Customer Reviews

Fight Night Round 3

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've browsed the previous reviews, and agree with most that's been said. This *is* the best of the series. The graphics are ridiculously good. The control is terrific. For once, you really have a feel for how the fight is going, rather than relying upon health and stamina bars that just (in this reviewer's opinion) take away from the realism -- although they are an option. On the hardest difficulty, the game is absolutely a challenge, at least once your career really gets underway. You will be knocked down, you may even lose some fights, this wasn't necessarily the case in previous versions. Creating faces on character generation is much smoother and more intuitive now. The sound is fantastic. The ring girl's breasts actually jiggle when they strut around the ring between rounds.

Everything is great, really, it's a terrific addition to your XB360 library. Online is fun, there are ranked and non- matches, it's fast and easy to get a fight, another outstanding aspect to the game that will dramatically increase its longevity.

Great! So we got all that aside, I can talk about the commercials.

I've never seen a more over-the-top case of commercialism in the game. Is this a complaint? Yes and no. I mean, watch basically any boxing match, there are going to be ads on the ring canvas, on the ropes, in the arena, even on the shorts of some of the boxers. So there's just some realism here. Does it go overboard though? Yes, I'm absolutely prepared to say it does. Before some fights, you'll be 'treated' to a 360 degree view of a new Dodge truck while the announcer tells you about it. That doesn't seem too bad, right? Okay, later, Burger King's "The King" will escort another fighter into the ring and dance around before the fight. No, that doesn't get your goat either? How about after that fight, when "The King" actually becomes one of your available trainers? That's right, you too can be trained by, and have in your corner, a creepy guy with a giant plastic grinning mask.

Look, I'm not one of those types that goes off the deep-end about stuff like this -- but EA, are you listening? If you're going to throw it in our faces like this, while lining your already deep pockets with the ad revenue that you get from these placements, how about giving us a break on the cost of the game? We're paying for it, the advertisers are paying for it, wouldn't it seem fair to throw the consumers you're force feeding ad content a bone? Here's the thing, it doesn't have to be a big bone, and it gives us less reason to feel as used and abused as many of us are when the suspension of disbelief within a game/simulation like this is *shattered* by having to train with "The King". In fact, then we can cheer the gross commercialism, because we got something out of it too, a few bucks saved.

Terrific game. Worth buying, not just renting. 5 stars for the game, 1 off for taking advantage of me as a fan and customer. I should really ding it harder for that, but the game is too fun to let something sort of sleazy take away from it.

If you're into boxing, definitely take a look at Fight Night Round 3 for the XBox 360. The realism in the boxer models is rather impressive.

We know that the XBox 360 has great graphics, but looking at the characters in many other games, you might think that human beings were made out of plastic. When you see the characters here, they look *real*. Their skin has pores and imperfections.

On to the game. You get to customize your character both physically and skill-wise. You can make a small, quick hispanic, or a large, bulky, strong-punching dark skinned fighter. You can alter the hair style, tattoos, and much more. As you earn money, you can also buy new trainers and customize your skills further.

Your main career path is a mix of training and choosing contracts to fight. In training mode it's a series of standard button-pushing games that in some cases are just reflexes, but in other cases are actual combo practicing that serve you well in the ring. The training increases specific skills, so you can further customize your character by deciding how to train.

In the fight, it is of course you against a given character. There are varying levels of difficulty and we found that they did a good job of providing fun gameplay for different types of players. The beginner levels were good - although sometimes challenging - for a person who had never played this sort of game before. The higher levels of difficulty meant you really had to focus on what you were doing and land the combos to win.

Your character has a variety of fighting styles to choose from, and you can buy more - including taunts. You can even play as historic characters if you want, including staging fantastic fight pair-ups that would have been fascinating to watch in real life, if we had a time machine to get people into the same ring.

The in-fight graphics were pretty slick. If you hit someone in the head, a spurt of blood came out of their mouth. Characters had definite personalities - some were arrogant, some were hesitant as they entered the ring. When a really solid punch was landed, time "slowed down" a bit as adrenaline kicked in. Most people in real danger situations know how this happens.

There were a few down sides here. One, the training mini-games can get a bit repetitive. I would have liked to see more variety. You can skip them if you want, just accepting a "medium" level of skill increase. Also, you choose a "nickname" that the announcers refer to you by during the game. This is a neat idea, but it gets to be a bit much when they use it all the time.

