Fight Night 2004

"Boxing at its finest!"

General
Are you ready to rumble? Fight Night 2004 is a great new boxing game from the people at EA. Leaving behind the Knockout Kings name, and adding in quite a few new details that make this boxing game one of the best. This latest installment is totally different. You are required to have not only some complexity in offense but timing and patience in your defense. Introducing an all new innovative control called Total Punch Control, this game packs a major punch.

Gameplay
The game play is excellent! The game involves boxing strategies instead of just punching. Virtually the entire game is played with two analog sticks and you need to time your punches and have some patience since the opponent will deliver some devastating counter punches if you simply punch at random. The opponents represent a wide range of abilities. Some are very fast and hard to hit. Some are brawlers and force you to keep your guard up.

Graphics
Graphically this game is exquisite. The fighters are all detailed and look like their real life counterparts. During the few seconds between rounds as your trainer talks to you, you get a nice shot of how you and your opponent are doing, and just how bad of a beating you've given or received. Sometimes a person's face will swell so bad it looks like their eyes are swollen shut. The backgrounds are detailed and appealing. The replays really look great in this game, especially during a knockdown. They get a nice close-up of the person knocked down, as well as the punch that took them down, and if it landed nicely you'll see sweat and saliva go flying off of the victim.

Sound
The sound in the game is superb. You really feel like you are hitting your opponent during a match when the thud of the glove hits their face or body. The music in the game features a roster of hip hop and rap. A couple of the songs sound really nice when you come out and it plays as your theme song.

An extensive career mode and a wide range of real boxers. This is one of the most authentic boxing game every made! Get this game and knock yourselves out!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/30/04