, the perfectly timed foot work making hooks and haymakers barely miss your chin or face, and most importantly the careful planning and strategic fight management that can and usually is the difference between a win and a loss. The trickest aspects of Fight Night will be adjusting to using both analog sticks, the left for movements and the right for punching and blocking.

Bottom line the is asthetically the most beautiful boxing game I've played on any system and with its emphasize on fundamentals it is hands down the best I've played. Its a definite must-have if you enjoy boxing.

The Good

* Great roster of fighters that you can add user-created characters to
* Fast-paced action that encourages you to think like a boxer
* Powerful character creation tools
* Great fight commentary and sound effects
* Online play is almost always lag-free


The Bad

* Mindlessly spamming punches is more effective than it should be
* Some of the career mode minigames are frustratingly difficult.