They say styles make fights, but in boxing videogames, it has never been much about your fighter's style, it has always been more about how quick you could flick the stick. That's about to change with Fight Night Round 3 as the game is looking to mirror the real styles of their licensed fighters while at the same time helping you build a created character designed to your liking, right down to your punching style. From power, to balanced, to speed, you will see every decision you make creating your character translated directly into the ring.
So after a night of trading punches at Electronic Arts in Fight Night Round 3, I've come up with the ten things you need to know about this eagerly anticipated game.
Round 1. Rivalries Rule
Career mode is no longer just about you, it's about your rival. Think Barrera/Morales as you'll encounter a fighter in career mode who will begin to target you and taunt you. When you meet for the preflight weigh-in and press conference, you can get into a playable mini-game where you slug your opponent and smack him before the fight even starts. Take your rivalry to the ring, and if your fights live up to billing (including exchanging punches after the bell), they become ESPN Instant Classics, living right alongside the other ESPN Classic fights like Hagler/Hearns.
Round 2. Did you say ESPN Classics?
That's right, this is the second game (MVP is the first) to utilize the EA/ESPN integration and with that you have actual footage of classic fights featuring the best polygonal punchers in the game, including Ali, Oscar De La Hoya, and the Marvelous one himself.
Round 3. Mike Tyson is NOT in the game.
I tried begging and blackmailing, but in the end nothing worked and Iron Mike was once again left off the list of the 32 licensed boxers. The list of fighters is pretty much the same as Round 2 with the addition of Oscar De La Hoya. De La Hoya is so much a part of the game that in career mode, your fighter can even fight under Golden Boy Promotions. But back to Mike, here's my idea: You have three versions of Tyson (like the three Jordan's in NBA Street). You have the raw Mike who is just starting out, Mike the champ, and Mike with the crazy eye-tat. Slap him on the cover and I guarantee this game is a huge seller. Oh well, I guess I just go back to creating Mike for my career fighter (for a third damn time in a row!).
Round 4. This is Next Gen
No 360 game that I've seen looks as good as Fight Night Round 3. From the fluids flying out of your fighter's mouth on impact to the body language that speaks volumes more than any HUD, this game could be the best reason to buy a 360. There are no health or energy meters, no HUD at all in fact. Just the two boxers in the ring, and you can tell how healthy/hurt they are by watching their body language. When a fighter gets tired, his hands will start to drop and you can see him begin to breathe harder. This brings a more immersive experience home because you're looking at natural facial expressions and sound effects for clues, not some meter. I saw Bernard Hopkins get punched so hard in the eye, it looked like The Executioner was about to cry. Now that's a serious punch.
Round 5: First-Person Boxing
When you hurt your opponent, not only will his eyes swell and nose bleed, but you'll be thrown into a first-person mini-game in the middle of the fight. Your opponent will still be able to counter your punches, even landing a big blow of their own to flip the first-person view in the other direction, but with the use of fakes, feints, and roundhouse rights, you should be able to floor your opponent and score that 10-8 round. You can even use illegal headbutts out of first person if your punches don't seem to be getting through.
Round 6: Switching Stances
You've seen fighters like Roy Jones switch back and forth between right-handed and southpaw, and now you can switch back and forth in your fights with the click of a button, enabling you to stick the jab with your power hand and throw your opponent off stride.
Round 7: Impact Punches
One punch can change a fight. That's how it is in real life, and that's what the game designers are trying to bring to Fight Night. Any time in a fight, you will be able to catch your opponent sleeping and, well, put him to sleep with what is called an Impact Punch. This adds to the edge-of-your-seat drama that is the fight game, because you're never out of the fight.
Round 8: Poly Count Out
Three million polys per fighter. Damn. We're talking head and body scans of fighters so intense, when Winky Wright came in to get his done, all he was concerned about was making sure the pimple that just popped up on his face wouldn't be in the game. The nuances of every fighter I saw were unbelievable (the camera is much closer to the fighters so you can see if they're hurt), right down to the pimples (no worries Winky, EA sliced yours right off your character).
Round 9. Move the Crowd
It's hard to take your eyes off of the fighters, but when you look in the distance you'll see a new visual technique being used in the crowd and arena called Picturetography. These are panoramic shots of the real arena models that have cleverly digitized right into the game. You'll see individually animated crowd members jumping up and reacting to the action in the ring, even walking out if the fight is boring. You'll also hear the individual voices of loud mouthed fans who somehow seem to yell over the 8,000 in attendance to let his taunts be heard.
Round 10: Online
Last year, it was about maxing out your created character and bringing him online. This year, the advantage will lean towards gamers who invest more time in career mode as you will be able to unlock special abilities throughout your career that will make you a stronger fighter online. This will give you the advantage over gamers who simply unwrap the box and log on for a fight.
Bonus Round: Next Gen
You know how EA Sports decided to eliminate features from their 360 launch titles? How they spent so much time on graphics that a lot of the gameplay was left on the cutting room floor. Forget all that with Fight Night. Round 3 will have the same features on current and next gen, with the 360 version getting the obvious boost in graphics. Finally, a game I actually want to play and not just look at.
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