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Huge improvement in boxing games

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: April 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game has displayed a huge improvement form the last EA Sports boxing efforts in the Knockout Kings series. It might be a little difficult to control at times but you do have total control of your man at all times.

Best Boxing Game Ever Made

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: April 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I just put five dollars down to reserve the game and received a free demo disk. I have played the demo disk a total of 40 minutes and here are my observations.

First I cannot totally judge the game because the demo has inverted controls (move your stick to the right and the boxer moves left)and a close-up angle, plus it only allows a two round fight with double time. I am always perplexed as to why they screw you on a demo since ultimatley it will be the thing which may cause you to buy the game. I wish the options to change view as well as undo the invert were activated. I can see someone playing this demo for 5 minutes and giving up before truly understanding the game..just ridiculous.

That said, the mechanics of the new engine were my real area of interest. As someone who first got into videogames simply due to hoping for a great boxing game (I fell in love with 4D Boxing for the PC back in the early 90s, which is the best boxing game ever created), this game represented a hope for me after the horrid Knockout Kings 2002 in which EA produced a generic button masher with a career mode that resembles something you would find in Tecken.(I should add that Knockout Kings 2001 on PS2 is actually an awesome game that any boxing fan should purchase.)

Well, my first 10 or so rounds were spent trying to figure out the use of the total punch control. This uses one of the analog sticks as the means to throw all the punches (you can also use the buttons if you are traditional). Pushing the stick to the upper left throws a left jab. Pushing to the upper right throws a straight right. Throwing hooks, uppercuts and body blows are more complicated (the demo had no instructions)but as I played I found them to suddenly become more intuitive. The demo allows you to be either Roy Jones or James Toney with the other boxer being your opponent. I am not sure of the difficulty level, but I have not actually gotten the better of my opponent yet. But, as I have played I have begun doing better and that really gives you a sense of learning the game.

So what do I think of the new system? Well, the punching is so precise that you can bring back the ctick to throw a hook, hold the punch until your opponent throws a shot, and then time your counter. My timing still needs work, but it is very evident that this new engine will soon become so intuitive that you will truly feel like you have total control. This is the first boxing game in which counter punchers can win a fight. I am very interested in playing as Winky Wright as I feel this type of control is perfect for him.

I have to admit to being skeptical on the new total control system, thinking that not using any buttons would be awkward and less fluid. I was totally wrong. In fact, in one fight I went back to using the buttons (each is assigned a punch like in previous games)and felt much more awkward. It was simply amazing how fast the new control won me over.

So I am very happy to report (after the disastrous KO Kings 2002) EA is back in the boxing business. Rather that simply giving us a generic boxing game they have created a product which truly make beomce a landmark in boxing video games. I have to stress I have not played the final product, and do not know how good the career mode is, but based on my initial tests I would reccomend this game to anyone interested in a game in which you actually have to think and not button mash. Very impressive!

Best EASports boxing effort to date, some missed potential.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 17 / 17
Date: April 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is the first boxing game I've played where your opponents definitely have their own style and approach. As gamers, we make certain assumptions about the limitations of AI in console games. Generally speaking, after you've played a few hours, you can pick up on the patterns and approaches the computer uses. In a game like this, you go up against guys of different sizes, shapes, speed, they have some of their own special moves, but really they're just doing the same thing. So imagine my surprise after my first three fights, all against opposition who were willing to largely plant their feet and brawl, when the next guy did something completely different. He didn't swing much, relied largely on the jab, and kept his distance. I thought it was odd, but just went about the MO I had already established. It was completely ineffective. I'd get good shots in now and again, but his running would allow him to largely recover from the damage. This all suddenly changed in the 4th round, when he and I both realized my boxer was fatigued. I had taken 4 swings for every one of his, and I was sucking wind. Suddenly, my opponent wasn't running anymore. He went toe to toe, and made good use of how much I had slowed down. I ended up losing that fight by decision, but I was excited that this fighter had done something completely different. Ropeadope. I've seen boxers change their approach mid-match, depending on how damaged I am, how much they are, how fatigued either of us is. I've had fights that were a walk in the park, early 1st round knockouts, and I've had fights that have gone the distance. I've put a guy on the canvas twice in one round, only for him to seemingly follow his trainer's advice, and come back to knock me down. In the past, once you got the edge, it was pretty much over. Now, you definitely have an advantage, but he (or you) definitely can come back. I've found that as in real life, different opponents have different weaknesses, and you've got to get in there and find them. If you end up going back for a rematch, your prior experience with that fighter is going to apply to how you want to approach him. All in all, I was impressed with the thought EASports put into the diversity of opponent tactics.

