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Um, yeah, this is addicting

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Back in January, with a $25 mall gift certificate to burn, I was running out of ideas what to buy, when I stumbled upon a slightly used copy of this game. I looked at the back, saw you could create your own boxer, thought it might be fun, and purchased it. I had no idea it would be as full-on addicting as it is!

Even if you are not a huge boxing fan, this game is fun as hell, for one simple, addicting reason: you can not only create yourself (and a damn good likeness, might I add), but you can create your enemies, make them suck, and then go into "play now" mode and PUMMEL THEM! Nothing is more fun than landing haymaker after haymaker on your foe, as they stumble, barely conscious, bleeding out of their eyes, nose, and mouth, ahehehe.

And if you are a boxing fan, then check this out. All of the punches, moves, blocks, et cetera are here, as well as many pro boxers, including Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield, and even classic boxers like Jake LaMotta (of Raging Bull infamy) and Rocky Marciano. My only complaint is the crappy rap "music", but that's not really that big a deal.

5 stars all the way. This is one of the most fun games I've ever played. Cheers!

Fight Night Fun Night

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Fun game. This is the only one I have ever bought in the series. From what I heard all the others are whack.

This might be the best boxing game!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Well I bought this game almost like 5 months ago because some of my friends told me that "fight night round 3 was not as good as this one" I had never play round 3 but I bet that this one is better just because i got use to the control and I think that round 3 change it. I love this game, I should it bought it when it 1st came in...im glad i bought it, I still play it, but I hope that round 4 or whatever the name is be a better game...

If you havent play it...buy it..or rent it...it has Muhammad Ali...No Mike Tyson...but is the best

Fight Night Round 2

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

New to the PS2 World but this was well worth the $15 I paid for the
game. Boxing,graphics and overall game is very good. Would highly
recommend it.

Fight Night Round 2

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: September 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

A friend recommended this game to me and being the boxing fan that I am I wasted no time jumping on my computer and ordering it.

I was addicted to the game for the first couple of days. I spent a lot of time perfecting my haymaker and parrying skills. Most of my attention went into my career boxer.

Controls:
I have run into some people who think that using your right analog stick for punching is difficult and ruins the game for them. All I can say is Control Configuration #3 is the way to go. I suggest that if you are having issues with the control setup, go through each of the configurations and find one that suits you. I warmed up to the right analog stick pretty quick.
All in all, the controls are easy to comprehend with a little practice.

Graphics:
The graphics are decent and are much better than what is usually found on the PS2. I love the blood and sweet pouring off the faces of the boxers and the fact that you can tell where most of your punches are landing depending on what side of your opponents face is devasted the most. The venues are decent, growing steadily better in detail as you progress through the game.

Game Modes:
There are three game modes; Career Mode, Hard Hits, and My Gym. Career mode allows you to create a boxer from scratch or use an already existing one. You then take your boxer from nobody to somebody. Throughout career mode you will have oppertunities to unlock buying options to purchase gloves, pants, etc. to help increase your stats. Hard Hits allows you to choose a professional boxer in any weight catagory and play against a friend or computer opponent. Hard Hits is like a normal boxing match. Each round is played until a man falls. The person with the most knock downs wins. My Gym allows you to improve your focus trianing skills that will be needed in your career.

Online Play:
I cannot comment on this since I have never tried it. I have heard bad things regarding the amount of cheaters online though.

Sound/Music:
The announcer is cool. Calls the fight in a professional manner. I could do without the music. The music is the games one major downfall. It is repetitive and can get extremely annoying. The sound of punching, heavy breathing and sounds of pain coming from the ring is excellent.

Overall:
This game is great fun and can keep you glued to the screen for several hours.

My Major Cons:
-Music
-Excessive use of Haymaker by computer(making it necesary for you to fire back with an excessive amount of haymakers to even the match).

A satisfying punching experience

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

FNR2 is more than just a game; it's a stress reduction tool. Nothing could be more viscerally satisfying than loading all of your weight into a haymaker and crushing your opponent's jawbone, knocking him on his behind.

The game's Total Punch Control--using the right analog stick to mimic a real boxer's hand movements--definitely has a learning curve, but now I would never go back to attacking with button presses again. Having my boxer move in perfect sync with how far I crank back the analog stick totally immerses me in the game, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I often catch myself leaning and weaving in my chair as I control the action.

Real life boxing is about balance, and FNR2 does a good job of replicating that feeling in your controller. If you come charging out of the gate and punch like a madman--and pay no attention to defense--you WILL be sorry. In real life a dominant defense will carry you much further than a blazing offense, and it's no different here. In almost every sport you'll hear the addage that defense will keep you in games. Remember that the L1 (lean and dodge) and R1 (block and parry) buttons are your best friends; learn to use them. By mastering the R1 button, you can take on opponents five times stronger than you and still win.

The game allows different styles of fighting: if your boxer has very fast hands, then you'll want to use jabs to set up your opponent, and if you favor power, you'll want to go for the KO as early as possible. But the game is pretty forgiving on the lower difficulty levels and you can pretty much beat anyone even if you have mediocre defensive skills. Just remember that you have the energy meter for a reason, so if you keep on punching without resting your arms, you will be so tired that your opponent will easily parry your blows and pummel you with a counter.

Like many people have said, the haymaker is overused in this game, but I say that's a good thing; it's a stress reduction tool! This is a game, after all, and it is just so darn satisfying to knock an opponent down with a fully cranked haymaker, and watch the instant replay: the screen flashes white at the moment of impact, and you hear a satisfying "crunch" sound effect. You just can't beat that!

