A common theme with a next-gen system is that the Graphics are the best I've seen on any system ever for a boxing game, even compared to a PC. The controls are also one of the best, making use of both Analog sticks. The Total Control Punch system is just revolutionary for boxing games. Fight Night Round 3 has a pretty good career mode. You can make your own boxer and progress him towards the ranks of becoming a champion. Heavyweight, Middleweight, Lightweight, Flyweight, you name it. The progression is a little repetitive, and the challenge quite similar (training, fighting, etc). Remembering an old Boxing Classic - Mike Tyson's Punchout on the SNES, FNR3 is not about finding the weakness of a boxer, but more about reacting and counterpunching, but as you progress the ranks, you find everyone seems to react the same way, but just gets harder and can take more of your punches. As far as sports games go, it's fun, but could have been much better. Still, this game has to be seen to be believed. The crowd animation is great, the girls carrying the placards between rounds look a little awkward, but the Boxers, trainers, crowd animations are really excellent. Sound is a bit weak, especially the trainers, announcers all repeating themselves over and over. The ambience effects are pretty good (crowd noise, punch sounds, hits, etc) and music is average with hip hop and rap songs that could get repetitious again. Definitely worth a rental.Read full review
Electronic Arts presents the third edition of their Fight Night series. This time, it's back with better graphics and more balanced gameplay. There is no doubt that this is one of the best games EA has put out in their market as far as visuals. Gameplay: 8 The game has more realism to the game as far as facial physics and facial movement. As I recall in Fight Night Round 2, Muhammad Ali was just any other regular boxer. In Round 3 he actually tip toes around the ring and has amazingly powerful jabs. So already seeing that difference shows that EA put some effort into adding some more realism and authenticity to the game. Round 3 provides a career mode. It is very limited to what you can actually do, you can't really choose ring entrances, take on sponsors, or buy some extra cool items (whatever they may be). Rather, you are left listen to your SAME ring entrance in EVERY SINGLE fight, see and listen to the same advertisement in the game, and provided with incredibly expensive gears such as $300,000 pairs of shorts and $300,000 sneakers. Controls: 9 It's practically the same as the other series. You still have the TPC (Total Punch Control). Six different configurations. A new thing they added was the Flash KO Punch: it's basically a haymaker with more windup on the analog. Another new feature is the Stun Punch: This is done with more wind up and a follow through punch all the way. What the Stun Punch does is it puts the person who has been hit in First Person Perspective and a little mini-game ,as EA likes to call, comes into action. Challenges: 7 There are three modes of level difficulty including: Easy, Medium, and Hard. Easy: it's just like the demo, you can practically KO your opponent in 1 or 2 rounds. Medium: a decent fight, but you still end up winning all the time. Hard: In my opinion, this is by far one of least difficult "hard difficulties" I have ever experienced. It's too easy to be labeled hard. For those mild gamers, I would stick with Medium but for those who a hardcore gamers, you can stick with Hard. Every so often you'll come across some "hard" fights, but nothing too overly aggressive. Sound: 8 You feel so good when you hear that boxing glove smash into your opponents face. It's even more satisfying to hear it again and see it again in replay. There are even situations when you choose a roster character in the game and the crowd even starts chanting your name. It's awesome, but nothing we haven't seen. Commentary can get absolutely repetitive but they have some unique comments to each individual player in the game which is a great add-on. The music selection was also pretty nice. It gave the game a kind of casual feeling. Overall: 8 Fight Night Round 3 is an amazing game. Visually it is amazing (watching people bleed and watching the stream of blood/spit that comes out after each hard it). Even facial reactions look real. This game is a must buy for boxing fans. Although the single player might be repetitive, short, or have no storyline, the Multi-Player Live factor is what will bring you back to the game.Read full review
Fight Night Round 3 on the XBOX 360 is easily the best sports game I have ever played. Coming from a guy who's never really grasped the appeal annually-updated athletic releases, that's saying something. What makes me take notice? It's more than accessible controls, strategy that any would-be pugilist intuitively understands, and lighting effects that make graphics snobs coo like amused infants. It's the little things; watching Ali snap jabs into my Frazier's face, sweat and blood specks popping into the air, I almost forget that this is a game as I frantically bring up my defense with the hopes of setting up my next devastating hook to the body. Unprecedented character detail and fully-rendered crowds lend this game realism unmatched by any other on the market. This is the game that changed my mind about the necessity of an XBOX 360 in my home. Why isn't it perfect? While my qualms are few, they do exist, and you should know about them. Occasionally the audio track will bug out, leaving gaping sound holes where you expect Joe Tessitore's commentary or a trainer's advice. On another note, I really hope to find more depth in a future Fight Night career mode, as this year's seems rather shallow (intense boxing rivalries should garner more attention, and the monotony of "contract, train, repeat" needs to be broken). And please, EA Sports, cut back on the in-game advertising...though I could really go for a burger right now... The next generation just punched me square in the face, and I can't get enough. Believe in the 360...it's the real deal.Read full review
