by: Michael Ogunnubi

July 15, 2009

Since Fight Night 2004 originally came out back on the PS2 in 2004, this has been the biggest sports franchise game to me and my peers back in the day in class; almost like the next best thing since Madden NFL. When EA Chicago closed back in 2007, the question on everyone’s mind was just what exactly will happen to the Fight Night games. More importantly, when Round 4 was announced to be in development by EA Canada the question then rose about if it will be the same amazing game Fight Night Round 3 was. Thankfully, the folks at EA Canada know exactly how a boxing game should be done and Round 4 is another great entry into the Fight Night series.

Fight Night is the bar by which other boxing games are judged with the incredible visuals being the first obvious stand-out feature. Round 4 pushes the bar set by the already visually impressive Round 3 even more to where you feel as if you have to just stop and appreciate the art. The boxers look very realistic, particularly when their faces jiggle in slow motion after a devastating knockout punch. Faces swell realistically, cuts bleed convincingly (though splatter from particularly nasty gashes is notably absent), and the boxers move and react like their real-life counterparts. Collision detection is great too and this time around it was something the folks at EA Canada really spent a lot of time focusing on to make it as perfect as possible; some punches will collide in mid-swing and holes in the various varieties of guards can be exploited realistically. A phenomenal physics system weighs the damage dealt by punches based on how solid the hit is and precisely where it connects, rewarding precise punches and allowing agile boxers to avoid the brunt of even the heaviest of hits by leaning or sliding away. On the downside, boxers also fall much more realistically – fans of the series may be slightly disappointed to discover that knocking someone down into the ropes no longer allows for free (and wildly entertaining) punches on the spastic marionettes their opponents were once reduced to upon KO. It's a fair price to pay for the added realism, though – I can't really complain.