Fun, addictive, but a bit repetitive

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: February 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Declining to spend $50 to buy the latest version of the Fight Night series, I opted to buy this title instead, hearing that it was an improvement over the initial, highly-regarded Fight Night 2004. I've read some of the complaints about those who loved the original version, and after having played this version for a while now, I can say that I agree that the "haymaker" punch is far too overused in this game.

The career mode touts the fact that you can tailor your created boxer's appearance any way you like, and with a very diverse array of features that enable you to make a boxer look as close to your own face as possible. This is a nice touch, but other than that, career mode is rather repetitive and not more interesting than simply working your way up the rankings and eventually fighting for the title, winning it, and defending it. Oh - you're allowed to move up or down one weight class in your career, and eventually to fight and defend a "unified" title, but there is little interest in the careers of rival boxers, as the only "news" stories you get about your fictional boxing world scroll across the bottom of the screen as one-liners, (e.g. - Boxer X KO's Boxer Y in 4). None of the simulated Sports Illustrated covers detailing a big fight between undefeateds, which is what makes games like NCAA Football so interesting beyond what your own team is doing. In a game like that, you're immersed into the whole fictional world of your college football dynasty. In this boxing game, you're just fighting one opponent after the other, with no interesting matchups upcoming, no stunning upsets, no dangerous-looking up-and-comers, etc. There's very little realism and even less depth to the whole career mode, which is very disappointing.

As far as the gameplay itself, the analog punch system seems like it would be a steep learning curve at first, (and it is) but after a short time fighting against forgiving, easy opponents, it is relatively easy to master and becomes intuitive. Also, in your early bouts as an amateur, simulated sparring sessions serve as tutorials on all the basics, from throwing straights, jabs, and hooks, to uppercuts, the vaunted "haymakers" and of course, defensive skills such as leaning and ducking, blocking and parrying. Once these basics are mastered, fighting becomes easier and more enjoyable.

In actual gameplay fights, I found that it was far too easy to knock down opponents (even in hard mode) and conversely, in the heavier divisions, it is extremely easy for YOU to get knocked down by even a few punches. I also found it irritating that opponents usually had to be knocked down at least three times or more in order to get knocked out, even when a replay shows them getting pummeled before and during their knockdown. In real life, a boxer getting such treatment wouldn't get up, or the fight would be stopped by the referee or the boxer's own corner. This felt much more like the old "Mike Tyson's Punch Out" where there were a set number of times you had to knock down your opponent before he stayed down for good.

A note on the "haymakers." A haymaker is basically a super-hook or a super-uppercut that does more damage than a "normal" punch. If they made it where there were limited opportunities to throw haymakers (like say, have an energy bar that has to get filled up before your boxer has sufficient energy to throw an effective one), it might make for a more interesting usage. However, you can basically throw them all fight long, and not get tired from so much wild swinging. It makes a fight seem more like a street brawl, where both men are just going for the one-punch KO, and not being tactical, smart boxers. I found that the most effective tactic was to wait for your opponent to throw a punch, parry it (which causes him to lose balance and be off guard for a few seconds) and throw a haymaker hook into his face or body. Also, there is a "KO" camera, where, when a boxer is dazed and close to getting knocked down, the action will go in slow motion, like those old "Rocky" films. I found that this is actually a tremendous advantage to the player, since it slows down the action and allows you to either wind up a haymaker (if your opponent is the one being dazed) and knock him out, or to make defensive moves or clinch (if you're the one who's dazed).

Also, when a boxer gets knocked down, there's an instant replay of the punch that floors him, but I wished that they would show the killer combo that LED to the KO punch before that. It would be like just showing a player crossing the goal line in a football game, but not showing the jukes and long run it took to get him there. That was a bit disappointing, but not that much. You can still stop the action and replay at any time during that fight.

All in all, though - I found the game highly addictive, and a lot of fun. I'm sure EA improved on the franchise in the next game, and plan to try it out.

This game rocks the house!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: July 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Fight Night Round 2 is pound for pound the best boxing game produced yet. The total punch control is very sensitive and one can control the boxers every move. The learning curve is steep, but opponent AI is excellent and the difficult moves like parrying and blocking combos is tough. It actually takes work to learn these skills, but is great fun. I love boxing and this game is a great pleasure. Only game I have ever played that made me sweat!!!! Go out and rent or buy this game. You will not be dissapointed and is typical of the EA sports genre.

Not better than '04

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: June 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

While this game was alright in my mind i still enjoy playing 2004 alot more, to me it plays alot smoother and actually even looks better than round 2 but thats just my opinion. Maybe its a bit better on other systems but if you want this for PS2 i recommend getting 2004 it plays alot better, looks better, is alot more fun, and hey its cheaper.

-TERRIBLE-dont buy, rent

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 20
Date: June 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I rented this game.I created my guy, and entered him in the Heavyweight class.I went through the ranks with this guy, starting around rank 50, i worked through the guys,some stronger than others, i eventually reached the first place guy.So after KOing him, you get the heavyweight belt woo hoo, then you go down one weight class to light hevyweight,easier cause they dont have as much power,so then you get up to the 1st place guy and k.o him too.then you go for the Unified title, which is basically a really strong and fast guy, so i eventually k.oed him too. then you defend your titles until you lose them. then theirs not much else you can do,its not for friends coming over cause you need time to get used to the controls.i thought it was good at first, then you realize that you just wasted 20 hours of your life for nothing, not much entertainment at all.

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