I've had the game for 3-4 days now, and have probably had close to 50 fights. I'm playing mostly career mode on Medium difficulty, and while I'm certainly winning more than I'm losing, I would say that my record is a reasonable one. You schedule the fights, based on your rank, certain opponents will be made available to you. Between fights is a 4 area training mode. Heavy bag, sparring, dummy target, and trainer mitts. These are effectively mini-games that give you an opportunity to raise your skills. After a while, they can be a bit boring and repetitive, as the only thing that changes really is how many points you need to hit to get the max value of advancement points, but it's a nice way to improve your character. Time advances as you fight. Years pass, awards are given out, some boxers retire, new ones make the scene. It's a robust little world in there, more so than I was expecting. You do earn as you go, there's a fight store where you can buy new trunks, gloves, protection, entrance music and effects, and more. But these seem to be purely aesthetic. So if you really like a pair of $175,000 shoes more than a pair that's $10k, you're only paying the difference for the look. Money has no other purpose though, so no loss. I would have liked to have seen the higher value clothes actually doing something for you, even if something as subtle as turning the crowd in your favor. Tiger Woods 2004 had clothes and equipment give little boosts to your skills, the same could have been done here. Like Tiger Woods, you cross a point where you're just making your stack of money bigger with nothing to do with it. Silly perhaps, but I'd have liked to have been able to spend it on something. Lifestyle perhaps. Give boxers some sort of notoriety scale, the bigger your house, the faster your car, the more the public wants to see you in the ring against someone who might be able to take your head off. But now I'm digressing into a wishlist of features. Moving on...

The game is missing some names I would have liked to have seen. Mike Tyson, Naseem Hamed, Oscar De La Hoya, Wladimir Klitschko, I could go on but I guess you can't have everyone. There is an option to create boxers for the field, but having a reasonable facsimile of Tyson isn't quite the same thing of having him look as exact as the 'name' boxers in the game are. Roy Jones Jr. doesn't look similar to his real world counterpart, he looks exactly like him.

My last complaint is lack of online play, but we all know the situation between EA and Microsoft. Perhaps this will change in the future, but that really would have put this title over the top in terms of replayability and pure bang for the buck. As is I'm going to give it a 4 stars, perhaps on the low end of 4. Where the dings are on missed potential and no online component, rather than a problem with the game itself. It was a worthwhile purchase for me. I know my interest will wane with time, but this is something I know I'll pick back up now and again in the future to go a few rounds solo, or against someone here locally.

If you own and play other EA Sports titles, this game does tie into the gamer profile you've already created.

excellent game but needs a few minor improvements

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This "total punch control" thing works great. It takes some time to get use to it, though. After a few fights and training on target dummy, I was able to punch in the right places that I wanted to. The graphics are great, too. I do have a few complaints. A few of the opponents move around the ring so much, it not only gets frustrating, I get really dizzy chasing them around. Another part of the game that needs to be reworked is that when a fighter gets close to the rope, the rope disappears. I can't use the rope. The physics of the rope aren't worked out like it could have been. Too bad. The upgrades you get with your fight money are all about glitz--like new shoes, new gloves, mouthpiece, trunks, etc. Overall, I've been enjoying playing this game. But, I could see myself getting tired of it soon especially since there isn't an xbox LIVE feature in it.

Too Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The controls are awesome!!! The total control things works extremely well. I like it much much more than other boxing games where it is just a whole bunch of button mashing. The graphics are good. It's fun to compare your face with your opponents face after each round. I also like it when the opponent is about to be knocked down and you push him up against the ropes. When you finally get the punch that knocks him down, the ropes support him so he stays up for a while. You can continue to beat the living daylights out of him while he's knocked out. I dunno, that's fun to me. One minor putback for this game: the a.i. Sometimes the opponent just runs away from you or circles around you. While he is doing this, the background psins around, and it makes you sick to your stomach. Plus it's hard to hit him with anything when this happens. Other than that, this game is awesome.

