The barrage
of jabs is taking their toll – the vision is restricted and there is the
occasionally blurring of the lights. The announcer knows you are in trouble and
talks about the pounding you are taking, but being slightly bull-headed means
continuing to wade in. Covering up is rare, ducking and weaving is becoming less
efficient. You see the punch coming before it is landed, The next thing you
know, you see the lights, and three referees counting you out.
It is
another battle to clear the cobwebs and get back up.
Get in the
Ring is one of the defining features of Fight Night Round 3 for the PlayStation
3 entertainment system. It is a first-person view of the fight, complete with
two disembodied arms in front of you, obeying the commands of the controller.
The PS3 has a couple of exclusives, including ESPN integration, which provides
streaming news, split-screen head-to-head gaming and online play. Yes, the game
has the same other options of its next-gen rival, and props have to be given to
EA Sports for the different feel this game has, however, don’t expect the
SIXAXIS controller to be part of the control scheme. Still, with the Get in the
Ring feature, little things like motion-sensitive controls seem not as big a
deal.
And just
like the 360 version, also gone are the health and energy meters. Instead you
have to watch your fighter and listen to his breathing, and judge the way he
throws punches. These will clue you in to the fact that no matter how wide open
the target is, if the punch lands there may not be much steam on it. Block, back
away, get some breathing space and recover some stamina.
This is very
much a game that asks gamers to watch for openings, as well as keep an eye on
their own fighter. There are several game modes available in the title as well
as three new punches known collectively as Impact Punches (the Haymaker, the
Flash KO punch, and the Stun Punch – more on these in a moment). The game modes
include Get in the Ring, Play Now, ESPN Classic (historic fights in which the
gamer can take on the role of one of the fighters, such Ali versus Frazier,
Robinson vs. Lamotta, Leonard vs. Duran to name but a few), Career, Game Mode
and Create A Champ.
There is a
routine to this game’s career mode that is very easy to step into. You pick or
create a fighter, begin in the amateur ranks, sign a fight contract, hire a
trainer, train up attributes, like power, agility, stamina, the ability to take
punches on various parts of the body, and then enter the ring and go toe-to-toe
against a smart AI foe. Different fighting styles are represented. You earn
money in the bouts, can hire trainers to improve stats, or afford better gear
that provides boosts to stats as well.
Fighters
move and punch like their real-life counterparts, and you can create styles for
your fighter and even establish rivalries.
The control
scheme works well, but the lack of motion-controlled movements seems like a
missed opportunity to distance the console from other next-gen machines. The
right thumbstick is the one used to manipulate the punches. Pulling the stick to
the right or left and rotating it will load up a punch and deliver it. The left
thumbstick controls ring movement, and you can combine them with the left and
right trigger to move, avoid or block punches, load up and deliver a devastating
blow with your weight behind it. Hit and move is fundamental and necessary.
Stand in the middle of the ring and you are asking for punishment.
The musical
score features hip-hop and some rap, but it blends into the game very well. The
announcers are very good with the only audio drawback being the crunching bones
heard regularly with the impact punches.
The graphics
are advertised as being cinematic and this is spot on. Of course, there are
pieces of fly-away hair on some of the fighters – hair that clumps and sticks
up. But overall, this is impressive. Load times are fast.
There are a
few stumbles in the preview code, like some graphical clipping and random spurts
where the collision paths seems to be absent (as in, “how in the world did that
punch miss??”), but generally speaking this is still a solid game.
The PS3
online component is far more robust than the 360, and there is a bit of a
graphical upgrade, utilizing the high-def functionality of the system much
better than the 360. The Get in the Ring feature doesn’t just put you in the
boxer’s shoes, you see the fight through his eyes, and the ring movement is
terrific, allowing gamers to really feel like they are part of the fight. As you
take damage, the edges of the screen begin to blur out and the more damage you
take, the worse your vision becomes and the slower your reaction time. You can’t
quite feel the punches, thankfully, but the game does an excellent job or
relaying the damage and effects of those punches. Try to go toe-to-toe, and you
may end up trying to put the knockdown cursors together to rise off the canvas.
In many regards, the game becomes much more tactical.
Fight Night
Round 3 for the PS3 is the best iteration of the top fight game on a next-gen
console system. What EA was able to accomplish in the months between the 360
release and the PS3 release has been nothing short of amazing.
