Fight Night Round 3

"Good, but not the greatest of all time"

Fight Night is my favorite sports game series, but FNR3 didn't impact a change on me as much as Round 2 did... There are a few pointless things in the game which they really didn't need, & some changes made that just made the game feel downgraded.

I have the PS2 version, which is very much unpolished compared to the X360 version, come on EA, you should've given each platform the same attention instead of focusing on one, otherwise we'd have to pay £400 for the good version!

I'll start with the good points, I like the variation of the fighting styles, every boxer is now different, the boxers fight like they are suppose to, its now not the fact you pick a boxer & they're either orthodox or southpaw... The punch system minus the 2 impact punches is much better, no more haymaker after haymaker, it now makes more sense to mix it up because you do it without getting too many hard punches in the face. Taunting while moving is great, I love the Ali shuffle, when they come to punch you you lean back, they miss, you counter, great stuff. Also Pacquiao, in the PS2 & Xbox version looks like Pacquiao, in the X360 it doesn't really look like him, which is odd, but well done on that EA... Also the simplified cutman, it's a good idea to keep it simple, I had no problems with the Round 2 cutman, but I could see why people would...

Now with the bad points, The AI is terrible, its only really difficult if you're a featherweight against a heavyweight, & you don't use the 2 new impact punches... I dunno how it is on the X360 version, but on PS2, you can get countered so easily if you're fighting an opponent using the Philly Shell, recovery when they parry is too slow, so slow they can easily pull off a Flash KO punch, its too unbalanced, EA you should at least make the recovery time the same but the counters more powerful. The graphics, seem the same, but the facial structure is poor, I think you could feel the punch more in Round 2 than Round 3, Round 3 has the devastating bonecrunching sound, & Round 2 has the distorted faces, in Round 3, their facial expressions are just normal, their face hardly gets distorted... Having devastating sounds doesn't work if the look isn't right, you need both. The ragdolls are very unpolished compared to the X360, you uppercut them, & when they fall back they go forward, it looks like they're doing Capoeira, or when you give them a hook & they fall, they sometimes fall like they're mimicking Neo from the 1st Matrix movie, dodging bullets, makes watching the replay funny but not looking as cool as it did in Round 2... The devastation isn't as great as it was in Round 2, the bruising & puffiness of round 2's boxers are much superior to round 3's, also if your 1st two punches are a flash KO then a knockdown punch, the replay has them already spitting blood from the mouth, whats that about, just two punches... & if you're bleeding from the nose & mouth, why doesn't your cutman wipe it off for the next round?.. The 2 new punches are really not needed, I only think you should have included the shift the momentum punch, its really easy to knock you're opponent down 3 or 4 times in the 1st round, if they get up that is. I mean there's no 1 punch KO, in Round 2, you land a punch at a good moment they go down, in Round 3 they just get hurt or they go into KO moment, feels downgraded in that respect, I mean the Flash KO punch would only be great if it was only shift the momentum, when you're about to get knocked down, you counter & send them into KO moment, thats a great thing about the punch, but other than that, it makes the game unbalanced & easy... Oh & the Stun Punch, what is so great about 1st person defence, that really isn't needed... The cutscenes, they're not that good, you only see your trainer but no cutman between rounds, the weigh in, does nothing, what is the point, its just a stun punch moment indoors, doesn't really show the rivalry great, another thing not needed... also the customization in terms of apparel is not great, still the same, could be much better... Career is the same, rivalry's could've been done much better, but it just feels like you're fighting the same guy & thats it, training is boring, need to do something about that, & also bring back the rankings, but somehow implement a popularity system... Replays are terrible, EA you had it right in FN 2004, you should bring back replays when you pause & want to see what you just did, & better angles for a knockdown replay...

FNR3 is a great game, don't get me wrong it has alot of flaws, but it's still a great multiplayer, I loved FN 2004 & FNR2, but I only liked Round 3, I'll give it a 7, the 1st 2 games easily got 9 or 10...

Here are some ideas for round 4 or whatever you're gonna call the next installment:

1: Take out the two new punches, but leave in the shift the momentum punch
2: Bring back 1 punch Knockdowns
3: Balance the Philly Shell
4: Implement a way to do a powerful straight
5: Have more reason to clinch when not being in KO moment
6: Add punching while clinching, come on real boxers do it
7: In terms with Rivalry, add cutscenes between rounds, & before & after the fight, like them stepping up to eachother, or when a round finishes one of them shoves the other's head while walking away
8: Better Replays & Cutscenes, nuff said about that
9: Be able to choose your entrance music, why did you change it, I hate the song with Akon, but I almost always come out to it
10: Better AI of course
11: Have more reason to use the analogues than the buttons, take out the different button configs, some people I've played use a button config where you can punch with buttons, so they only use the analogues for a haymaker, its very unbalanced & unfair, & you should not have punching with buttons, period
5: more customization with boxers like:-
a) Choose a power hand, Joe Frazier fights orthodox, but his power hand is his left, you should be able to choose which hand is more powerful, right or left, or if they're both the same power, it would bring more variations to style...
b) You should be able to choose which hand you throw with in terms of your special punch...
c) The Gloves, Trunks, shoes, body guard & mouthpeice should be done to be fully customized... What if you want Ali's trunks in Red & White, or Pacquiao's trunks without his name, you should be able to choose colours, & also choose different fonts for your name on the trunks, & be able to take your name off the trunks, add extra text or even logos...
d) Be able to choose between different punches, round 3 had different punching styles, what if you could choose different hooks, uppercuts & straights, but somehow balance it out too?
e) Round 3 had imbedded taunting in the styles, what if you could choose which ones you do? If you like skipping around like Ali, but want your boxer to put his hands behind his back like Roy Jones, you should choose which ones you do, & those are the ones your boxer does ingame automatically
f) be able to customize the real boxers, keep them updated, if they change to wearing white shoes instead of black, you have the ability to change it...
12: The most important thing, change career mode, add more training modes, more ways to show a rivalry, things like that, make it more fun to want to go back & do a career again...
13: Add Joe Calzaghe, he obliterated the "great" Jeff Lacy, & what happened to Marciano & Liston? Where's Butterbean? & With the brand name boxers, such as Prince Naseem, Tyson & George Foreman, you should add their styles, trunks & whatever else to be able to create them to a tee...

Thats it, hope EA sees this, you made a good game, but in terms of the changes, you didn't do as well as you did with Round 2...

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/17/06