Great boxing game. It is challenging because it is more 3 dimensional than most boxing games. Many are just "hit high, hit low, knockout punch". But Fight Night allows for different fighting styles, like speed or power or balance, you can switch to lefty stance, you use both arms for many different types of punches and you are using different styles of defenses to block various punches. It makes it more of a thinking game. You don't just hit the block button to block, you have to watch for the type of punches being thrown. You have access to many of the boxing legends of past and present to fight against or use for yourself. Career mode is fun as you fight your way up through the ranks and win trophies. As you prepare for fights, you train your character using reflex games of skill to raise attributes. It gets much harder as time goes on and can be frustrating to master at the higher levels. There is an auto train mode but you miss some of the benefits. Same with healing between rounds. You can heal automatically but it is probably only half as effective as doing it yourself. But doing it yourself is difficult and hard to master as well. Overall it is a great fight game that will give you lots of hours of fun.Read full review
After two strong showings with Fight Night 1 and Round 2 on the current gen consoles, EA Steps into the next gen ring with a KO! Graphics: As you already know if you have played a demo or seen screenshots of this game, the graphics the focal point of Fight Night Round 3. Everything has been remodeled and upgraded for the Xbox 360. Skin on the boxers looks real and has all of the right textures. The faces are accurate to the tee as they scrunch up and contort with every blow. The crowd n the game is in full 3D and even the ring girls FINALLY look like real women. EA Sports hyped up the graphics and they lived up to it completely. Perhaps the best graphics in a sports game, ever. Gameplay: The core gameplay from Fight Nights in the past is meated up with some new mechanics to create a balanced experience. When stepping into the ring you will notice the basics such as the Total Punch Control, haymakers, clinching, and illegal punches are back, but EA added 2 new things to the game. The first is the "Flash KO" punch. By charging a punch the right way, your boxer will throw a "Flash KO" punch that, when landed, will put your opponent in an instant daze, leaving him one big blow away from being knocked out. The new Stun Punch works in a similar way, but when it connects the game switches to a first person view through your opponents eyes, as he watches you wail on him. Both of these mechanics bring new strategy to the game and make fights more unpredictable then ever. Adding these things while leaving the core aspects basically the same help make R3 the best playing fighter since Punch Out. Presentation: The first thing you will notice is no more health meters or HUD at all! This creates a realistic atmosphere in which you will have to look at your opponents body language to see his status. However, the "Heartbeat" remains when your opponent is about to be KO'd. When that KO punch does happen, the game goes into a slow motion closeup of your hand ripping the opponents face or body, spit/blood flying and all. This makes for great fun and adds to the impact of the bone shattering punches. Also EA Sports brings in their ESPN rights in this years version, but it could have been done better. While you will see ESPN logos everywhere (along with logos from about 10 different companies), you will not get that ESPN feel. Instead the feel of fights is darker, and cinematic, which is cool at first, but in the long run I wish they would make it more like a TV broadcast. It would also have been nice to add the live ESPN ticker on the bottom like they did with MVP 06: NCAA Baseball. Sound: The sound of the fights are about as realistic as you can get. The commentary is small, but effective as the punches are called as they happen. The sound of the gloves hitting the body, the fighters grunting as they throw that killer blow, or receive it, the crowd, and the body smacking the canvas all make for a great experience. The music in the game is all rap, which fits boxing like a glove. I know not all enjoy rap music, but thats what custom soundtracks are for. Overall the sound of the game is great, but nothing we haven't heard before. EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 has officially taken video game boxing to another level graphics wise, and gameplay wise. Even though the presentation could be better, Fight Night R3 on the Xbox 360 is still one of the best boxing games to date and a MUST HAVE for any 360 owner.Read full review
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