Customer Reviews

Fight Night Round 4

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I'm new to the series so I never got to try the button option I've read so much about. The analog control system is smooth and intuitive and allows you to easily land high, mid and low jabs and other devastating blows with ease . In the heat of the battle you can really get to wailing on your opponent.

With my large hands it takes some practice to get used to pushing the blocking and leaning buttons up top. I tend to forget on occasion and hold my index fingers straight out, mainly because I'm about to fall off the edge of my seat trying to anticipate punches.

I'm a LONG time gamer, and I've got to say this is one of the most intense games I've ever played. It has beautiful graphics, outstanding sound effects and action that doesn't let up. I love when you take a serious hit and your heart starts thumping and your ears start ringing. It's so awesome!

Getting up from a K.O. is serious business as well. You've got to bring yourself up off the floor and maintain your balance while doing so, again in a totally intuitive manner using both analog sticks.

This is the first game which I feel I've got the value of what I paid out of it - and I'm still fairly new to it! It's easy to justify owning a copy of Fight Night Round 4. Highly recommended!

Let me start by saying that I have always been a fan of the FN series and I fell in love with FNR3 even though it has its fair share of glitches. I have always used total control and never enjoyed button mashing but I agree that FNR4 got it backwards this time around. True the graphics look great, the game play is smoother, and there are more fighters, but this game feels like facebreaker. Did EA play this game or just release it. The new total control just makes it easier to throw 100 jabs. You don't need any strategy to play this game because half way through a fight you will find yourself just throwing jabs to keep up with the computer throwing 200 jabs (with no stamina loss). The only good thing this game is good for is watching the computer fight the computer. I never like to rip on a game just because of a new learning curve but this is ridiculous. To get the full control of your fighter you literally have to be pressing and holding all the L&R top buttons and manage to perform an unnatural thumb movement just to throw a weak hook. Everyone who says this game is great is either new to the franchise or just love no stop jabbing for 5 rounds. Come on people... that does not make a game intense and exciting to play unless your 5, but this is just my personal opinon.

I haven't played a boxing video game since mid '90s.
I got this one b/c it was in the sales bin & I'm cheap enough to refuse buying any game for over $35 (lately lowered to a $25 max price).
While I still rate NES Mike Tyson's Punch Out as the funnest boxing game of all time (pure fun factor based alone), this one is a very close second.
I don't see how anyone wouldn't have fun with this game, which is the point of video games correct?... To have fun.
You can pick apart any video game & find flaws so I can't say there aren't any, however, I can say that they're not visible enough to take away from the fun factor of the game.

I read a few of the low rated reviews & am kind of surprised.
There are a lot that have 1 star ratings with the common text 'not as good as round 3'...
Ok, so in your opinion its not as good as round 3, does that warrant a 1 star review?
There are a lot of games that aren't as good as their predecessors, i.e. God of War 3, Resident Evil 5, Halo (all past part 1), Zelda 4 and up... they're still good games.

The fun factor you get for the $20 price is too much to pass up so if you've got $20 to spend on entertainment & you feel like playing a boxing game, I don't think you'd be disappointed with this one. Also, replayability on sports games is always a benefit... you won't get bored with this one.

We're slowing getting toward the ultimate boxing game. This is a big improvement in many ways over the last Fight Night game. However, although it is realistic in a lot of ways it seems as though you are able to throw way too many punches per round. I had an Ali vs Tyson match last night and the punch output was ridiculous. Ali threw everything at me but the kitchen sink including countless arcade-like power-punches! I landed a lot of good punches playing as Mike but they didn't seem like they were that effective. Everyone knows that if Mike hits you with a clean full impact punch, you're gonna get knocked down at the very least! But then again, I had played a few matches as Thomas Hearns and I was able to box just as he did.

The lighter weight matches seem more realistic in that there is a higher punch output which suits the game better. I'm happy that they included a great deal of legendary fighters like Chavez, Duran, Hagler, Hearns, Foreman and so on. But I cannot see why they couldn't include Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Larry Holmes and Bernard Hopkins. I'm hoping for that either in the next game or an expansion pack. Anyway, I highly recommend the game! It ranks alongside of Knockout Kings 2001, Punch Out! and Victorious Boxers 1 & 2 as one of the very best boxing games ever created!

