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Fight Night Round 4 Review (X360)

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User Rating 3 Star Rating (1 Review) Write a review

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Fight Night Round 4 Review (X360)EA
Here we are, three and a half years after its release, and Fight Night Round 3 is still one of our favorite Xbox 360 games. To say that Fight Night Round 4 has a lot to live up to is a massive understatement. Does Round 4 meet the challenge? Yes and no. It is definitely a step above as far as presentation goes, but there is just something about the gameplay that falls a little short. Find out all of the details in our full review right here.
Game Details

  • Publisher: EA Sports
  • Developer: EA Canada
  • Also On: PS3
  • ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
  • Genre: Boxing
  • Pros: Great presentation; decent gameplay; good create-a-fighter
  • Cons: Moves too fast – almost arcadey; defense isn’t nearly as satisfying; gameplay overall isn’t as good as Round 3; punches lack impact

The first thing of note, and a definite reason why everything here is a little different from Round 3, is that there is a new developer at the helm and Round 4 was completely rebuilt instead of relying on assets from the last game. It is refreshing to see this approach, particularly in a sports game. With a new developer comes a bit of a different philosophy, and that is pretty darn clear in the gameplay.

There aren’t as big of changes in the features department, however. There is still a quick play option, career (Legacy) mode, online play – all that good stuff. And the roster of real world boxers is pretty darn amazing. You can play as Manny Pacquiao or Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson among an all-star cast of boxing’s best athletes of the past and present. The Legacy mode lets you either create a fighter or use a real boxer, and then train them and select fights and take them all the way to being the greatest of all time. Legacy mode is a step up from the bare bones career of Round 3, but the menus are clunky, the training minigames are unfairly difficult, and occasionally the game pits you against opponents you really have no shot of beating (like facing an 88 overall fighter while you’re in the 60’s range). Legacy is just merely okay instead of great.

Gameplay

EA
On to gameplay now. The first thing you’ll notice about Round 4 is that the game is way faster than before. The fighters move around a lot faster and you can throw punches numbering in the hundreds in each round. The best descriptive word I can use is “arcadey”. Another change is that there are now onscreen indicators showing your health, stamina, and blocking ability. Again, this is a step backward from the super clean, no onscreen clutter UI from Round 3. The third big change is in the way you defend yourself. You can’t parry anymore, and instead by timing your blocks or dodging punches you open a split-second window that lets you throw a more powerful counter punch. One thing I’m not going to complain about is that the only control option is to use the right analog stick to throw punches. Some people don’t like it (and it is going to be patched to allow button controls later this Summer), but personally, I think if you aren’t using the stick you’re doing it wrong.

All of these changes add up to creating a completely different experience from Round 3. It is still definitely fun and a heck of a lot better than Facebreaker or Prizefighter, but it just plain isn’t as good as RD3. It moves too fast and isn’t anywhere near realistic anymore. Throwing hundreds of punches per round is just insanity. Replacing parries with counter punches removes a pretty significant strategic element from the game as well. Also disappointing is that the punches overall just seem to lack impact. You just sort of flail around until someone goes down for no real rhyme or reason.

When you take these changes online or in local multiplayer, the news is even worse. You can just flick the stick back and forth and spam punches without any strategy or thought and be successful. That is no fun at all. Round 4 isn’t really “boxing” anymore, it is just “punching”.

Graphics

The graphics are one area where Fight Night Round 4 is a definite step above its predecessor. The character models are just amazingly great looking and damage modeling and slow motion replays of knockout punches are crazy good. Comparing RD3 and RD4 is night and day with Round 4 the clear winner. The crowd and arena also look great as well.

Sound

The sound is also pretty good. The commentary is good and it is interesting to hear stories and stuff about the participating fighters alongside the normal play by play. The sound effects are merely okay. Like I said, the punches, other than big power shots, seem to lack impact. The music is all hip hop, but it has been specially selected and fits the game perfectly so even if you’re not a fan of the genre it is hard to complain.

Bottom Line

EA
Ultimately, Fight Night Round 4 is a solid boxing game that falls just short of its predecessor. It looks and sounds great and plays buttery smooth, but the gameplay just plain isn’t as good as Round 3. The fundamentals are all here and well executed, but the definite lean towards the “arcade” away from Round 3’s “simulation”-style was a move in the wrong direction. A lot of the strategy and satisfaction of Round 3’s slower pacing is lost with Round 4’s super fast, frantic, punch spamming gameplay. Please don’t misunderstand, Fight Night Round 4 isn’t a bad game and once you get used to everything it can be a heck of a lot of fun, but in a world where FNR3 exists it is only good enough for second best. And, honestly, if you want to throw another realistic fighting game into the equation, UFC 2009 offers better gameplay and a better career mode so Round 4 slips to third place. If you want the best boxing game on the market, FNR3 is still the one to get (and is cheap these days, too). Fight Night Round 4 is a decent game that boxing newcomers will enjoy, but longtime Fight Night fans will probably struggle with the changes. My recommendation is to rent it.

User Reviews

 3 out of 5
Boxing Simulations, Member APBAGreat

Why can't they make a Boxing game that strersses realism more than anything & include far more actual boxers. Why can they make a soccer game with thoudsands of players but you can't make a boxing game with 500 boxers. Certainly in the great history of Boxers irt would be easy to make 500 real fighters. There should be at least 15 current fighters in each division or at the very least combing the Junior & super divisions into just one division, & another 35 historuc fighters for all weight classes or at least the classic weight classes. One thing that would need to be addressed in the Heavyweights is the size difference. A guy like Marciano or Dempsey wouldn't be a Heavyweight today.

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