Fight Night: Round 4 - Xbox 360

If I can describe this game as simply as I could I would say this: Fight Night Round 4 is THE best Fight Night game ever made and the most amazing boxing game as well. If you are like me and have followed the Fight Night series since 2004 then you're in for a treat. Round 4 has taken the tried and true formula, simplified it and made it better. Everything from the physics to the graphics have received a complete overhaul and the end result is incredible. The only thing I didn't like about the game is the training, but I don't know if that's the game or if I just suck at it. The online is very well done. I have a 6-2 w/l ratio and have played several private matches and haven't experienced any lag. Everything runs fast and smooth from the menus to actually playing a match. You can also download user-created boxers which is cool. I now have a Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Rocky, and Gollum (I kid you not, i'm serious). My friend found an Arnold Swarzanneger and I also found an accurate Evander Holyfield (rated 4 or 5 stars I think). You can upload your created boxers, rate other peoples' boxers and also take them into the online World Championship mode which is a persistant online Championship where you compete for rank as well as belts. I don't care too much for the soundtrack but that's just because I don't care for the rap genre at all. Overall this game is incredible and also one of the finest looking 720p games you will fine. Hands down a 5 star game.

This is the best Fight Night yet. The graphics were beautiful, the sound was amazing, and Mike Tyson was in it! There is really a wide variety of boxers and arenas to choose from. The career mode is pretty repetitive, though. Also, one could find it almost impossible to win a bout on the highest difficulty settings, making it frustrating, but this was a small price to pay. All in all, the game was good for the money.

FNR4 is FNR3 with things taken out and other worthless stuff added in. I have beaten the game on legacy mode and gotten most of the achievements on my 360. Online is a joke with the way the blocking system is set up. I was 48-4 ranked in the top 600 on heavyweight so I'm not too terrible at the game. The physics are cool but the reality of a boxing simulator isn't there at all really. There is no parry system only a perfect block system high or low. There are feet glitches where people online stick to you (glued feet). FNR4 took spam punchers to a whole new level. Good job EA on making FNR3 again, but worse.

Graphic-wise, this game was incredible when it came out. All the characters looked as true to life as was possible at the time, and is still one of the best looking sports games out there. With a hd tv, you can even see beads of sweat drop from your opponents brow. The game has boxing, boxing, and more boxing, but I guess you'd expect that. The only thing is, you'd expect a little more too. If you just plan on doing matches against your friends and people online, its a great game. The career mode is very shallow though. Pretty much you box, then get to train a couple times between fights, then box again. There are about 6 trainings you can do, and completing them well increases your stats substancially. After doing each training a couple times, they end up becoming repetative and more of a chore than anything else. Sure, you can sim them, but you don't get anywhere near the same stat boost. Even with a weak single player mode, the game still has a lot going for it with great graphics, almost flawless gameplay, and a large selection of boxers. For only 20 dollars, its hard to say no.

Either though this review is based off the beta version recently released on Xbox Live there is a lot of the game that shows what to expect on this fight night. Let me start off buying to the fans of Fight Night: Round 3 to get ready for a whole new feel in Round 4. To start off I will get into the controls. The joysticks are still in use, so button smashers beware, Yet to flow of the controls will take time to get into. You can hit both high and low on this version, vs having to duck to hit the stomach on Round 3. The counter system is different as well. Which no more throwing punches out of the way and getting haymakers so easily. The dodging system is taken out of this version of the game all together but rest easy because there is still a counter system. When you actually make a counter it will indicate your success by the whole screen flashing. There is still a weave motion and a new push off feature that gives your boxer a chance to get out of the corner. This version of Fight Night not only moves smoother but it also moves faster that Round 3. Me personally I love this new speed I felt that at times the game just moved to slow. One thing that was a disappointment to me was the healing system of the fighter along with the addition to the heath/stamina bars. The healing system is based of points gathered in the round. Yet it is broken down into the health/stamina system. For example you earn 30 points in the round and it is time to heal your fighter. It cost about 20 points to heal the damage, which does not heal all the way with the 20 points in use. Afterwards it there really isn't anything you can use with the 10 points left but stamina regain. But the system is based off stamina, damage, and overall life. Also the life regains as the round to along buy either not swinging and backing away or pushing off when getting tired and are to close to the fighter. You Also notice a difference in power in the range of fighting. Your boxer tends to not hit as hard when he has to either fully extend or is too close, which the announcers will indicate. Overall I did like my experience of the new Fight Night: Round 4. It is harder to knock your foe down and the upgrade in the graphics make the game look and feel more realistic. Based of the beta I do plan to purchase this version of Fight Night...

For the most part Fight Night Round 4 is just an all around great boxing title. Many have tried and failed, yet EA Sports continues to show that they know the sport of boxing. If you liked the other Fight Nights, you are sure to love this title. However with UFC Undisputed 2009 being a great title as well, many may want to go with it because of the kicking and grappling. However Fight Night Round 4 can hold its own just as well. Boxing fans will want to go with this title for many reasons. I did find the controls a bit clumsy, yet haven't tried to customize them. Not even sure at this point if they are customizable. Brilliant graphics and physics; although some of the slo-mo action is a little over-exagerated. Just can't say enough good about this game. Very Nice Job EA for making a great game!!!

Fight Night Round 4 is fun enough to play against a friend ,for a change of pace but that is about all. The training is ridiculously boring, the actual fighting is ok but it is ALL about counter-punching. You can deliver a dozen unblocked hooks, uppercuts, and overhands and little damage will be done to your opponent. Just a couple well timed counters will stun them and possibly enable a knockout. This gets old FAST. I am certainly glad I only paid 19.99 for this, any more and I would have been mad at myself for wasting the money.

The graphics for this game are amazing! The controls however are Horrible. I have NO idea why they switched them from Fight night round 3, but it was definitely for the worse. Also the game left out ALOT of key boxers. Whats up with that? Still a fun game to play, very easy on the eyes, but got rather bored with it quick. (the controls really put a damper on this game for me.) I would recommend this guy to rent or if you came across it cheap but I wouldnt pay more than $20 to own it.