Kombo’s Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don’t waste your time. This is why we’ve split our reviews into four sections: What the Game’s About, What’s Hot, What’s Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game’s About
Fight Night Round 4 is the next installment of the best simulation boxing series to date. Following up the most-lauded Fight Night Round 3 that launched the next-generation consoles is a tough act but EA enlisted the help of some heavyweights. Notably, Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali.
What’s Hot
It is clear at the very beginning of the game that presentation is one of the most stressed visual features. The developers at EA Canada didn’t stop at nothing less than intense realism when crafting the game. When you start your new boxing career–called Legacy Mode–you have the option to create a fighter from scratch or take pictures of your face and have the game construct a digital likeness. It was the closest I have ever been to getting in the ring like that. All the fighting is physics-based and it’s as close to going toe to toe with boxing legends as you could possibly get. The models for the boxes are incredible to look at. The collision detection is just about flawless. Muscles react like they would if you threw a real punch and the facial expressions on the fighters change, depending if you toss a brick at their head or miss completely and open yourself up to a counter-punch.
Counter-punches are a way to make short work out of your opponent and add a layer of boxing strategy to Fight Night. When you dodge or block a punch at the last second, the game gives you an opportunity to make a counterattack that can deal extra damage. Since there is both a risk and reward for making smart choices for your punches to count, the gameplay doesn’t devolve into a jabfest where the fastest puncher wins each match. You won’t be mashing any buttons either, because there aren’t any buttons to mash. You punch your way to victory with moving the right analog stick in different motions. It is more engaging than tapping buttons in random succession, so even if you are a button masher, you’ll look more graceful now.
The multiplayer component to Fight Night is one of its strongest modes. It is a perfect game to play with your friends in the same room because there is constant action and movement that is just as exciting to watch as it is to play. Trading blows and thinking strategically while a human opponent does the same provides an intoxicating adrenaline rush. Those types of moments don’t come around too often in games. Fighting online does give you more bang for your buck but the real sweet spot is when you can get your friends in on the action. When the rounds end, you head back to your corner and use points that accumulate in the background depending on how well you fight. Just like in the single-player modes, you then spend those points on recovering your health and stamina.
What’s Not
To make a name for yourself in boxing, it takes a lot of hard work and talent. If that isn’t hard enough, career mode is cumbersome in Fight Night. The menus don’t do a good enough job at explaining what you need to do and there are many different sub-menus that can lead you to more options if you want to make sense of the structure. The rise to stardom is fairly basic stuff where you setup matches according to a calendar then fit your training in during the down time. The gameplay remains remarkable but the vehicle to drive you there isn’t. It is like putting a Formula 1 racing engine inside a rusty Ford Taurus.
Training is a throw-away mode. When you have the option to train, do yourself a favor and let the game auto-train for you. The mini-games that are included resemble real training routines that boxers perform, but the game makes it hard to perform well with the rules and time constraints. A key part to boxing is the training and it’s sad to see it implemented so sloppily here.
To be the greatest, you don’t always need to perform the greatest. AI isn’t all that smart when you are playing a quick match or fighting your way to the top in Legacy Mode. They will have a specific pattern they will adhere to it, so you can find the holes quickly and easily. If you spam punches, you’ll usually win a fight against the computer just by sheer numbers, which completely undermines the counter-punching system.
Final Word
The undisputed champion of boxing games is Fight Night Round 4. The gameplay and visuals collide to provide a spectacular experience that is a blast to play. It doesn’t matter if you care about boxing or not; if you are a gamer you need to play this game. The problems with the game are small and do not take away from the fact this is a fine showpiece of gaming greatness.
