Fight Night Round 4 (Xbox 360)
Manufacturer: Electronic Arts Inc. Part number: 15583
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Gamespot editors' review
Fight Night Round 4 (Xbox 360) price range: $36.99 - $59.99
- Reviewed by: Justin Calvert
- Reviewed on: 06/29/2009
- Updated on:06/30/2009
- Released on: 06/23/2009
To the untrained eye, boxing involves little more than two fighters punching each other until one of them falls down. There's a lot more to the sport than that, though, and Fight Night Round 4 is a game that, while not necessarily realistic, encourages you to think about every punch you throw in much the same way a real boxer does. The action is fast-paced, the career mode really sucks you in, and there are some neat online options to boot. On the flip side, the career mode places too much importance on frustrating training minigames, and all too often opponents in ranked online matches suck the fun out of the fight by mindlessly spamming punches. Regardless, Fight Night Round 4 is a great boxing game, and one that improves upon its predecessor despite a few noticeable shortcomings.
6212566NoneDown, but not out.
From the moment you start playing, it's clear that Fight Night Round 4 is a unique animal. Some of the controls will feel familiar if you played Round 3, but as you play through the brief-but-adequate tutorial it becomes apparent that this year's action has a much more organic feel. Almost nothing about the fighters' movements feels scripted, so you need to look for openings before throwing punches, and every time you flick or rotate the right analog stick to throw a punch, any number of things can happen. Your punch might catch your opponent off guard and stun him temporarily, it might glance off the side of his head doing very little damage, your arm might become entangled with your opponent's as he tries to throw a punch at the same time, you might miss completely and leave yourself open, and so on. Furthermore, if your opponent manages to perfectly time a block or dodge move, the action will slow down for a moment as he's given the opportunity to land a powerful counterattack. It's a great gameplay mechanic that doesn't interfere with the flow of the fight and that encourages you to place as much importance on defense as on offense.
Boxers in Round 4 are capable of throwing a lot more punches in each round than their real-life counterparts, but that caveat aside, fights play out in an impressively believable fashion. In a fight that lasts 10 three-minute rounds, for example, it's not uncommon for the momentum to shift from one fighter to the other as fatigue, heavy punches, and different strategies all play their part. Also deserving of a mention is the ingenious new corner system introduced this year. In between rounds, you get to spend points on replenishing your stamina and health and on repairing damage, and the number of points that you get to spend is determined by different aspects of your performance in the previous round. For example, you earn points for having a high percentage of your punches find their target, for avoiding your opponent's punches, for stunning or knocking down your opponent, and even for managing to get back to your feet via a first-person minigame after hitting the canvas. It's a great system, because it acknowledges that a boxer throwing five times as many punches as his opponent isn't necessarily throwing better punches, and so while he may well earn more points from the judges, he's also going to expend a lot more stamina, and if many of his punches are being blocked or dodged, he's handing his opponent more to points to spend in his corner at the end of the round.
There are more than 40 instantly recognizable professional pugilists on the Round 4 roster, and that number is growing thanks to users who are taking the time to create them as custom fighters and share them online. Zab Judah, Evander Holyfield, Danny Williams, and Floyd Mayweather are just a handful of the fighters who have been brilliantly re-created using photos uploaded to the EA Sports World Web site, along with all manner of celebrities. The powerful toolset for creating custom fighters is easy to use, but satisfying results are much easier to achieve by uploading digital photos to the aforementioned site than by using the console's own camera. Whichever method you choose, the head generated using a frontal and a profile photo requires some major tweaking afterward, but the rewards are well worth the effort--especially if you're keen to play through the Legacy career mode as yourself.
The lengthy career mode kicks off with an amateur tournament. Note the headgear.
In Legacy mode, your chosen fighter starts out as a "bum" at the bottom of his 50-strong weight class. Your goal, of course, is to work your way up to number one and claim the title belt, but Round 4 takes several steps beyond that as well. After winning your chosen division and earning the rank of champion, you're really only about halfway to achieving your full potential, because in addition to defending your title, there are other belts in other weight classes up for grabs. The criteria for retiring as a Hall of Famer, a ring legend, or the greatest of all time are numerous, and not for the fainthearted. Examples include maintaining a win percentage of over 95 percent across dozens of fights, defending a title successfully as many as eight times, and holding three championship belts simultaneously. The road to achieving that kind of success is long, which is a good thing, save for those occasions when obstacles on the road seem unnecessary or are just the result of bad design.
User reviews
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The greatest boxing game of all-time!
by NWOgichidaa on July 9, 2009
Pros: The gameplay and graphics are near perfect.
