Fight Night Round 3

"A boxing game that will leave you... Stunned"

Introduction
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Fight night round 3 is from EA sports. Normally I don't like sports games but this one I was impressed with, that's why I created this review. With support from ESPN, Burger king and a few other major names I feel this game is a must buy for the PS3. Read the review and try it out. I think you will agree.

Game play/Controls 9/10
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Fight night round 3 has pretty simple controls. With the Total fight control you can move your boxer around the ring and throw punches with ease. Most fights you will only need to use four buttons; L3 for movement (float like a butter fly), R3 for the total punch control (Sting like a bee), L1 to go for body shots and Dodge incoming attacks and finally R1 for blocking. There is more to the controls but these are the basic, there is a couple buttons worth mentioning though. One of them is for an illegal blow (Cheaters) and even one for mocking your opponent (this is funny). There are some super punches but I don't like them so I won't mention them (even though I just did). The menus are easy to navigate as well, that's a good thing since you will spend a good amount of time going between them. The load times are not annoyingly long and the nice thing about them is there is music playing between them from the sound track. Training is based off of mini games but they are fun and a nice cool down or warm up before a match, depending on how you do. The game is easy to understand and fun to play, great for releasing pent up frustration by rearranging someone's face. If you have a friend you can get some really good matches going as well. For game play and controls I give it a 9 only because sometimes the controls will lag or lock up. It seems that way during some training but it could also just be my controller. Try it and find out. Its worth it.

Story 9/10
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Some would argue this point but I would say there is a Story line to this game. Its not like most would expect, its more of a career for the greats or for a Custom made character you make. With career mode you can create a custom boxer (I made a guy who looks like my brother, I'm too lazy to go out boxing my self) or choose a famous boxer and have fun with that. There is the "in the ring" mode were you fight from the boxers point of view. I find this interesting and it does add some challenge. Personally though I prefer the ring side view, seems more like watching an actual fight. With the career you base your training and matches on certain situations (I wont go into detail here) and you can choose who to fight. Sometimes you get a rival, that's a guy who you beat so bad he wants a rematch. It can even go deeper and you end up having to fight the guy many times and he adjusts to how you pounded him the last time. one rival of mine I pounded with so many punches he went down in the first round. The second time I fought him all he did was dodge and block until I was so tired I basically lost due to passing out. When I went though again instead of constant punches I just hit him hard and he trained his defense until the next time I fought I could hardly hurt him. So it changes, no two fights are the same.

Graphics 9/10
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Simple Amazing, The boxers look real they sweat and you can see on their faces when a punch hurts. You can customize a boxer how ever you want. If your patient enough you could make a boxer that looks like you or some one you know (I say this for the female players). As you fight you can tell when your getting tired or about to hit the floor. When hit you can see droplets of sweat and blood, the lighting is great and even the crowd moves and reacts to what you do. Your trainer has motion and looks well designed (even the special guest star). Only problem I see is the face damage close ups and the boxer shorts. With the close ups the blood that's leaking from your face is always just a red line that ends in a square shape. The damage to the face does change depending on the attacks and if you keep hitting the same spot in the face you can really mess the other guy up. That's why the blood lines seem such an odd thing to miss. Now the shorts, they don't move much but they are really well designed. What bugs me about them is the animation glitches that happens sometimes. When you fall the shorts will go crazy and stretchy or just become a solid color. Its rare and usually depends on how you are lying but it seems it could have been fixed. The last thing that prevents this game from getting a 10 for graphics is the fact that sometimes you will see an Arm go through another arm or merge with it. Its not really something that effects the game immensely but with all that went into the detail for the sweat and face this seems stupid to miss. With the HUD off this game can be mistaken for an actual fight so I suggest trying that.

Sound/Music 10/10
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The sound effects in this game are perfect for a boxing game. The sound track used is not my favorite since I don't like that kind of music, but it fits perfectly for its setting. You can even turn off the tracks you don't like. When your boxer walks into the ring and it has that rap beat in the back ground you can feel that your right there. When you hit the other guy and he grunts and starts stumbling around you can hear it, same with when the blood spatters and panting when he's tired. The ring even makes squeaking sounds and the ropes actually crinkle. When you swing and miss you can hear the whooshing sound of the wind. It just fits and was really well done.

playtime/Replay value 9/10
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Do you have friends? Do you plan to play online? Ask yourself these questions. If no to both, then you will have a short replay value. IF yes to one or both then you will find HOURS and HOURS of game time packed into this. With the careers for each boxer and the ability to customize your boxers you can literally have thousands of fights to go through. Some trophies can only be won if you play all weight modes and some fights you can't play if you miss it when its available for you. Some are gained with special requirements and some are one time only so pick and choose and then play again. The single player mode can run out after a while but I would say give it about 30 hours easy by yourself. I play online so its worth it to me.

Online 8/10
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Now you ask, "You just said its worth it if you play online, but you give it an 8? Why?" Well I will tell you. When you go online you get all the great stuff from single player. You even get to listen to sports updates from ESPN network. The problem is the limited amount of players, I usually find about 150 or so on at one time, that is good but it could be better. Now you can find groups of people who will religiously fight against you, but that's up to you to find. One problem is The fact that most online players use nothing but super punches. One hit KO's are no fun when your playing another player. Now if you find a player who wants to actually put up a good fight and let it go the distance you can get some real action. The chat options are easy since its just a key board and there is headset capabilities. When trying to find a player its as simple as clicking on them and challenging them. It even lets you know when some one challenges you. The servers also keep track of your wins and loses and cracks down on cheaters. So its good just got to remember to counter and dodge.

Overall 9/10
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I would suggest buying this game. Especially since you can find it around 30 dollars now. If you never played a boxing game before or don't trust me I suggest renting it first. I don't think you would be disappointed in this game. Its a real work of art and great fun. Just remember to protect your face.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/14/08

Game Release: Fight Night Round 3 (US, 12/05/06)