Also, the commercialism in this game is just WAY over the top. There are Burger King displays all over creation. There are promotional items left and right. I realize that sports TV can be like that sometime - but you watch the TV show for free. They are paying their fees with that advertising. With Fight Night, I've already shelled out a lot of money to play the game. I didn't spend all that money to watch a multi-hour long commercial for Burger King. It certainly didn't make me want to go out and eat Burger King food - if anything it made me pretty annoyed with them, and unlikely to visit them in the future.

So in general, I thought the game was great, but that the "environment" you have to play in was really annoying. I would almost pay extra money for some sort of a cheat code / hack to replace all of those ads with blank space. Maybe they'll let me download that from XBox Live in the near future.

If you've played the previous 2 incarnations of Fight Night (formerly known as Knockout Kings), you know what to expect: solid analog stick boxing, with great graphics and a lively soundtrack. So what's new in 2006?

The GOOD: The graphics are amazing. One of the first games to truly look next-gen in terms of its realism. The lighting is gorgeous, and the whole presentation is top notch. Even on a non-HD television, this game shines. The controls are as tight as ever, and the haymaker is less prevalent, which is a good fix from last season's gameplay. The game is rewarding in terms of strategy, because you will NOT be able to get very far without some basic strategy (ie: learn to block and dodge, and conserve energy).

The BAD: The menu interface is a disaster. One of the worst I have seen in 20+ years of gaming: it's cluttered, counter-intuitive, and the button presses sometimes register late. There is no rankings list, just a vague "popularity meter". More stats would be nice. The soundtrack is repetitive and not all that great. The unlockable items, while cool, are buried within the depths of the aforementioned interface, which makes it actively unfun to customize your fighter.

The UGLY: While the boxer models are very realistic, the ring girls are a bit alien-looking, and feel like a cheesy afterthought.

Overall, this game is great fun. If you want a semi-deep sports game which rewards patience and practice, pick this up!

I come home from a long day at work and I enjoy just being able to just beat up on some computer generated character. I haven't tried the online mode yet and fighting with other people on the net, but I am waiting for my Gold Subscription card to come in so that I can challenge some guys on the net. I don't have a HD tv yet, so I can't see the true graphics of this thing, but so far it is great even on a regular TV. Some of the mini games to train are a little hoaky, but the game play outweighs that. And I don't mind that some of your oppenents throw the same punches over and over again, makes it a little easier to beat em. But even then, some of em are pretty tough cuz they are fast and can take a lot of punches.

Overall... great game and can't wait for the next one.

As far as the mechanics of boxing, as a former fighter I can tell you that this game has me thinking like I was back in the ring.

I'm watching for facial reactions to my body shots, I'm watching for rythem and changing my style from round to round in order to out smart the opponent.

It's a game that think might (even in small way) help the sport itself.

I can really see where the other reviewers are coming from reguarding the advertisements, but I the Burger King guy didn't bother me... it made me laugh. So I can't take points away for advertising considering you can skip it all by just pressing the "A" button. Except for the fact that when I'm replaying a fight from the 1940's I don't think I should see a burger king or dodge logo in the back... in black and white.

So the graphics are indeed a true next-gen standard as far as the fighters are concerned.

There are even things to make the games realistic in career mode. Like the fact that wou have to work even hard to simply keep your attributes from falling quickly... I felt like a true 40 year old trying to prove himself to the young up and comers that I was indeed the greatest.

Here is my wishlist for the next game.
1. I would like to change the entry music and such like previous games. (though I can hook up my ipod and play anything I want.. it would still be nice)

2. I think it would be cool if I could wear a robe while entering the ring. I love that part of a real fight as the tension builds up and the fighters show each other how hard they really prepared to battle.

3. The Ability to save some of my fights... there were battles that I wish I could watch again. Race fans get this, why can't boxing fans?

4. More real boxers. I understand not letting fight Ali in carreer mode, but I'd still ike to fight some real fighters. This is probably expensive, but out of around 65 fights I'd like to beat more than just Roy Jones Jr. 3 times.

5. Let me come out of retirement. If I retire, but keep getting updated news about a punk who is calling me out, I'd love to be able to train up my guy again and kick his [...].

6. Show my fighter age. I think it would be cool if some of his hair started to grey out, or if I kept some scars from past fights... imagine having Fight Night Carreer mode having a hint of Fable!!!!

In conclusion I want to mention rivalry mode. This has the potentional to really make the game matter to some people. My rivals and I went back and forth, but one in particular.

I'm not obsessed, but I do find this game to be the best boxing experience I have had ... without the headache of taking one to many.

Purchased for Hubby and he seems to love it. I like the music and the fact that you can build your character. The character really does begin to resemble the player. Really fun!!

