Sugar Ray
Robinson dances around the ring, but Silk is sticking him with a regularity that
defies description. Upstairs, downstairs, it is a pummeling in every sense of
the word. A vicious haymaker (“That haymaker sent a clear message of
destruction”) catches Robinson and he staggers backward.
Almost
defenseless, he is trying to avoid the finishing shot. A left uppercut snaps his
head back but as he is falling backwards, Robinson – in the process of throwing
a roundhouse right, flails out and connects, dropping Silk to the canvas with
one shot. Suddenly Robinson’s health bar is back up by a third and Silk, on the
verge of victory, loses the fight.
A lucky
punch, or bad game mechanics? Hard to say, but something sure seemed amiss.
EA Sports is
behind Fight Night Round 3, a solid fight program for the Xbox that has some
high points but some low points as well. For example, each fighter trains before
their fights. You can play the training mini-games and get better stat boosts
(more on stats in a moment), or you can auto-train and get lower boosts. If you
play the entire game on auto-train, by the time you get into the tough
opponents, you won’t stand a chance of beating them. Why? Because their stats
will be so much higher that it would be like throwing a lightweight fighter, arms
strapped to his sides, into the ring against a heavyweight.
And the
experience is very much managed. Between fights you can pick your opponent, but
regardless, you will fight ‘x’ amount of fights, before your popularity puts you
into a bigger fight. This is opposed to the PSP version that allows much more
flexibility in managing the career, picking the fights for ranking and payoffs.
In fairness,
the disk used to write this review was the same disk that was used in the
preview. It was not the retail disk, and so some of the problems/bugs
encountered may not be in the final copy, but EA stated the disk received was
for review purposes, hence the report of some of the problems.
There are
several ways to play the game. Play Now is the instant fight mode; ESPN Classic
offers historic fights and the chance for players to rewrite or participate in
legendary rivalries; Game Modes offers up Xbox Live multiplayer options and Hard
Hits fights; but the crowning single-player mode is the career mode, in which
you create a fighter, skill up the attributes, work through the amateur rankings
and finally turn pro. There are eight attribute/stat categories: power, speed,
agility, stamina, chin, body, heart, and cuts.
To create a
second fighter in the career mode, you just create different profiles on the
Xbox. During a fight, you can throw in the towel before losing and you pop back
to the main screen, pre-fight with the chance to try it again.
You can
create and customize a character or take a boxing legend and recreate his career
from scratch.
Once you
have either recreated a legend or created a new fighter (using a very nice
customization options package), you begin by signing a contract for a fight. You
can scout your opponent, but you also need to look at the contract terms. Some
will offer rounds for the fight, but others can be a hard hit encounter, meaning
that rounds are ended when one fighter hits the canvas. Others will offer
increased paychecks for winning the bout or bonus to other areas, like
popularity.
The fight is
signed so you head to training. You can hire a trainer, some are free but offer
no bonuses, while others will cost a bit and give improved results. Training
falls into three attribute-specific areas plus sparring. You can auto train or
play the training mini games. The latter offers the opportunity to get bigger
rewards but you can also fail and come off with losses in categories. You will
only get half the points for auto training but it gets you to the fight faster.
Winning
fights gains popularity, more money and unlocks better gear and fighting styles.
If you unlock a new fighting style, you need to return to the edit boxer screen
to activate it.
The controls
did feel a little sluggish at times. The right analog stick controls the
punching. If you push the stick to the right, rotate clockwise and then
counterclockwise you can execute one of the new Impact punches – the Flash KO.
The other new Impact punches are the Haymaker and Stun Punch.
The Xbox
version uses the health and energy meters along the bottom of the screen. If
your fighter runs low on energy, the punches will be slower, you will hear
heavier breathing and you will tend to stand there and take counters. Moving
away will recharge the energy meter, plus give you more room to set up better
combinations. Standing toe-to-toe is not recommended in most cases.
Of course,
not all blows are recognized in the game’s AI. The meter of the opponent is low,
and you send in a hard combo that totally rips the wind from him and starts him
on a fall toward the mat. His hands drop and as they do, you unleash a vicious
uppercut. Ok, now if that landed to the chin of a stunned and unprotected
fighter, chances are really good that it is light’s out. But the game doesn’t
seem to recognize the free shot. If the foe has not been knocked down before,
the odds are good he will be back on his feet by the time the bodiless referee
gets to the count of 7.
The
soundtrack blends in nicely with the mood of the game. Featuring songs like Sean
Biggs (Featuring Akon and Topic) “Never Gonna Get It” or Young Roscoe’s “Itz
Nothin’,” this is foot-tapping smooth backdrops for the interface. The announcer
does a decent job of keeping abreast of the action. On a couple of occasions,
the corner chat (which can be repetitive) dropped out, though the crowd noise
was still there.
And the
announcer did get off track or so it seemed at one point. And there is a
tendency to repeat phrases, which can be very annoying, and there are generic
post-round comments that can apply to either fighter but you know one is getting
the stuffing knocked out of him. Of course, post fight, you see the scoring.
Judge No. 1 better kick his seeing-eye dog because it is lying to him.
The graphics
have some clipping problems, but nothing too huge. There are load times that are
not overly long or distracting. Some of the animations are not too accurate. A
solid blow to the solar plexus usually does not cause a spew of blood from the
mouth, or if it does, the ring doc better be ready to step in. Occasionally a
disembodied arm floats through the center of the camera, clipping causing it to
appear as an angular blob.
Fight Night
Round 3 is a solid fighter, though with a few problems that stop it just short
of being a title-holder. Still, the career mode is well done and a lot of fun to
play. Stepping into the legendary rivalries is always exciting and challenging
and there is enough here to please just about any fight fan as well as those
looking for a solid fight title.
|
|
Gameplay:
8.2
Load times, some
sluggish controls and some suspect moments when the AI seems to take a licking
and then get lucky. It can happen, though usually not when the fighter is
falling backwards from a crushing blow.
Graphics:
8.7
Very well done,
with fluid animations.
Sound:
7.5
The tunes are
very good and fitting, but the fight commentary can be repetitive or simply miss
the mark. On the build received, there were times when the between-bout
instructions from your corner man dropped.
Difficulty: Medium
There are several
difficulty settings that set a foundation for the game experience, but the
challenge ramps up as you progress up the ladder.
Concept:
8.0
Some nice
features, but the game mechanics needed work.
Multiplayer: 8.2
Xbox Live support
for multiplayer head-to-head action.
Overall:
8.1
Some repetitious
commentary, or moments when the audio just drops out during chats with the
corner man between rounds hamper the game. The career feels very directed as
well. This is a good fighter but it could have been much better. Still, the game
is entertaining, challenging and looks good.
