AfterTek

Fight Night Round 3 has made quite an impact and is being predicted to be a popular game with gamers everywhere. As you might expect from a next generation title, Round 3 is absolutely the best.

It’s downright lifelike at times with the arena lights realistically reflecting off each boxer and if you land a knockout punch the boxer’s face will ripple and the connecting glove will actually give in to the pressure of the impact. It will make you feel like you are in the game. It may even inspore you to go out buy your own boxing equipment and get yourself a trainer.

But with everything that seems almost perfect you will always find at least one thing wrong with it. Fight Night suffers from some serious clipping issues, feet going through the floor, gloves disappearing after a punch is landed etc, and the boxers often have seizures as they hit the ground and end up in awkward positions on the mat. Additionally, the blood looks absolutely ridiculous. It’s also worth noting that the PS3 game seems to have lost a little in the porting process. It’s barely noticeably, but lighting definitely seems a little more subdued on the PS3.

However, the visuals play more of an important role than just eye-candy, they actually enhance the gameplay for once. I’ll give you an example: the HUD is nowhere to be found and instead you have to rely on what you see and hear to determine what kind of punches you’re going to throw. The game becomes a much more immersive and instinctual experience as you have to pay close attention to not only what the announcer is saying, but also how your opponent is reacting to each blow.

If your opponent is throwing too many punches, you’ll see him get tired. Likewise, if he lets too many punches get by his defences, you’ll actually witness the bruising develop on his face, very cool indeed. As far as the actual gameplay is concerned, not much has changed from Round 2.

Round 3 features all the bells and whistles from before, but with a few subtle changes. Career mode for example, is structured relatively the same as Round 2, except now your rank is determined by popularity. As you win more bouts, your popularity meter increases and once it reaches its limit you’re given a title shot. A better example would be the new rivalries. You begin your career with a rival, who you’ll have to fight a number of times during the course of your career.

Fight Night Round 3 features online play, with the usual set of options such as player stats, leader boards etc. There’s minimal lag, mostly appearing at the beginning of each match, but the fights play out smoothly and the frame rate most definitely holds its own. Unfortunately, just like every online game, you’ll find yourself about to win a match, only to have the opponent disconnect him/herself. This, of course, isn’t a fault of the game itself, but on many occasions I wasn’t awarded a win when the other player left the match, and that definitely isn’t an incentive to keep playing.

EA remains on top with another solid entry into the Fight Night series. Even though there isn’t a whole lot here that we haven’t seen before, if you dig the sport, this purchase should be an obvious one. If you already own the 360 version there’s no need to pick this up, but exclusive PS3 players should seriously consider adding it to their collection.