Cons: I wish the roster could have had more of a selection of fighters in each weight division. As a big-time boxing fan there are a few details that are part of the fight game that are missing from this fight game such as accidental headbutts, slips, ect.
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Alround great experience
by Venom_ZA on July 3, 2009
Pros: Excellent graphics, Lasting Legasy mode, Great Gameplay, Veriety of fighters to choose from, Excellent feel when fighting; Much more realistic than Fight Night 3, cuts and bruises looks great!!
Cons: Would have liked to have buttons included as a config for punching
Summary: If you are a hardcore boxing fan, this is the game to get.
Moved away from the arcade type of game to a much more realistic version.Summary: If you are a hardcore boxing fan, this is the game to get.
Moved away from the arcade type of game to a much more realistic version. -
Great graphics, unacceptable error in coding...
by respect2nd on July 1, 2009
Pros: Looks Great
Great Fight MechanicsCons: Splash screen error, near deal breaker!! EA needs to patch right away. I can't play on XBOX Live because my playlist is too large?? That's terrible work by you EA.
Tedious Training ModeSummary: Aside from the confirmed splash screen error, this is a pretty good game.
Summary: Aside from the confirmed splash screen error, this is a pretty good game.
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Not the leap I was hoping for
by afroloq on June 25, 2009
Pros: Still great controls and decent character renditions...if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Cons: Still has not made the out of ring technical immersive experience to bring this game to life. EA owns the rights to use the ESPN licence but still fails to fully use it except to toss the logo around.
Summary: What can I say? It's another rendition of one of the best boxing games hands down. If you played the revious incarnation that came out 4 years ago, it'...
Summary: What can I say? It's another rendition of one of the best boxing games hands down. If you played the revious incarnation that came out 4 years ago, it's relatively easy to pick this up and jump right in.
So, why did I give this game 2 stars? Because I know a lot of you are going to thik I have lost my mind when you see this but when you think about how much time EA has had to improve this title over the last one and when you really see the failed opportunities that EA had to improve this over UFC OUTSIDE of the ring mechanics you will really understand my low score.
I would dare say if you have forgotten, grab part 3 and play it again.
Now, while I think EA took a step in the right direction with some of the fight mechanics (glancing blows count stamina meter counts for more). I think in a lot of the technical aspects the game has languished or took a step back.
EA has the licence to ESPN and really has yet to take advantage of it (and just in boxing but in most of their sports games... They still haevnt learn the lessons from NFL2K5 of how to immerse people into a sports game!!). Please turn off the rerun of the 2 minutes of ESPN Sports Radio!! If I want to know what's going on, I can stream it from my PC! I really would like to see an in game pre fight show or something to hype the bout you are about to fight.
Another thing I really would love to have seen added would be some kind of rivalry or rematch mode during the Legacy Mode where you and another boxer have a series of matches to prove the best boxer like how mny times did Frazier and Ali fight or classic matches like Sugar ray and Roberto Duran? I mean yes, other fighters will challenege you from time to time but without the added hype behind it, it doesn't feel like much. You do get extra gear from the wins you rack up during the game but it really doesn't feel like you are doing much in Legacy mode except fighting to unlock stuff. Again, there feels like so much more could have been done for legacy mode but it falls short.
Also another small gripe I have is that the create a boxer mode is not(and has never really been) as robust as most fighting games (UFC and WWE anyone?). I could get more into it if I could create a fighter that I like as opposed to feeling limited to the templates given.
Even still if you feel a bit lazy, you can check out EAs online gallery and download a few or even try uploading a pic of yourself and try out creating a pugilist using your mug.
Now in the ring, again, if you have played the last fight night, you can jump right into it and punch away. This time around glancing blows count and thankfully EA didn't go out of thier way to make them apparent but you can tell even better the nuances of when you hit somebody full on vs a punch that lacks power. You can also still swtich your stance, throw haymakers and so forth as long as you remember how to control your character. This is probably the only part of the game that has improved.
Last gripe is not really a big one considering real life considerations but the roster seems more to be inclusive of real life current boxers and not a lot past greats unless you have the time to create them with the blase palate. And even some of the ones included don't translate very well considering how hard the hardware pushes this game to look as graphically superb as the last one. Even so...some of the boxers lack personality...it's almost as if you feel like they just stuck a bag with human skin in front of you to beat around a bit.
To a point I can almost understand why some people who have been behind boxing for years are gravitating to UFC...gaming and in real life.
Outside of all of this, if you have enjoyed the Fight Night series, this is a no brainer to pick up but with the 4 years that it had to really take a huge leap...it only took a hop. It's not the in ring issues that is the problem with this series, it's the out of the ring stuff that is lacking that keeps this title back. -
RROD issues with Fight Night Round 4, crashes and bugs!
by Sola_G on July 2, 2009
Pros: None. game is unplayable due to the cons.
