During Sony’s E3 2005 press conference, representatives from EA Sports stepped on stage and demonstrated what they said was a real-time round of Fight Night Round 3. Barring blindness, everyone at the press conference couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the impeccable details and animations. Many people had their doubts that the footage was real, but having played a preview build of the Xbox 360 version, I’m here to assure you that Fight Night Round 3 looks every bit as good as promised. And oh yeah, it plays well too.
If it seems superficial to open a preview with a game’s graphics, then call me superficial. But I’ve got a wallet full of cash that says the graphics (which are even better than these screenshots imply) will be one of the first things gamers notice when they pop Fight Night Round 3 into their Xbox 360. It’s just impossible not to notice the incredible character modeling. The dynamic sweat. The injuries that get progressively worse (in real-time) as the bout goes on. Heck, you’ll even notice when a boxer is knocked down that his chest heaves as he gasps for breath or fights off unconsciousness. Fight Night Round 3 has the best-looking characters in any videogame yet created. And considering the in-the-ring action, that’s quite an accomplishment.
True, the realism of boxing in Fight Night Round 3 isn’t a lightning-fast experience like arcade fighters such as Dead or Alive, Tekken or Soul Caliber. Instead, it’s a deliberately paced and occasionally slow-moving experience, but never one that gets boring. Bobbing and weaving are as common as swinging and jabbing, so although the hand-to-head contact may be subdued at times, you’ll always find yourself moving around the ring waiting to deliver (or avoid) that knockout blow.
Delivering those blows is identical to last year’s Fight Night outing, with the right analog stick controlling the direction and type of punch. For example, if you want to hit your opponent with a jab, you simply push the thumbstick in the direction of your opponent’s head. Body shots are achieved the same way, with the minor addition of pulling the left trigger. Uppercuts, meanwhile, are simply a matter of moving the thumbstick in an arcing motion that mimics the movement of your boxer’s arm.
The only snafu with this control system is that the controls are, at least in this preview build, slow to respond. The punches themselves aren’t slow, at least not by real boxing standards, but the boxer’s reaction times feel somewhat delayed. As in real boxing, your opponent occasionally telegraphs his next move, but by the time your boxer reacts to the instruction to move out of the way, the opponent’s hit has already hit its mark. Considering the realism of the characters and the immersion of the rings, gyms and play-by-play announcing, this delay reminds you (unwillingly) that you’re just playing a videogame.
Part of what makes the game so immersive is its lack of a heads-up display. There’s no energy meter, no timer, no anything. Instead, you have to gauge your boxer’s health by his posture, appearance and breathing. Get knocked around, and you’ll hear him huffing and puffing. Go into the ring swinging wildly, and his breathing will make it obvious that it’s time to calm down and save some energy for the knockout punch. Short of making Fight Night Round 3 a first-person experience, this is about as immersive a boxing experience as a videogame can provide.
Although the preview build we’ve played only includes two (slightly unbalanced) boxers, the final game will include a create-a-fighter option as well as the ability to play as boxing legends such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Roy Jones Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya. The final game will also include out-of-the-ring drama such as possible fights at the weigh-ins and promotional stunts, and the intimidation system that EA promises for the final game is hinted at in this preview build’s ability to taunt your opponent in the ring and throw illegal hits.
I’ve not really been engaged by a boxing game since the days of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, but Fight Night Round 3 is shaping up to get me right back in the ring. If you have any desire to get your hands on a truly immersive boxing sim, or if you’re looking for a next-gen game that will show off your new high-definition display, Fight Night Round 3 should be a no-brainer purchase when it hits store shelves in February.
— Jonas Allen