Great game, go buy it

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The graphics are amazing and the cuts and bruses really show up. They have great names in box like Ali, Sugar ray leonard, and since I am from Philly BERNARD HOPKINS AND JOE FRAZIER. Great game play. Career is fun but once you knock down someone they get up in a 8 count. If you do it again they get back up.

5 words for ea sports

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: May 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

where is floyd mayweather jr?!?!?! the man is the hottest boxer today lightweight champion of the world, regarded as one of the top 5 pound for pound boxers in the world by The Ring, how could you not put this man in the game and include guys like Jeff Lacy, Jermaine Taylor, Kevin Kelley, and Derrick Gainer guys who have absolutely nothing on Mayweather. There's always something like this wrong with ea sports games but that said, the gameplay and seamless controls are unmatched. they really bring the realism of the sport right into your game room and the fact is this is without a doubt the best boxing game out right now.

Addicting, but needs a few improvements.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

There's nothing like a good fighting game. As far as the boxing itself, this is easily the best boxing game I've ever played. The computer opponents have varying styles (though the heavyweights are usually more willing to slug it out with you than the middleweights, who will run from you for a whole match, even if way down on the scorecards), the music really does fit the game (regardless of what a few other posters have said), and its' one of those games I can play for hours, either by myself or with my friends.

A few things could be better. 1) After trying for days to get used to the total punch control, I just ditched it because I could never get the hang of the uppercuts. Maybe that's just my fault, but it never seemed to work quite right. I went back to the button punching, and it's a lot easier to play now. 2) It's impossible to practice on the training modes, the place where you build up your ability points. The sparring mode is easy, so I can get tons of agility and stamina points, but I've yet to get even close to the necessary 10,000 points on the heavy bag, meaning that I can't build up any power or speed points. Very frustrating. 3) This is something in a lot of games...when you save it, too often it takes you through several screens of "are you sure?" and the like...just do it, don't tell me every step of the way. 4) A 'tournament' mode would have been nice, or just about any other kind of mode rather than single fight or career. But that's just quibbling.

A nice game, I'm sure I'll be playing it (to the annoyance of my wife) for some time.

Almost perfect

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: May 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've always had a soft spot for boxing games, because they are the only fighting games that don't have annoying fireballs or gigantic swords or out-of-this-world moves. The problem, until now, has been that boxing games are button-mashing events, with little strategy. Thanks to the analog-stick control, Fight Night heralds a new and amazingly solid control systemt that rewards patience, strategy and skill over speed and luck. The control is very good (though could use some tweaking; where is the option to clinch?). The game's career mode is quite solid, and very addictive.

PROS: Amazing control, solid gameplay, depth. Great AI: opponents have distinct fighting styles; while one will stick and move, another will go toe-to-toe and pummel you with hooks. Good graphics and decent sound.

CONS: Difficulty level can vary; while some fighters might have the same ratings as you, they are usually able to absorb much more damage and dish out more than you, even with an even number of punches thrown. It's necessary for a challenge, I suppose, but it gets frustrating when you get to the top 10 boxers (Marciano, Norton, etc). I HATE the soundtrack to this game. While it is true that EA has decided to "urbanize" their sports title and score them with urban hip-hop beats, the music in FN is really pretty poor. At least they could have gotten some real rappers/artists. This leads me to my next point: there is a disturbing feeling of homogeneity in this game: it's ALL about hip-hop, and it can get a bit much. More disturbing is the lack of variety in fighter models: most look like bad caricatures of Hispanic gangbangers. How about some racial variety EA? Where are the white/Asian/Non-stereotyped black or latino fighters? My last criticism lies with the mini-games you use to boost your attributes between fights. Some of these are both stupid and frustrating (heavy bag, for one), yet there is NO way of practicing them, and since they are the only way of getting better, it can become annoying.

That said, this is a very good game, and probably the best boxing game ever made! If you have patience and are a fan of pure fighters, pick it up!

Boxing game done right

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Just had the game a couple of days and enjoying every minute. I agree with some of the other reviews on the clinching it should be an option, it's just apart of boxing and should be included. Also, lets get a real annoucer but I loved the soundtrack. Also, get ready for sore thumbs the game is addictive, but the toggles will wear your thumbs out (don't get me wrong no pain, no gain). It's a must buy for the boxing fan, sports fan, the game fan. Can't wait to see the improvments for the 2005 version.

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