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By Keith B (4th Apr 2007)

EA Sports has been a gaming staple since most of this generation’s adult gamers were kids, and every year they produce bigger and better versions of our favorite sports titles. Boxing is one of the more unique sporting games out there, and it’s come a long way from the days of Punch-Out!!, mostly thanks to the genius and innovation of EA Sports. They first created a football dynasty with the Madden series and it’s no wonder they’ve taken big steps with the other sports as well. Fight Night: Round 3 is a great addition to any sports fan’s collection and like the advertisements say: “Feel the punches. It’s that real.”

The graphics and sound are collectively one of the biggest highlights in Fight Night: Round 3. Everything from the damage to the boxers’ faces, their skin tone, the noises they make when they punch, everything is spot-on realistic. This is one of the few games I’ve seen where regular gameplay has the same quality graphics and sound as the cut scenes. Even when you’re outside the ring training, signing your next contract, or just waiting for something to load, your senses are always entertained by smooth visuals and a thumping soundtrack. You can hardly tell you’re waiting for anything to happen, especially when you have cool skill and strategy tips to read as well. In this way the graphics especially become a major part of the gameplay experience. You can tell when a punch hurts because you’ll see it all over the boxer’s face in the expressions that he makes and the way he moves. If you’re low on stamina you can even see and hear the results of it in his body language and breathing. This allows you to read your opponent instead of relying on a health bar. In fact, the HUD is defaulted to “off” when you begin the game. This makes it more challenging in some ways but also adds a dynamic and enjoyable twist.

Another cool new feature is adrenalin boosts. When you parry an opponent’s punch and come back with a haymaker, your boxer gets a boost that allows him to throw punches without losing any stamina. This can turn the tide of a match in an instant. Be careful, though; while this is a great feature for your fighter, it can also be used against you, so be sure to keep your guard up.

The controls are another big part of this game’s appeal. Every punch is dynamically controlled with the right analog stick. How you move it, in what direction, how fast, what other buttons you’re using at the time, and even what your opponent is doing all play a role in the delivery of every punch. There are also different types of special punches you can take out of your tool box as well as dynamic blocks that allow you to parry punches and fire back with a counterpunch. Powerful hay makers, stun punches, and flash KO’s are all at your disposal. Hay makers are powerful punches that take massive damage; stun punches make it so your opponent can only block your punches rather than being able to return fire; and flash KO’s will knock your opponent to the mat with one blow. This kind of variety and realism in the game has helped make it an instant hit in the sports gaming industry. But mastering all this to deliver the punch you want, where you want, and as powerful as you want is no small task. In the end, though, it adds to the pleasurable challenge of the game. You don’t want it to be too easy, do you? Mastering this unique form of controls is the key to mastering the game. It will allow you to train harder and get better stat rewards between each fight. These days, when they really can’t put any more buttons on a single controller, having the buttons perform dynamic touch sensitive functions opens up a whole different can of worms for the player. I personally love seeing this kind of advancement in gaming technology.

While Punch Out!! was a great game for its time and still is an entertaining blast from the past, gamers long for something more. Fight Night: Round 3 quenches this thirst for something beyond basic, robotic punching. Outside the ring you have to train between each fight and add stats to your boxer in career mode. This allows you to get better and more prepared for the next bout. But this is no walk in the park. You have to select from 3 different stat building exercises that all have pluses and minuses in different areas. You also have to pick a trainer and each trainer has their own specialty. Then once you decide who will train you and what exercise you will do, then you actually have to do it. This is the key if you want to keep winning fights, just like in real life.

After talking with a friend who played the version of this game when it came out on the regular Xbox console, it seems EA Sports has put a lot more effort into the 360 version, and with good reason. Next Gen gamers are looking for a Next Gen experience and the 360 delivers constantly. From the other versions they’ve added features to the career mode, such as rivals that follow you through your career, making sure to keep you on your toes. New features like this are a nice concept and definitely spice things up, but whether you’re in career mode, multiplayer, or versus, all these minor additions are greatly overshadowed by the innovation of the new punching impact system and amazing graphics and sound. Every time you land a huge punch that knocks your opponent down the game replays it in slow motion. This is great for all you boxing fans that like to see the ripples of energy tear through a guy’s face as your fist connects on point, just like you intended.

Overall, Fight Night: Round 3 is a great game, and if EA Sports keeps improving on it we may see as many editions as there are Rocky movies. In any case, I can’t wait to see the next knockout.