The art of pugilism is something that has been around since the dawn of time. Since the hedonistic days of the caveman, men have used their bare hands to either bludgeon their prey to death or subdue the squabbling of a younger rival.
Over time it advanced into the arena of professional sport, and soon, it was one of the most watched events in the world. The lights, the rising crowd, the relentless spilling of blood…all of this has paved the way for boxing to become more than a sport.
Reading your opponent and timing your counterattack was the new style that boxing found itself in.
No longer were men merely swinging away at each other aimlessly. They were taking their time…waiting…constantly looking for that perfect opportunity to retaliate. Fight Night Round 4 captures this essence perfectly. The game isn’t about brawling or who can throw the most punches.
It’s about adapting to your opponents style and reacting with finesse and impeccable timing. Instead of constantly blocking or trying to lean left and right, doing it at the precise moment of your opponent’s strike, causes much more severe results.
Time a block or lean perfectly using your bumper buttons, and if you decide to return your rival’s attempt with a punch, you get to watch him shuddering with pain. The screen flashes white and the sound of the deafening blow landing on your rivals face is personified along with the rising chant of the crowd. Commentators roar in approval and your corner cheers valiantly. The new style of gameplay in Round 4 truly allows you to feel the closest resemblance to the real thing.
Along with the new style of gameplay, Fight Night Round 4 delivers a plethora of new additions.
Riveting sound effects, truly sensational graphics and ultra-realistic physics are a few. For the first time in the Fight Night franchise, the game delivers aesthetically pleasing blood and sweat. Deliver a blow to Tyson’s body, and watch the sweat rumble off his defined muscles. Put a hook into the jaw of Ali and gaze on in fascination, as the spurt of blood erupts from his mouth in glorious HD.
Some of the old mini-games have also been dismissed for their new, shinier, more realistic counterparts. The previous corner game of using your analogue stick to control the cold compound press on your fighter’s swollen face has now been substituted for a faster, simpler design. Simply select between either health recovery, stamina recovery or damage recovery.
There is a catch however. You earn points which you can use during your corner game, according to how well you fare during each round. The amount of punches you dodge and the amount you return, will determine how many points you’re worth, and inevitably how much your boxer will be able to recover.
Also, getting knocked to the ground and getting back up no longer relies on your ability to move both the analogue sticks to a centre image. Now it is focused around of getting back up in a more realistic fashion. Firstly, depending on which side you’re lying on, use your left stick to either move left or right until your character is back to a centre standing position. Once again, there is a catch. The momentum and speed with which you move your analogue stick, will determine whether or not your character is able to get up, or if he’ll topple back to the canvas. Do it too fast and the slider will move over to the other side, causing your fighter to fall back down, do it too slowly, and he won’t get up at all. Secondly, time pushing your right analogue stick upwards, to ultimately get back into the fight. Linger for a second to long, and your fighter will topple back over.
All in all, the new additions to the Fight Night brand still don’t truly change the basis of the game. You step into the ring, try and hit your opponent, and try not to get knocked out.
It is virtual boxing in its most beautiful, realistic and brutal form.
Fun Factor
Timing a lean perfectly and then returning with some counterforce feels incredibly rewarding. You know you have landed a hit correctly when screen flashes and the crowd go quiet. Of course with all the newly added fighters, rising to the top is seriously fun…Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, George Foreman, they’re all there.
Visuals
Before this game was released, EA Sports claimed that it would be the first title that pushed the limits of what our next-gen consoles were capable of producing visually. Well, I’m glad to say, they weren’t kidding. Fight Night Round 4 pushes the envelope on what is visually possible in sporting games, and if it is any indication of what is to come, then we are looking at some truly spectacular future titles.
Story
Even though you wouldn’t think there is a story in a boxing game, Fight Night Round 4 once again produces the career mode that it is so famous for with a few tweaks. Create your boxer with one of the most in-depth character creation systems featured yet and then have the joy of taking him to the top, all the while leaving a trail of broken bodies behind you.
Sound
If we were back in the 50’s and I could only listen to a boxing match, I’d want it to sound exactly like this. The sound of a blow landing on the cheek of your opponent is responded to with the banter of the commentators, adding quirky one liners while they talk about your fighting style and moves.
Originality
For the first time, thanks to a revolutionary physics engine, no fight will ever be the same. Thanks to Adaptive AI, your opponent will learn from your mistakes and hammer on those mistakes. Then of course, for the first time ever, Fight Night Round 4 now has glancing blows, block-breaking blows and rough-and-tumble inside boxing.
Longevity
Of course, with any sport game, the fun is usually restricted to playing along with a friend. However, thanks to an excellent online system, even if you don’t have a friend, you can still get the satisfaction of knocking a human opponent out. And then of course, there are the hours that it will steal from your life, trying to finish the never-ending career mode.
Bottom line
The boxing game that all fans have been waiting for has finally arrived. However, a word of caution, at first, most fans of Round 3 will despise Round 4. Simply for the fact that no longer can you simply step up to your opponent and throw blow after blow until he takes to the canvas.
Round 4 is all about taking your time and picking your spots. If you are looking for a duplicate of Round 3 with improved graphics, then you will be utterly disappointed. If you are however looking for the truest representation of a boxing simulator possible…then step into the ring and get swinging.