EA Sports' next-generation launch was as steady as the legs of a worn-out boxer. They ran a decent game with Madden NFL 2006, but missed a few tackles. They completely air-balled NBA Live 2006. FIFA 2006: Road to the FIFA World Cup was a decent game, but like soccer in real life, didn't reflect a lot of excitement. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 was also a decent game, but wasn't the 300-yard blast that Xbox 360 golfing gamers expected. Now, with Fight Night Round 3, they've proven something-even a worn-out boxer can come back and make a big hit to get right back into the game. Fight Night Round 3 is easily above and beyond everything that EA Sports has done so far in the next generation, and it stands as one of the premier Xbox 360 titles right now.

Featuring two headline gameplay modes, ESPN Classics and Career, Fight Night Round 3 is chock-full of stuff for boxing fans. ESPN Classics puts you into the trunks of boxing greats and throws you into the ring against the star's biggest rival. For example, there is an Ali vs. Frazier match, a B-Hop and Jones Jr. match, and more. For boxing fans and those of you out there that know your boxing history, this is a real treat. Re-creating big match-ups is something that's always enjoyable.

Career Mode is where the rest of the gameplay is found, and it lets you create your own avatar and make a name for yourself as a boxing legend. This mode forces you to train your boxer, earn money and hire trainers, buy boxing gear, and sign contracts to fight in upcoming matches. By the end of your boxer's career, you'll have fought in all sorts of events, like ESPN Wednesday and Friday Night matches. I enjoyed the Career Mode the most, as it allowed me to have full control of my boxer and his stats. For example, if I needed a power boost before an upcoming match, all I had to do was participate in the Weightlifting training game and my boxer would be a little beefier. Eventually throughout your career you'll form rivalries that are reflected by the action on the mat, where a rival might start throwing illegal hits and taunting your avatar.

The on-mat gameplay is phenomenal, to say the least. Boxing is a test of stamina in real life, and this has been held up very well in the game itself. The punching controls are mapped to the right analog stick by default, and throwing punches is as easy as moving the stick into a certain direction. For example, quickly slashing the stick in an upwards-diagonal motion will result in your avatar throwing a mean jab. Swiveling the stick from down to up will execute an uppercut. There are even haymakers that are done by moving the stick in different motions. Though these punches are much harder to successfully execute, when they are landed on an opponent, the effect is dramatic. Once you wear down an opponent, he'll start to throw sluggish punches, he'll swagger, and he'll eat the floor when you land a clean hit. Of course, punching wildly and getting hit by your opponent will have the same devastating result on your boxer, and the finesse, knowledge, and stamina required in boxing is also required in the videogame in order to win matches. On harder difficulty settings, this game is truly punishing to any and all mistakes you make.

The gameplay is actually enhanced by the visuals; something that I feel the Xbox 360 hasn't really accomplished yet. Playing Fight Night Round 3 in high-definition glory is an experience that truly has to be seen. From the sweat beads dripping down a boxer's chest to the skin ripples in his face when he's hit, Fight Night Round 3 delivers detail in every way. The bright lights make sweat glisten and will actually blind you from time to time, putting you right into the head of your boxer. The default camera angle is extremely close to the combatants, making the action up-close and personal. Sometimes, especially after a big hit, the camera will swivel or shak, representing the unnerving feeling of uncontrollability and pain that a real-life boxer would feel. Like I said, with Fight Night Round 3, the visuals actually enhance the gameplay. Getting hit with a big punch not only feels brutal, but looks brutal thanks to these visuals.

The menu music is fitting, but I usually ended up listening to my Xbox 360 Custom Soundtrack anyway. Fortunately, the in-game commentary is actually worth listening to, even though some of the sound clips are played in a strange order. For instance, after each match, the commentator usually commends one of the boxers but sometimes won't specify whom he's talking about until he's finished complimenting. It's almost as if the sound team put in the different audio clips backwards. If there's anything worth bragging about in terms of sound, it's the sound effects, which do a fantastic job of signaling when your boxer's bones are crunching and when he's gasping for breath. And when the crowd gets into a fight, and starts chanting, you'll really feel it.

In almost every way, Fight Night Round 3 is a sensational game that sports, fighting, or boxing fans will enjoy. In fact, I really can't find anything to complain about. If you own an Xbox 360, I highly recommend giving EA Sports' knockout title a chance. Of course, the game on the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PSP share the exact same gameplay features, but they don't have the visual enhancements that the 360 version delivers so perfectly. If EA Sports can continue to hit this hard with their next-gen games, sports fans won't have much left in their wallet when Madden NFL 2007 and NBA Live 2007 release.

