Electronic Arts' boxing series, Fight Night, has always been something of a popular affair amongst fighting fans. The last outing in March of 2006 proved to be something of a spectacle, more so with the press conference and demonstrations leading up to the game's release, it was really something special – and the achievements were easy, which is always nice.
The Fight Night Round 4 demo features just two boxers in Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton and Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, this will of course be of great interest to British boxing fans in particular, as it gives us a chance to rewrite history if you will in the virtual ring – referring to the 'actual' recent boxing match between the two featured boxers. The ultimate goal is of course not only to win, but everyone loves a K.O. victory. In the demo there's 3 rounds of boxing action to be had, so get laying on some quick jabs to the body and head, and try to fit that all important heavy haymaker punch in when it can do the most damage and catch your opponent off guard.
Fans of Fight Night Round 3 should feel right at home here, naturally the gameplay is similar with the use of the right analogue sticks movements to control your chosen boxers punches with more precision. We see more and more fighting games use this similar style of play with the right analogue stick, though it is important to remember that it is EA that brought it to the gaming masses, and as such have refined the overall gameplay for Fight Night Round 4.
With just two fighters available in the demo it doesn't leave much room to really notice the much talked about different fighting styles, but of course there's plenty of opportunity to put what's on offer through its paces.
Once launched the demo immediately throws you into training, where your trainer shouts at tips (with visual display too) of some jabs to perform, and basic movements to get you ready for the big time, the fundamentals if you will. Naturally the training can be skipped, which is a good thing, as you'll likely be replaying this demo over-and-over when you get your hands on it.
The gameplay is fairly straight forward to pick-up and play, the real mastery comes with the timing in bocking low or high punches, dodging and immediately reacting with a sharp counter-punch. You can also get in much closer by leaning-in to your opponent to deliver some vicious body shots and have a quick cheap pop at your opponents cranium. This style of play fits the bill well for “Hitman” Hatton, but also in regards to the full game, even Mike Tyson would feel right at home in a similar position. For a boxing legend such as Muhammad Ali though, it shouldn't be too hard to do the opposite to try and keep your opponent literally at arms length.
As well as each boxer having his own signature punch, there's of course the usual man-hugging to be had to try and avoid certain disaster, and there's no better way to get your opponent to back up then pushing him away. Well, actually there is, a blatant illegal head-butt usually does the trick. Naturally the referee does not approve, sadly.
Based on your performance during the round you can earn points for your trainer, which can be spent on building your stamina back up or fixing up a cut or two and patch up some of that damage done between rounds. If you end up getting knocked on your butt, there's a different method to getting to your feet this time around. Using the left and right analogue sticks you must first gain your balance with one analogue stick and try and stand up straight with the other – which is no easy task with the more punishment you endure.
When you first step into the ring, as with the previous game, the first thing that immediately stands out is the visuals. The game as you might expect pulls out all punches to make sure the visuals are that of a true champion, and that they are. The U.S. commentary team finishes up with authenticity, calling the highs and lows of all the boxing action. The arena itself and the lighting therein, as well as the crowd and the very 'English' chants from the rowdy British crowd for Hatton, it's all executed remarkably well. Once you start laying into your opponent, or vice versa., that's when everything comes together, when you push the boxing gameplay and do some serious damage, that's when the blood, sweat and tears all come flowing. There's even muscle flexing as you go to deliver that all important haymaker, which is easily missed during gameplay. Pressing Start and selecting Instant Replay though, well that allows you to relive the recent action and thus makes the finer details stand out that much more. You can set markers on certain points of the video to edit camera angles, speed and visual effects for each scenario, the video can then be encoded and uploaded to EA Sports World, presumably for retrieval from the game's website and viewable on your PC. The demo actually features this Instant Replay tool (though uploading replays is an option, it's currently not working), and once you get the hang of it, it's easy to waste time trying to finalise the events leading upto that all important final knock-out victory.
Typically we see sports titles have a yearly release, which leaves very little room for improvement and polish, it's not just EA though but sports titles in general that seem to follow the same moniker. One thing to note here is the extra development time that EA SPORTS have had with Fight Night Round 4 when compared to the 2006 release of their previous game. Certainly from this demo it already looks as though the extra time for some old fashioned spit and polish has paid off exceptionally well. I'm most certainly looking forward to the full game's release come June, now back to that demo!
Preview By: Wayne Julian
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