The Digest: Sporting a brand new game engine, expanded character list, and the most beautiful visuals to date, EA Sports has truly hit a KO with their latest installment in the Fight Night franchise.

THE FACT SHEET

RELEASE DATE: June 23, 2009
PUBLISHER: Electronic Arts
DEVELOPER: EA Canada
ESRB RATING: “T” for Teen
GENRE: Sports

PRODUCT OVERVIEW:
EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 is truly the return of the champ. Building off Fight Night Round 3, one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed games to come out at the onset of the PlayStation 3 hardware launch, Fight Night Round 4 promises to be equally as groundbreaking and revolutionary. With an all new physics based fighting engine, new physics driven animations, truly unique and differentiated boxer styles, and the most impressive boxer roster ever, including the return of the legendary Iron Mike Tyson, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 takes video game boxing and fighting to an entirely new level.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

• New ‘Legacy Mode’ that allows players to grow the career of fighters
• All-new physics-based gameplay engine
• Realistic boxing styles based on fighters like Ali, Tyson, Frasier, Foreman
• 2-person multiplayer functionality

With the EA Chicago studio shutting down, this paved the way for EA Canada to take the reigns and rebuild the game from the ground up.  After a 3 year hiatus, you will be able to see from the get go where all that time and effort has gone.  I’m glad they didn’t make the mistake of trying to churn out annual iterations as they were able to take their time to polish off all aspects of the game.

Round 4 is, hands down, the best looking game on the Xbox 360. I did not think they could enhance the visuals from Round 3 a whole lot, but EA Sports quickly proved me wrong from the very start. At 60 fps, everything looks and runs buttery smooth. You can even see muscles tense up and ripple. The audience is still lacking in any real detail, but anything inside the ring is beautiful. It’s astonishing the way light bounces off surfaces and glistens off the sweat of players. All facets have gained a great deal more detail, seriously raising the bar for any future titles.

There is top notch presentation of the game from top to bottom. Ring entrances are dramatic and make you feel like a gladiator getting ready for battle. Commentary, provided by Teddy Atlas and Joe Tessitore, is a slight step up. Dialogue has been expanded with some more insight being discussed during rounds, some of which can actually be helpful. But like all sports titles, it can get redundant and bland. The menu system has been streamlined a bit and is very fluid. A number of options have also been added to the replay system. You can now create highlight reels and do all the editing with a fairly simple and intuitive interface.

Strategy is crucial in determining the outcome of a bout. This is where the sweet science is at its finest. The many factors, such as reach and fighting style, can make or break a player. Taking advantage of your strengths and exploiting your opponent’s weaknesses, while a cliché saying, becomes paramount in your duels. Fights are no longer races to see who can knock the other down the quickest. Instead, they become a war of attrition that requires patience (unless you go nuts with Iron Mike of course). Following fundamental boxing principles that must be emulated from real life to video game, like working behind your jab, will quickly become clear. Your approach and composure can be the difference between raising your hands in celebration or drooling on the mat.

The physics in this game is absolutely amazing. With real world physics calculations, it takes fighting and sports games, to a completely new plateau. It truly immerses you in the fighting experience with every punch you give and take. Counter punches owe a lot to the new physics system. When a good counter or haymaker connects, you can feel it rock the entire body. A camera movement will let you know when that split second opening is there. However, with enough experience, you should be able to see these openings coming with ease. Even seemingly minor changes, like glancing punches, help to take the authenticity to the next level.

No more buttons = No more button mashers! There is a rumor that EA will provide button mapping via DLC, but I pray they don’t. As a Total Punch Control (TPC) purist, I urge those of you out there to learn the sticks. Like the rest of this game, they have been streamlined and are a lot friendlier. While this allows for some spamming to occur, it’s nothing that gets out of control and a new move that allows you to push opponents off of you is available. Haymakers are now done exclusively using a button modifier, opposed to pulling just the stick back and cocking back for your power shots. Special punches, whether they’re signature or haymaker, now have to be timed and utilized sparingly. You can’t spam these punches over and over praying to land a few, as it’s much easier to see them coming and they are not as effective. It’s so much more satisfying taking apart an opponent using fluid stick movements.

The old parry system has been done away with. Blocking is now mapped to just 2 areas: up and down. Instead of trying to predict the exact area to parry a punch to setup a counter, you rely on different mechanics to get the job done. Whether it be leaning or ducking, a solid move into a counter will be rewarded.  Bobbing and weaving is also a welcome new mechanic. It really helps you move inside to gain a better position while dodging any potential punches.

One of the most important aspects of any game, the AI, has been overlooked in previous versions. They finally got it right this time around and actually created a challenging computer opponent. Most experienced players can attest to having to play Heavyweights with the lowest weight classes because of how easy it was to defeat the AI. Fear not, as you will actually get a challenge and still be able to fight opponents in the same weight class. There’s even a limit as you can’t fight someone in a weight class more than 2 off of your own.

I’m not a huge fan of the corner game, but it has been simplified and it works to an extent. A point based system has replaced the half circle movements from older editions. You now gain points for doing certain things in rounds: 12 pts for finishing a round, 5 points from stunning your opponent, >X% punches landed, etc. These can be applied to 3 different areas (Health, Stamina, Damage), each with 3 different levels of effectiveness and point cost.

Legacy mode has been expanded to give you much more flexibility. The linear approach has been ditched and you gain more control of training, rest and fight periods. You also have the option to chase multiple belts and shift weight classes. There are also several new training mini games to go with the much improved career mode. While not the greatest training sessions, they add more variety.

Using a larger roster, the weight classes have been expanded to 8 to accommodate all the new fighters. There are still a few marquee names missing, but most of the best are there. Of course, there’s always the option of creating your own fighter. Photo Game Face is a really cool new feature used in creating new warriors. While not perfect and with some varying results, the virtual version of whatever image you upload, is quite interesting nonetheless.

Even though I have not had the opportunity to play a whole lot online, you get more of the same with a few welcome new additions. First and foremost is the creation of World Championship mode. It balances the playing field and allows you to go after belts while leveling up. With enough participation, the Championship mode has a lot of potential to be a true hit. The classes have been mashed into 3 divisions: light, middle and heavy. While it probably makes finding online matches easier, it stuffs some fighters into divisions that can make them a bit out of place.

Conclusion: I could continue to rave about this game, but it is something you need to see for yourself. If you are a boxing enthusiast, this game is a must have. Even if you are not, let this be your introduction to the sweet science. You will not regret taking the plunge.

Single Player: 9/10 | Multi-Player: 9/10