I have played all of the fight night games including knockout kings, and I have to say that this is the best overall game. I still don't like the new haymaker method although the old one was too easy to perform. On round 3 it was fun to counter and just knock guys heads off, but once you mastered the game it was way to easy to beat anyone. Now it is actually more satisfying when you land a haymaker because it is harder to do. My other gripe is that it is obvious in single player mode that the computer counters you way more than you counter it. I probably pull off 20 perfect counters per fight that go unrewarded. I have to figure that this is again because if you could counter whenever you wanted victories would come to easily. To the people who hate total punch control, i still rememder the first time i used it and hated it. Then a week later fight night was my favorite sports game of all time because OF IT. I promise you that if you give it a chance you will love it. It is the only way to really feel like you are the one throwing the punches. Just put the game on easy until you master it.
As far as graphics I dont have to say anything because they are as good as it has gotten on next gen. There could be more to the legacy mode to make it more of a realistic career experience. I would'nt mind to see real time results of other fights. Somtimes it feels like your fights are the only ones going on. The training games are a little too hard, and i consider myself to be good at the TPC. I simulated the training which of course gives you the minimum stat increase. This bothered me because one of my personal goals is always to be rated 99 in as many categories as possible.
The fighting, of course is the highlight of this game and once you play it enough that is all you care about. You will find yourself skipping through all the things that delay you getting into the ring as quickly as possible. In conclusion, this is simply the best boxing simulation of all time. It is a blast to play. I get into the fights in this game more than I have ever gotten into any game. It makes you feel like you are the one in the screen. I have to quickly remind myself that I actually didnt just knock Mike Tyson out! It is a truly origional gameplay experience that any gamer should experience. Go get it and work on the total punch control and you will love it!

I am a huge Fight Night, and Knockout Kings fan, have all of them, here is my review, take it for whats its worth...
I am a bit disappointed with the game play, they totally changed the "total punch" control buttons, and made the system quite hard to throw the punches you want. For example, when i am attempting a hook, i get a uppercut, when i want a jab, i get a hook. I couldnt believe how hard it was to throw body punches. Also it is impossible to counter a punch off a blocked punch. I got so frustrated with the new system I went to change the total punch stick to the old school and still there were problems (its not the same as FN3!!!)
The graphics are amazing. The sweat, blood, and reactions are a step up from FN3.
The boxers added to the game are a bit questionable, but since there is 48 boxers to choose from, you really cant complain about that. I do wish they had the De La Hoya and Holyfield in the game.
One area that i was pleased with is the create your own fighter option. It is a major step up in an area that was basically left abandoned for the past 5 years.
Overall i like the game, but they could have done better with the gameplay, which in my opinion is its only flaw.

good job ea thats all i have to say the game only needs improvements in the legacy mode which is ok but dry.
graphics are gorgeous physics are superb if i could give the rating more stars i would. This is to all the haters talking bad about this game kill yourself this game is a 10x improvement over that ROUND 3 CRAP!!!(parry system is for noobs)so stop crying. EA keep everything the same just tune up legacy mode,add tension rivalries and add a money system where u can spend it on fixing up your gym.with that u are good to go thanx for making a excellent game keep it up EA.

I really enjoyed playing this game in Legacy mode for about the first 40 fights. I was an undefeated Middleweight champion who moved up in weight class to Light Heavyweight and won the titles in that division as well. Life as a virtual boxer was candy and ninjas. But then everything became frustratingly tedious.

It's more than 30 fights later and I still haven't gotten the go ahead from my trainers to move up to heavyweight and face new opposition. I am 72-0 with 70 KOs. I am the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. I have achieved the "The Greatest of All Time" label. And yet I am stuck beating down the same challengers at light heavy again and again. What's worse is that trouncing all the top monkeys multiple times by KO doesn't seem to have much effect on the rankings. I've KOd this poor bastard Cyril Gibson 9 times and inexplicably he has maintained the No. 1 rank in my division since I won the belts. How many Everlast sandwiches must I feed this guy before he drops to No. 2?

All this is just a long way of saying that this game is a bit broken in Legacy mode. Players should be given the choice to move up in rank whenever they chose and the computer ranking system really needs to be smarter and more realistic. Dudes with 16 losses will not be in the top 10 of any weight class. And when a ranked fighter gets knocked the @#$% out, he should not stay a top contender. I hope my fighter will be able to move up to the next weight class before he just collapses in the ring from old age, because there certainly isn't much of a legacy in administering beat down number 57 to Mr. Gibson.

Extreme positives and extreme negatives made this review a fair one, right down the middle a 3. Let me start by saying that my official online ranked record (FLAWED to the extreme) is 647 Wins, 110 Loss, 0% DNF (DidNotFinish). I have been keeping track of how BAD EA Servers just cannot fix the constant plagueing bugs of online disconnects by opponents who is obviously loosing and disconnects and no loss assigned to them and no win attributed to me. I have over 200+ knockout wins that should have assigned to me but robbed. No worries. I never gave up, I keep fighting and now I have a great record ANYWAYS.

Online support is what gives this review a 3 instead of stellar 5. I love this game, I play it -- so addicting but Electronics Arts is just totally irresponsible to address their loyal customer's need -- online server that is able to detect disconnect by opponents and assign a loss to them. How hard can it be to implement some type of security certificate showing that your PS3 game is still in progress while your opponents has exited the game? EA won't even address this problem after 8 months this game has been out. One visit to the EA Sports forum, you'll see what I'm talking about. EA Online support is ZERO in my opinion but I'll be courteous for EA making this great game so a 1. 5 + 1 = 6 / 2 = 3 STARS.

