Fight Night Round 2

"Never liked boxing...but this game rules!"

As my tagline says, I've never been a huge fan of boxing... the only boxing game I've ever played before this was Super Punch Out. I was a bit skeptical about playing this, since, like I said, I'm not a boxing fan, but once I did, I realized that this is by far the best boxing game released since Super Punch Out.

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics in general are decent enough, but the real greatness of this game shows for sure when you beat the snot out of your opponent's face, and knock them down with a haymaker. The blood just SPEWS off of their face, and the bruising and cutting effects make this the most realistic boxing game ever. I can't stress how great it is to watch the poor fool fall on his bum, blood spewing from his face. I cringe every time I see it. Wow.

Sound/Music: 8/10
The announcing is good, the yelling and screaming of the excited crowd is very realistic, and you almost feel as if you're inside the ring with your opponent every step of the way. The only thing stopping this from getting a 9 or 10 is the musical soundtrack. Put simply, if you like rap and hip-hop, you'll love the soundtrack. If you're like me, and despise it, you'll push the mute button. Either way, it isn't enough to hurt or really help the score that much.

Controls: 10/10
I love the controls in this game. At first it seems a little odd, but after an hour or two of gameplay, you'll realize just how much this adds to the game's fun factor. Haymakers, the most devastating punches in the game, are fun and not too hard to pull off, and you really get a sense of fluidity as you swoop and sweep around the ring, punching the other guy's lights out (or getting your own lights punched out).

Gameplay: 10/10
The gameplay in this game is just great. I've only played the Gamecube version of this, and it naturally does not have online features. However the Gamecube version does have an ace up its sleeve... Exclusive to the Nintendo Gamcube version of this game: Super Punch Out (!!!) is an extra bonus feature added. The entire game, uncut. The only problem I have with the gameplay is the difficulty settings. There are only three settings; easy, medium, hard; and each mode is drastically different than the other. On easy mode within a few hours you will be dominiating every single round with ease, often times KOing the opponent within the 2nd or 3rd round. On medium it's quite hard, and often times you'll get pissed at the cheapness of the AI. Hard mode...is just...impossible...your opponent can easily knock you down in one hit, and they hold nothing back at all. Still, this merely adds more life to the game's gameplay time, since you'll be wanting to master the game and beat hard mode into the mat.

Overall: 9/10

This game is sheer excellence. If you don't like boxing, you'll probably still love it. This game has etched it's way into my heart for a long time.

Final Notes:
Bravo, EA. Bravo.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/11/05