Fight Night: Round 3 [PSP]

Another cool feature, and arguably the best one of the bunch, is called "My History." In it, players are faced with challenges that force them to overcome specific situations particular to their opponent's strengths (like being defensive against Joe Frasier or being offensive against Winky Wright). These little mini-matches are easy to drop into and best take advantage of the software's portability.

It's also nice to see that the PSP version of Fight Night Round 3 utilizes Round 2's better career navigation system and has more realistic prices for its equipment and attire during career mode. The aforementioned variety of trainers, cutmen, and other career-oriented variables doesn't hurt either, and the PSP's method of training is much better too -- no more mini-games here, just a menu-driven "training intensity" system that's risk-reward with its offset of injuries versus stat boosts. Of course, the superior "quandrant" cutman healing system from last year is much better than the newer "halved" cutman system of 2006 as well.

Fight Night Round 3 also deserves some kudos with its visuals. A faithful recreation of 2005's PS2 version of Round 2, the animations, character models, and faces are all done exceedingly well, and the detail in facial swelling and other injuries are easy to identify in even the toughest of battles. Sadly, the arenas from Round 2 have been brought over along with its models, so the newer and better-looking locations from this year have been left on the cutting room floor. At least EA opted to bring as much audio commentary and music from the console version of Round 3 as possible which, at the very least, keeps the game from feeling too dated.

Closing Comments
It's disappointing to see that EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 had plenty of cool things going for it, especially with its career mode and optional feature sets, only to be brought down by a poorly translated fighting mechanic. After all, in a game about boxing, how you box is the most important feature there is. But when you make the controls unintuitive and overly complicated, then highlight this with long load times and sketchy multiplayer aspects (two portable no-nos), the game's appeal is drastically reduced. The good news is that there are a couple of redeeming qualities that make it worth checking out for hardcore fight fans (the rivalry modes, graphics, and superior career option to be specific). For anyone else, however, it's a pretty tough sell.

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