Fight Night Round 4 (PS3, Xbox360)

As crazy and intense as it can get, there is something relaxing about the purity of boxing. The cleanliness and rhythm of movement combined with the devastating crushing force of the strikes is something unmatched in any other sport. EA’s Fight Night Round 4 manages to capture all of these elements perfectly.

GRAPHICS 10/10

I tried to nitpick the graphics, but they are too beautiful to find fault with. Character models look identical to their real life counterparts.  Fighters bleed and sweat with realism as they pound out each round. The game truly shines with a solid 1080 p HD setup, as the little details just pop out of the screen. Everything from what people in the audience are wearing to the welt forming on a fighter’s cheek all come alive through the game’s crisp graphics.  This is one of, if not THE best looking games I have ever seen.

SOUND 9/10

The sound is just as great as the graphics. If you have a surround system you will feel like you are at the arena watching a fight. All of the effects are spot on. You can hear the impact as punches connect, similarly you can hear and feel the loud thud as shots are blocked and parried. The only thing that detracts from the game’s audio is the commentary.  While at first the authentic commentary from Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas seems refreshing, after a few fights they start to repeat a lot of their phrases. Sometimes the commmentary just gets a bit lazy to the point that you’ll hear priceless comments like “He needs to jab” or “He should  dodge punches” while they never take the time to clarify exactly who “he” is. The rest of the audio is excellent and chances are you’ll be too immersed in throwing down that you’ll rarely notice the flaws in the commentary.

GAMEPLAY 9/10

The game uses what they refer to as Total Punch Control (TPC) which is a glorified name for “use the right thumbstick to punch.” FNR4 does not give players the option to use face buttons to control punches, as they did in previous games. In the other Fight Nights, I used the button control scheme but the TPC is surprisingly easy to adapt to. This control set up really works well for this game. Once you begin to master it, it is perhaps one of the most rewarding control schemes in a fighting or sports game around.  There is nothing better than being able to slip your opponents punches while peppering them with well placed shots of your own.

While mashers and spammers will always be able to land lucky punches, the game really seems to reward skill over random punches. Greater damage is rewarded to players who can block and counter their opponent’s punches as opposed to simply slugging it out toe to toe. In fact, a solid block and counter can often change the tide of a fight, resulting in a flash knockdown if timed correctly. There were a few times where I would be dominating a fight and would wind up getting cocky and charging in wrecklessly only to find myself on the business end of a countering hook, leaving me to pick myself up off of the canvas. While the game may be a bit difficult, you always know how you got KTFO. Everytime I lost a fight, it was a result of a mistake on my part and not some cheapness by the computer. Overall the control system works perfectly and is very tight and responsive. In my opinion, the control scheme is definitely one of the most appealing aspects of the entire game.

REPLAYABILITY 9/10

The game features online modes in which you can challenge other boxers via PSN or Xbox Live. I have the PS3 version and was expecting crappy online play, however the online play is surprisingly smooth. I experienced a few instances of lag, but overall nothing game breaking. 

Adding to the replay value is Legacy Mode, which is the game’s version of a career mode. In this mode you can either create a fighter or take an existing fighter and guide them up through the ranks of their respective weightclass. This mode is excellent, as you begin duking it out in run down gyms as an amateur and then eventually work your way up to the bigger shows like Atlantic City. The training modes and menus were very streamlined and much more user friendly than those found in UFC:Undisputed. Between online play, Legacy Mode, and Fight Now, which allows you to matchp any 2 boxers on the roster, the game has plenty of quality content to keep people busy for a while.

OVERALL 9/10

Perhaps I’m a bit biased since I am a huge boxing fan.  I feel this game delivers in every aspect. I am sure it will see a lot of comparisons to UFC:Undisputed as they are both “fighting” games, but there is really nothing similar at all between the two games. This game manages to capture all of the good aspects of professional boxing, while making it surprisingly acccessible to players of all levels. If there is one thing I admire in games, it is polish. Not surprisingly, this game is polished through and through and the attention to detail is just staggering. The huge roster of fighters is impressive, although there are some obvious absences that will hopefully be filled in at a later date through downloadable content. FNR4 is my new favorite game, which is saying A LOT, and I highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a solid boxing experience.