IMPORTANT FACT: FNR4 heavily favors counters, so EA has made counters the #1 most powerful damage dealer and can seriously impair you. Even a haymaker is no where near damaging than a counter. To this end, there are hordes of people trying to exploit counter, using bizarre non-realistic repeating body spinning and blocking up-and-down as fast as they can. Quite the entertainment value watching these scary mouse doing these in front of me. Many new comers gave up because they don't know how to handle these predominant exploit players and get knocked out over and over. Making counter too powerful is one major "realism" flaw EA put in their design but because of the fun factor, they never got rid of it -- so I lived with it and adapted. AFTERALL, it IS a GAME - it has to have something NOT realistic but good for the replay reels. Don't give up because there are ways to fight these cheap bastards and I use a combination of body punches, jabs, haymakers and just use quick fist and feet (distance) to frustrate them. When you fight CPU, you can see the stamina & health bars. Learn what happens when you body hook and watch their stamina go down. Your key to these counter-exploiters is lower their stamina to NOTHING -- making their counters ineffective (minimal damage -- though still buggy as they can still flash knock-out you at a low percentage rate). Learn to increase your landing rate over 60%-70% or higher by using 1 quick jab and back up to avoid counters, you'll get tons of points in between rounds to keep your stamina and health up into the later rounds -- that will MAKE a huge difference in knocking your out of breath opponents. You can also get more points by faking coming to your opponent and just back off and watch him throw 5-6 jabs and body punches in mid-air... quite the entertainment. lowering their punch% and increase your % to avoid punches... you lower his repair points in between rounds and building yours will all add up to a great victory later.

Whether you should buy this game? I would say so if you can put up with online issues -- overall, I would say the PROs must have outweight the CONs as I keep finding myself playing this game almost daily. I have never found a boxing sim this addicting before! It has serious depth into boxing sim than any games that come before it. I used to play Chris Taylor's 4D Sports Boxing back in the early 1990's before he got famous. I have always love boxing SIM. 4 is definately smoother than 3 in terms of graphics frame rate, a GREAT improvement. I remember I love FNR3 but ever since 4 came out, I don't know why but I keep working at FNR4 until I get good at it. BUY it if you're serious about a boxing sim, it's rewarding despite all the downfalls. Don't buy it if you're casual gamer seeking online entertainment, because online is filled with land mines waiting to blow up your limbs and speed up your white hair growth. You gotta want PAIN in order to survive.

The good:
-A nice variety of great fighters to choose from.
-Nice HD graphics.
-Great intentions on the developers part to remove some of the more gimmicky elements of the series.

The (Oh so terrible) Bad:
--Poor boxing footwork: the steps are too close causing the animation to look silly when moving quickly around the ring- but worse; you cannot take a classical "Step" away from, around, or toward an opponent. Even Ali's legs can't get him around a combination. Where's Roy Jones' classic jump/step around his opponent in close (this legless version of Roy is accurate for today, but not prime RJJR!)?
--counter punches are too easy to score with straight punches and are too damaging even with light jabs. Ali knocks out Joe Frazier in a few rounds because his straight punches score counters and break down Frazier's head rapidly. Watch The Thrilla- Frazier could eat Ali straights all night. FNR3's Haymaker punches have been replaced by an even more irritating gimmick.
--EVERYONE has the Ali gut; you can land thousands of body shots and never floor a guy on a body shot (and in some cases your opponent will still be floating like a butterfly and razing you like a fighter jet after 1000 punches to that gut). See Hopkins/De La Hoya, Jones/Hill, Ward/Gatti for the truth on the power of body punching.
--Stamina drains far too rapidly if you attempt to block while moving your shoulders and head. The same thing begins to happen if you run from punches for too long without throwing back. The stamina system appears to be punishing you for not gunning it out- but Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard spent plenty of time running, missing, or just covering up and still managed to finish rounds/fights strong.
--You have to PAY for new fighters like Old Foreman, Holyfield, the Klitschkos.

Next time:
--integrate Knockout Kings 2000's, long lost, fundamentally sound stepping-jab system (and make it universal for every punch, even Tyson often stepped side-to-side with each punch) and a modernized version of the run/lunge modifier (so you can jump out of danger or jump in like Roy Jones).
--A.I. based on human players ala Virtua Fighter 5's world tour mode. The A.I. in this installment knows what it has to do: throw straights to the head until your face breaks (often after only three counters). The A.I. also realizes that there is no need to protect their body. Playing the computer in this game is like facing recent Street Fighter bosses- freaking ridiculous.
--The haymaker modifier should create hard variations of ALL punches including the Jab and a true classical "Cross" from the back hand.
--late additions to the roster are FREE or don't expect any downloads- we already shelled out for the game when we could have bought UFC or gone retro with a cheap, proven classic, used copy of FNR3 or KOK.

My copy of FNR4 is on ebay as I type. Maybe next time EA. ...AFTER I rent it first.