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FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4 XBOX 360 REVIEW |
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After three
years of waiting, EA has finally released its
highly anticipated boxing game, entitled Fight
Night Round 4, which received significant amount
of improvements for the Xbox 360 console. By
now, many of you have already downloaded the
demo off the Marketplace. Those of you who
played the demo should have an idea of what to
expect in the final build, at least in terms of
the gameplay aspects. So what's the score card
for Fight Night Round 4? Well, let's just say
the game picked up valuable points in the later
rounds, ending with a memorable TKO! Needless to
say, the traditional bout is not all that easy
to begin with, especially with the new Total
Punch Control, where your punches are depended
on the right stick.
Because of the new layout, Fight Night Round 4
is bound to create a storm of oppositions, a
community of hardcore fanatics divided in
standing ovation. On one side of the arena, you
have a group of old-timers who demand their
customary action buttons back; on the other
side, you have a legion of newcomers embracing
the latest innovation. Suffice it to say, the
new layout have become a nuisance for some.
However, the good news is that Electronic Arts
is releasing a patch sometime this fall, and it
should alleviate the tension of those prying for
a more accurate solution, which may circumvent
the relatively sensitive analog motion.
Yes, the right stick is a tad sensitive for
gunning those well-placed punches, but more
often than not, we are still able to hit our
spots right. Once in awhile, you'll get a
different feedback for a style of punch you have
registered. Let's say you perform a motion for a
left uppercut, there is a small probability
you'll end up with a low left hook. That's
normal. However, if you keep getting the wrong
signals for your punches, most likely you have
defected right stick. We have found evidence
that it's not always the game's fault that your
strikes are off on command. We tested all our
controllers for consistencies and sure enough we
found out that not all new controllers are
created equal - some posed serious punching
errors! The way you can tell if there is a
malfunction is when you can't consistently
perform left uppercuts.
It will take you awhile to get used to EA's new
boxing engine. So familiarize yourself right
away with all the punching motions and build
your own combos while at it! The gameplay
eventually grows on you and once you understand
the mechanics, the road to hall-of-fame is so
much fun! We have already laid waste on a number
of legends in legacy mode set on G.O.A.T. level,
which is the highest difficulty. And we continue
to break records as an undisputed champion upon
moving up two weight classes. EA did an
excellent job designing the legacy mode, which
is practically your career in a nut shell!
What's nice about it is that the interface is
less cluttered and scheduling events such as
your next fight and training move a long
efficiently. |
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PRODUCT
OVERALL RATING: 9.0 OUT OF 10 |
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Most of the
trainings in the legacy mode is fun except for
the combo lesson - we couldn't quite attain
"ring legend" level let alone a "club fighter"
status. It stems from a fact that the right
analog stick gives you no room for error with
respect to range of motion. If you slip up in
angle just the slightest degree, you have blown
your combos! Nevertheless, you'll definitely
enjoy the other training options, which include
open sparring, double end bag, and "stay on your
feet" just to name a few. As far as creating
your own character, don't expect too much
creativity to it. EA simplified this section to
get the player out of the assembly line fast and
into the ring ready for action. Besides, who
wants to spend an hour nitpicking a perfect
eyebrow?
The game features well over 40 fighters, from
the people's champ Manny Pacquiao to the Irish
phenom, Joe Calzaghe. However, the main
attraction to Fight Night Round's 4 lineup is
not about having the greatest championship
roster, but the arrival of Iron Mike Tyson to
the video game main stream. For the first time
in boxing simulation, Iron Mike shows up to be
one of the highlights in today's sports. It's
clear that EA had pumped up his attributes to
make Tyson the man to beat in this game. We
learned that lesson early on when we faced him
head to head on G.O.A.T. level. We didn't whine
so much about the physical bruises we received
on screen, but the multiple knockdowns from
Tyson's raging uppercuts definitely hurt our
ego.
Graphically, the game is impressive. The
knockdown animation is more realistic this time
around. Unlike Round 3 where you see many of the
same animated knockdowns, Fight Night Round 4
offers a lot more variety. You'll see your
opponent staggers frantically for balance,
stumbles unconsciously through the ropes, or
spin out after a vicious haymaker. The
slow-motion cutscenes look even better compared
to what we had seen in the past! You can't help
but enjoy the magnitude of your handiwork on
someone else's face, who is on the verge of a
count out! The ripple effects, however, have
been tone down a bit. Your opponent's facial
reaction to a powerful punch doesn't jig as
much; but at least, you can still enjoy the
countless spits and blood from your competition
as testament of your brute athleticism.
What you'll appreciate most about Fight Night
Round 4 is that the action is a lot faster! One
of the reasons for increased in tempo is the AI
have become quite aggressive. At higher
difficulty setting, the computer will clobber
you mercilessly if you camp out too much in
corner. Your opponent will evaluate, adapt, and
learn your tricks. So you'd want to mix up your
strategy or eat the mat. What we like about
Fight Night Round 4 the most is that there is no
pausing between combos. In the previous Fight
Night, the most you can dish out is four hits
before your fighter pauses to recuperate. In
this game, as long as you have gas in your tank,
you can rip combos all day long! Just don't get
carried away or you'll set yourself up for a
quick knockdown.
Fight Night Round 4 is one of those sports games
that's hard to put down. Once you learn the
swinging mechanics, you just want to keep the
marathon going. It's nice that EA is working on
a (face-button) patch to get the rest of its
loyal fans back on track. So far, we have
enjoyed many of the game's latest offering: the
huge roster, glitzy graphics, incredible
knockdown animation, upbeat tempo, etc. We love
the fact that EA has signed in Iron Mike to add
some aggression to the gameplay. What's more is
that EA is offering downloadable content such as
a new gym for free! It has taken EA three years
of shadowboxing before we are finally treated to
some ring-side action. Nevertheless, Fight Night
Round 4 is worth the wait. |
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