Fight Night Round 3

If you were hoping for the most realistic looking boxing game ever made, then EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 on the Xbox 360 is indeed that game. The levels of detail on the boxers themselves are exquisite, the player models looking exceptionally life like and as close to the real thing we have ever seen. During the slow motion replays it is even possible to see the individual sweat particles knocked off your opponents face, as well as seeing their face ripple as your glove impales it. Watching the replays it’s clear to see the level of pain your opponent intakes, which worryingly is both cringe-worthy and satisfying!

In Fight Night Round 3 the fabulous lighting effects and textures really come into play (especially in high definition) and help create a level of realism unparallel in any other game available of this kind.  Some of the actual boxing rings (the warehouse for example) show off the immense power of the Xbox 360, with phenomenal lighting effects, a half decent looking crowd and an overall overwhelming graphical atmosphere.

Like previous incarnations of the Fight Night series, Fight Night Round 3 uses the right analogue stick for ‘Total punch control’. This time round there are also impact punches, which if landed, drain all the life out of your opponent, giving you the opportunity to knock them down with the next well landed punch or two. While being great at draining the life from your opponent, impact punches are easily countered, so timing is crucial. This brings us to perhaps one of the most important aspects with regards to the controls of the game, timing. Timing in Fight Night Round 3 is crucial; blocking, countering and landing punches are all very much down to timing. Master that and you will get very far.

When you get knocked to the floor from your opponent during a bout, your character will be looking up at the referee. In order to get back up you will have to endure a mini game, where you try to move two cursors (one for the left analogue stick and one for the right) to the middle circle on the screen. Most of the time this can be quite easy, but after a few knockdowns it is nigh impossible and at those times seem practically redundant.

The online component of Fight Night Round 3 is one of the best aspects of the game overall. The friendly banter between friends (or the random players across the world) encapsulated in the online mode of the game is worth purchasing in itself. Imagine your opponent starting the fight adamant you are going down faster than you can say “ouch”. When you land that winning punch, the victory is that much sweeter. Just be sure not to let them forget that.

There isn’t instances of lag online, which makes for some great smooth running fights. You get to create your own fighter for the online gaming, as it is not possible to take your career mode character online. Don’t despair as you can create a new character from scratch, and max out all their stats from the beginning. There are also a lot of customizable options to meet all your customizing needs. It’s even also possible to take classic bouts online; having the chance to recreate Mohammed Ali Vs Joe Frazier online against a friend is a great online experience.

Final Word

The single player aspect of EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 unfortunately lacks direction. There isn’t much in regards to an ultimate goal to keep one going. The single player lacks that ‘just one more go’ aspect. Fortunately that’s something that online component of the game does have. Especially when losing a bout in which you know you could have done better. In spite of this, there is a constant monotony to the game after time. For short bursts of play the game is at its best and not hours-on-end bouts of gaming.

Fight Night Round 3 is truly next-gen in the graphics department, bringing unparalleled detail on the character models with sublime graphical events evident throughout the game. The controls transfer well onto the Xbox 360 pad, total punch control really making a difference, especially when compared to the button bashing boxing games of old. Multiplayer is great for trash talking your friends and generally letting off steam.

Overall Fight Night Round 3 is a great game on its own merits, bringing with it some of the best commentary in any game, which is extremely informative and can really help during bouts. Despite the constant advertising and some poor choices in music, if you have been a fan of the series or enjoyed the demo (which was available on the Xbox 360 marketplace) then there is also the online elements, which make it a worthwhile purchase.