Cons: Many bugs. Causes console to freeze leading to RROD.
Summary: http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/390/248706.page
As evident on the EA forums, the game is unplayable. it has several bugs freezing up at different points in ...Summary: http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/390/248706.page
As evident on the EA forums, the game is unplayable. it has several bugs freezing up at different points in the game which has rendered the game unplayable for many to the point of even causing Xbox 360 consoles to RROD. I will not recommend this game for anyone until after EA sorts out the issues with the game.0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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If I could rate it zero stars I would
by Lds73 on July 1, 2009
Pros: Graphics, more available boxers
Cons: Gameplay is terrible
Summary: Fight Night Round 3 was a great game. When you punched you could feel the power. In Rnd 4 it feels more like your involved in a tickling contest; poking ...
Summary: Fight Night Round 3 was a great game. When you punched you could feel the power. In Rnd 4 it feels more like your involved in a tickling contest; poking at the other boxing with no real feeling of power behind the punches.
www.broadstonemedia.com
I wonder how EA could take such a HUGE step back with this game and not even realize it during testing??
I wouldn't buy this game again.
Updated on Jul 1, 20090 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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BUY ROUND THREE, GARBAGE
by nikbballer214 on June 30, 2009
Pros: created new moves and styles... I was anticipating this game for 2 years
Cons: movement is unflowing, ratings are bad for boxers, lack of boxers, and CARTOON LIKE GRAPHICS-ROUND 3 GRAPHICS ARE MUCH BETTER.
Summary: If you are a true fan of boxing you may or may not enjoy this, I prefer round three if you enjoy abusing your Xbox for graphics I don't ...
Summary: If you are a true fan of boxing you may or may not enjoy this, I prefer round three if you enjoy abusing your Xbox for graphics I don't have an hdmi cable to watch 480p cartoons.
0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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boxing is dead
by basic chair on June 30, 2009
Pros: will be $20 dollars by christmas
Cons: nothing new to the genre or video games in general. ufc has put boxing to the grave
Summary: graphics only go so far before people realize what they're playing is the same ol same ol. sure there's some strategy and all, but really, i grew up ...
Summary: graphics only go so far before people realize what they're playing is the same ol same ol. sure there's some strategy and all, but really, i grew up with NES and have played the generations and this game does nothing new for video games. how can you anyways? boxing is dead. ufc, whether you like it or not, and put boxing to shame. fight night is like mario party...fun the first time or two, but when it gets up to 4, 5, 6, 7, shoot even 8...ug. give up.
0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Seriously FLAWED!
by faceButtonsEA on June 28, 2009
Pros: The graphics are over the top. The roster is incredible and the create a fighter mode give you limitless options.
Cons: NO FACE BUTTON CONFIGURATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Summary: NO FACE BUTTON CONFIGURATION makes this game unplayable. Ive been using the face buttons in boxing games for 20 years and now I dont even have a choice. you have ...
Summary: NO FACE BUTTON CONFIGURATION makes this game unplayable. Ive been using the face buttons in boxing games for 20 years and now I dont even have a choice. you have to use the unresponsive analog stick. Ive really tried to like this game since Ive been a fan of the franchise since knockout kings 99 but Im sad to say that this game is not fun to play at all in fact its frustrating. If this game had an option to use the face buttons it would have been perfect. I own a PS3,virtua tennis and fight night round 2,3 and 4. Thats ALL i ever play is fight night and now the game is ruined. Im going back to game stop to get my money back. this is crap
1 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Electronic Arts Inc.
- Part number: 15583
Product Basic Spec
- Platform Xbox 360
- ESRB rating Teen - Mild Lyrics,Violence,Mild Suggestive Themes,Mild Blood
- Genre Sports
- Number of players 1-2 Players
- Connectivity Scoreboards,Live Aware,Voice Chat
- Customization Downloadable Content
Game
- Developer EA Canada
- ESRB Teen
- ESRB descriptors Mild Lyrics,Violence,Mild Suggestive Themes,Mild Blood
Product series
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Fight Night Round 4 (PlayStation 3)
Manufacturer: Electronic Arts Inc.
Specs: Teen, Sports
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Fight Night Round 4 (Xbox 360)
Manufacturer: Electronic Arts Inc.
Specs: Teen, Sports, 1-2 Players
Manufacturer info
- Electronic Arts Inc.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Electronic Arts Inc. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.ea.com/
- Address:
1450 Fashion Island Blvd.
San Mateo, CA 94404 - Phone: 650/571-7171
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