Fight Night Round 3

"Amateur Night"

This game sucks.

And that's coming from someone oh played the original Fight Night EXTENSIVELY. All my hard work and training are absolutely useless in this watered-down, chopped-up, and... oh yes... PETTY remake.

A good place to start on what's wrong with the game is all the fighters that were removed. No more Lennox Lewis. No more Rocky Marciano. Joe Louis MIGHT still be there, but if he is he's one of only FIVE... yes FIVE available heavyweights. Look at every other kind of game you can think of... wrestling games with an average of sixty wrestlers. Fighting games with at least twenty or thirty fighters. And now a brand new boxing game featuring five heavyweights.

Gameplay - 2

I give it a 2 just because knocking people out is still fun. Otherwise I would give it a zero. The computer puts up NO fight at all. Not even in career mode. Remember career mode in the original Fight Night? You had to train to build up your speed before you could outpunch certain opponents. Sometimes you had to build up your stamina. I've stopped training before fights in this game. Your computer controlled opponent needs every possible advantage. They will rarely counter punches and, when they do, it won't hurt you at all. I managed to lose a lightweight fight the first time I played. But other than that I'm unstoppable. And the sad part is I KNOW that after not having played a boxing game in 2 years I CAN'T be that good as out of practice as I am.

I figured "Okay. Maybe the Career Mode is Just broken. Let me try one of the Classic Challenges."

I picked Ali vs. Frazier and stopped the fight myself because my Ali was MURDERING Frazier. At one point Frazier was ducked in a corner and refused to throw a punch while I rained about 200 rights and lefts upon him.

Presentation - 0

Remember how in between rounds they highlighted 3 replays of the 3 best moments in the round? Now there is 1. Remember the excellent knockdown replays? Now they all suck. The show two replays of the knockdown, one will almost certainly be from an angle where you can't see the punch, and the frame freezes not necessarily on the impact of the punch.

You win trophies that you can later browse in your trophy case, but their so faded you can't really see them that clearly.

Also you can't even see a ranking list anymore. Remember how you used to see Ali, Holyfield, and Lewis at the top of the ranking which was topped off my Roy Jones Jr.? Now there is no list at all. You gain popularity and win trophies from the game's corporate sponsors. This is sick. WHERE ARE THE MCDONALD'S ADS EA?!?!

The graphics aren't even any better this year. Just brighter. Like they adjusted the gamma. Oh and the ragdoll sucks now as well. Knockdowns were MUCH more entertaining in the first game. I'm assuming the block and counter system still works, but it's so rare that the computer will attempt to counter you that I almost NEVER use the block button anymore. Why would I when I can pummel most opponents to death without mercy?

Conclusion - I'm finished wasting energy on this review. I can't BELIEVE the gaming magazines had the nerve to call this game the best in the series. Fans that remember the first Fight Night will be VERY disappointed to find this stripped-down version of their favorite game. Everything you loved about boxing the computer in the first game is GONE. Playing against a friend might be the same, but you can just keep the game you've got and do it in the original.
I didn't test the online mode or play a two player game, but as far as the one player mode goes... just like that girl that dumped you at the prom: You can do better.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/06