What a great game. I am a boxing instructor and love this game. The graphics are fantastic. The characters actually look like the boxing legends they are supposed to portray. The ability to make a character in your own image is kind of creepy to see. If you take a little time you can get it to look just like you. It gave me chills to see myself in the ring with Roy Jones Junior and Mohammed Ali. The gameplay as a heavyweight can be a little slow as the big boys struggle around the ring and seem to tire quickly. But, when the power punches come it's like you are there. The gameplay is very realistic and technically this is an acurate game. I am sure I will be playing this one for a while.

EA finally brings something very worthy to the table in the form of an excellent boxing game. I dont even like boxing all that much, but this game deserves a must play.

The graphics are extremely realistic for an early 360 game. The player models and cinematic view makes you feel as if you are actually there. The sweat just gleams off the boxer's realistically modeled bodies. When you're about to knock your opponent out, the game slows down,and if you connect on a good hit, the boxer receives a devastating blow and blood spews, which is great.

The gameplay itself is nicely done. You can box using the 4 buttons, or using the Total Stick Control. Both allow for smooth gameplay, and it doesnt ever feel off balance.

Overall the game deserves a must play for anyone looking for smooth boxing fun. It can get a bit tedious at times, and repetitive in the long run, but the game is too good to pass up.

Fight Night Round 3 lets you pick up the gloves of either a legend known or your own boxer that you have created so he can battle his way with blood, sweat, and determination from the minor leauges to become the ultimate champion.

Pretty basic boxing story, and it's right to the point. You can use the analog stick to aim and co-ordinate your punches (for instance you actual make an uppercut motion on the analog and your boxer actually does an uppercut) or you can set it up so that you have to press the buttons on the X360's controller to punch. You can grab, give headbuts and punch peoples pieces (both illegal moves), block, or and lean to dodge attacks.

Throughout the game you earn money which can be used to either buy new gloves or other equipment that will help your stats, or buy a more skilled and expensive trainer to give you higher stats while working out. Thats another thing - in order to get faster or stronger you have to hit combo dummies, punching bags, and lift weights.

You fight in various pay-per-views and other sponsored fights by big names like Under Armour, Burger King, and Dodge to either win belts, unlock online achievements, become more popular, earn a shoot load of money, or unlock new equipment.

Lets talk boxers now. There are ALOT of big name boxers that you can battle or play us such as Muhammed Ali, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard, Bernard Hopkins and many more. There are also random, made up boxers for the 60+ fights you'll have to trudge through to be the best. In FNR3, any one of these people could become your rival meaning they will hate you and challenge you over and over and over again.

During matches, just like real boxing, if you take damage you have to heal yourself. This includes placing ice on a swollen ice or taking care of a cut. If you fail to do these, your boxer becomes weaker and unable to throw decent punches.

Graphics are excellent. You can see each particle of sweat dripping down & off your enemy, blood pouring out of cuts, broken noses, hair swaying as punches are thrown, lights pounding down on both the crowd and boxers.. its amazing and really makes it feel like the boxers are actually not in a game but are really battling it out in front of you. The arenas are great - and though the crowd attendants are sometimes recycled - they look realistic as well. Easily a 10.

The soundtrack to this game can be annoying, but its still good. EA Sports did a great job liscensing real life musciains like Akon & Sean Biggs to perform in FNR3. It really fits and it helps pump up your & your fighter for his battle. The sound of a fist pounding into the face of your oppenent, then his jaw cracking as you destroy him with a hook, the sound of his blood squirting out of his mouth, his cry of pain & anguish, and finally the sound of his body slamming into the canvas is GREAT and extremley rewarding (especially if your a heavyweight and fighting a welterweight). I love it.

Three downfalls to this game is the fact that everything seems to tire your boxer out. For instance, you'll throw a quick jab, your enemy will block, and your guy will just stand there staring stupidly for a few seconds giving your enemy a chance for a counter hook. Secondly, when you reach the higher 30s in age, your character becomes old and useless - he literally loses stats after each fight and becomes bald. They make it seem like he is thirty years older than he really is, and forces you to retire him. Finally, if you care about your boxer's appearance then doing speed training is a bad thing - I had a boxer who had a solid & tight 6 pack, I did one session of speed training and he had a loose gut. I was forced to lift weights for three sessions to get it back. Its not really that bad but kind of annoying.

I'm not a big sports fan, but Fight Night Round 3 is filled with so much content and plain fun that it's easily one of the most addicting games the X-Box 360 has to offer. Sure it can be repetitive, but each fight is more rewarding then the last - especially when you drop a rival, earning $10,000 and taking his title - and just watching your created boxer rise to the top is just so satisfying after all the hardwork you put into him. I highly suggest you buy this game