The Consensus: Fight Night Round 4 Review

Jun 25, 2009

I've never been a subscriber to the theory that boxing games fall into the "fighting game" category. Sure, while Fight Night Round 4 and its ilk all feature two combatants going war in a confined space (I think we can all agree that that's a solid definition of a fighting game), the paced nature of the action and the presentation is more akin to a sports game. That's why I was so surprised to see EA officially pushing the game for Best Fighting Game consideration during this year's E3 show. Was it just trying to hedge its bets since there was a good chance one of its other games would win Best Sports Game, or was it legitimately trying to promote it as a fighter? Upon further review, it looks like the latter is true, and for good reason.

With its new analog stick-only punch controls and an increased focus on timed counterattacks Fight Night Round 4 does feel like a fighting game. As is the case with most fighters, new players or those who used the button layouts in Round 3 (you know who you are) will likely start flailing away at their opponent like the button-mashers that line up at arcade machines. Those players who take the time to learn the stick movements, pace themselves and wait for their openings will be rewarded, not unlike the guy who first figured out how to throw a hadoken or a sonic boom. As in any good fighting game, skilled players will ultimately be able to beat a button-masher (er, stick-slinger?) the majority of the time.

Along with your hooks and uppercuts, the most important skill to master is countering, as it now plays a major role in the gameplay. Timing your block perfectly and deflecting your foe's punch will briefly slow down the action and allow you an opening to strike with a quick, powerful hit that can leave your opponent dazed and confused. A good counter can quickly reverse the flow of a fight, and there are few things more thrilling than two skilled players exchanging counters. Alas, the CPU apparently isn't afraid to resort to dirty tricks, as it definitely seems like AI-controlled boxers throw plenty of punches that should be counterable, yet aren't. Still, it's a definite improvement over Round 3's simple block system.

Like its predecessor, Fight Night Round 4 is an absolute stunner, featuring the most detailed character models this reviewer's ever seen. While the detailed, rippling musculature and realistic spray of sweat that accompanies every punch are certainly nice to look at, it's the silky-smooth framerate and greatly improved physics that really change the game. You'll now have to deal with glancing and deflected blows that can still do damage, and you'll quickly learn that you can't do much more than just cover up when faced with an opponent that likes to throw a dizzying barrage of punches. Thankfully, all it takes is a solid block to allow you to turn the tides with a perfectly placed counter.

While the head-to-head action is an absolute blast, Fight Night Round 4 ultimately falls flat when it comes to single-player offerings. The new Legacy mode is a fairly run-of-the-mill career mode that is severely lacking in a few areas. The most glaring issue is the weak, poorly-implemented training mini-games, some of which are nigh-impossible to complete successfully. I'd hazard a guess that the majority of players will use the auto-train feature after trying each of the mini-games once. There's also very little in the way of fun RPG-style elements, such as the ability to hire a trainer. Instead, you'll just fight and train and train and fight until you (hopefully) are on top of the world... provided you can get over the hump caused when your opponents' skill levels inexplicably jump from the 70s to 90s in the blink of an eye.

Ultimately all that really matters is that the game is, like any good fighting game, fun when played against living, breathing people. The online play on both PS3 and Xbox 360 is flawless (from what I've played, at least), and there's even a new World Championship mode that will allow you to measure up against your peers. We're hopeful that it'll work as intended, since that's the perfect way to get people to get online and stick around. For my money, however, nothing can beat trading punches with a friends who's in the same room. Let the smacktalk begin!

While it's not without its flaws, Fight Night Round 4 is still one of the most entertaining games of the year, no matter what gaming category you think it belongs in.

The Critics Agree

By and large, the majority of reviewers have agreed on the strength and weaknesses of Fight Night Round 4, from the weak minigames to the impressive new physics-based gameplay.

"The rule of thumb for Fight Night career mode is that you always increase your stats faster (and by bigger quantities) by playing the minigames instead of auto-training your boxer for half the potential stat boost. In this case, the games are so unintuitive and convoluted that you're better off auto-training to win three points (of a maximum six) than playing a minigame and only earning one. Skip them and focus on your matches..." -- Sterling McGarvey, G4TV.com

"...you'll also have the option to play a few training minigames. If you choose to auto-train, you only get 50 percent of the maximum benefit you could get by acing the training session. I did so horribly at my first few sessions that I decided to auto-train for the rest of my career. That decision never came back to haunt me.." -- Jeff Gerstmann, GiantBomb.com

"The fighting engine is now physics-based, fighters make physical contact when they box. Glancing blows no longer cause awkward clipping, but instead deflect off bodies and cause less damage. Besides looking fantastic the game also runs at a silky smooth (and far too uncommon this generation) 60 frames per second. This has the added benefit of speeding up the pace of fights." -- David Ellis, 1up.com

"Once you're in the ring it's an experience that no other game can provide and it is, in a word, fantastic. Punches fly at an alarming rate, boxers move around the ring while cascading light from flash bulbs streaks across their bodies. Punches land with thunderous sound effects and cuts and bruising are soon to follow. Everything in the ring is driven by the new physics engine and it's very nearly flawless." -- Nate Ahearn, IGN.com

The Critics Disagree

There actually weren't a lot of disagreements this time, as many of the reviews mentioned a lot of the same things. However, it was interesting to note what different reviewers took away from the game in regards to the countering system.

"Instead of working a guy's eye to close it up, or pounding him with body shots to wear down his stamina, the match can turn a bit too quickly on one solid counterpunch. So instead of employing different styles of fighting for different boxers, the only strategy that always works is sitting back and waiting for counter punch opportunities." -- Tom Price, TeamXbox.com

"The only issue that I have with counter-punching is that the AI is a bit too good at it. They occasionally react a bit too quickly to your moves and there were even instances when their missed punches wouldn't score me a counter opportunity. Maybe the game is biased toward AI opponents?" -- Nate Ahearn, IGN.com

"The game feels like it sort of slows down for a second when a counterpunch is possible, and when you land one, there's a bright flash as it hits. Considering that the timing windows for both setting up and landing a counterpunch can be sort of tight, slowing it down makes total sense from a gameplay perspective. But in a game that feels mostly focused on realism, the system feels a bit more "gamey" than you might expect." -- Jeff Gerstmann, GiantBomb.com

The Word on Twitter

"I should definitely be doing something more productive than playing Fight Night Round 4 all day, but beating people up is too fun." -- trabovsky

"Very disappointed by Fight Night Round 4. I'm glad I made the decision to rent instead of buy." -- CMUchips

"my thumb is super-sore from playing Fight Night Round 4. Im liking the game alot though. :)" -- MORITEOGGI