Fight Night Champion PlayStation 3

Released on 02/03/2011

• Fight Night headed to Kinect?

  With Fight Night: Champion headed to HD consoles in March, EA Sports is already hard at work prototyping a possible Kinect version of the celebrated boxing franchise.

  Champion will not support any motion controllers, but the game's producer Mike Mahar confirmed to Eurogamer that the company was attempting to see how a Fight Night Kinect game might work.

  "Right now the best simulation experience we can give users is through a conventional controller," explained Mahar. "I also think that most of our users don't want to - and can't - punch for 10 rounds!"

  However, he did concede that "it's an interesting proposition. Undeniably at some point we're going to want to integrate motion controls into our game somehow, whether that's in a mini-game or separate game I don't know."

  Mahar went on to suggest that a mini-game within a conventional Fight Night would be "a disservice" to the current motion-control devices, adding "I think we'd best serve the community... with a totally different game."

  In the meantime, fans of virtual pugilism won't have long to wait to get their latest fix of their favourite franchise, as Fight Night Champion hits Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March 4th. The game features a brand new story mode and more realistic injury detail, for those who like to see exactly what damage those haymakers really can do.

• Fight Night Champion Review

  Eye of the tiger

  The noble art of boxing has been a part of gaming ever since Nintendo released Punch-Out!! in the mid-nineties, and although this classic is basic by today's loftier standards, its tagline of "as close to the ring as you can get without going through the ropes" is an accolade it once wore with pride. But today, the mantle of Heavyweight Champion has been passed on to the Fight Night series.

  Fight Night Champion is the latest evolution in boxing simulations. But rather than enter the ring with a cocky look of self-assurance, it defends its title with the tenacity of a seasoned veteran. The punching animations look slicker, the ebb and flow of combat is more convincing and the principles of the sport it represents are more naturally realised with a focus on believable stamina and full-body movement.

  In Fight Night Round 4 we were introduced to Total Punch Control, a system that used circular motions of the right analogue stick to convey the bread and butter of boxing ballistics. But in Fight Night Champion, the new Full Spectrum Punch Control replaces the old semicircles with directional inputs. You tilt upwards for a straight punch, sideways for a hook and downwards for an uppercut.

  It's a setup that's responsive and allows for less punishing execution, and with the face buttons now working in tandem, even Tekken purists can string together combos with ease. Further revisions include a modifier that lets you power-up every type of strike, reflex-based blocking that works with your fighter's attributes, progressive stamina deterioration that rewards forward thinking and a counterpunch system that demands stricter timing on your leans and weaves.

  Thrill of the fight

  Fighting simulations are best enjoyed when trading leather with a friend, but to give its prize fighter a bit of extra pep, EA Canada has included a new Champion Mode. This tells the story of Andre Bishop, a boxing prodigy who is trying to fulfil his late father's dreams by becoming the Middleweight Champion of the World. What follows is a six hour journey of shattered dreams, bitter betrayals and euphoric redemption as Bishop battles his way from the very bottom - one knockout at a time.

  It's a ballad that's surprisingly gripping and sees Bishop bare-knuckle fighting in prison and competing in amateur boxing matches where each round is scored on the number of punches landed. Later bouts see you tackling scenarios like fighting with a broken hand and dealing with a corrupt referee who classes your body strikes as illegal fouls. It's 22 fights from start to finish and every exchange teaches you an important lesson about the art of pugilism. Rule one is keep your hands up.

  Once you've learned the boxing basics its then time to play through the returning Legacy Mode. This lets you craft a boxer in your own image (but likely with a more muscular physique) before embarking on a boxing career filled with knockouts, unanimous decisions and TKOs. The improvements over Fight Night Round 4 are many and include a more comprehensive levelling-up system and improved training games. You can even win fight money to attend better training camps.

  Got the glory

  Then once you've exhausted the single player modes, it's time to craft your own legacy in the online ring. This works similarly to the previous game and includes both a new Lobby system for trash talking about how you once went 10 rounds with Lennox Lewis, as well as improved matchmaking. But the most intriguing addition is the online Gym system. This lets you and your friends team up for some heated sparring before testing your collective skills against another Gym in a Rival Challenge - and to the victor go the all important bragging rights

  As a package, Fight Night Champion is everything a fighting sequel should be. It builds upon its predecessor's foundations with better combat, enhanced features and more intuitive controls. But at the same time, it offers something completely different in the new Championship Mode. So while it's not a boxing revolution and has little in the way of rivals, it has still risen to the challenge of our expectations. And that's no small feat.

   

  Our Rating: 8.0

  KO

  + Fluid boxing animations.

  
  

  + Intuitive controls.

  
  

  + A compelling story mode.

  BO

  - Hard going at first.

  
  

  - A bit familiar in places.

  
  

  - Helps if you "like" boxing.

• Fight Night team developing EA's official UFC game

  When EA bought the rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship from previous license holder THQ earlier this year, it was unclear what the publisher planned to do with the series. Now we know. It's handed it over to the development team that built the award-winning boxing simulation Fight Night Round 4 and Fight Night Champion.

  The news came as a surprise to creative director Brian Hayes, however. "When we found out that EA and the UFC would be working together, the team was excited," he said. "Most of the team didn't even know about it until the announcement at E3. We were all watching it together and when Andrew Wilson and Dana White took the stage, everybody starting cheering. It was great."

  And despite having made their name in boxing games, the team had been hoping to get their hands on an MMA title. "For me personally, the UFC is something that I grew up with. I remember watching the first UFC events when I was a teenager and it's amazing to see how they have evolved and flourished. Ultimately, we're huge fans, we think we have a great team and we are really excited to be taking on this new challenge. We look forward to bringing the UFC video game experience to new heights."

  EA's official UFC game has yet to be given a title, or target platforms, but will be out sometime in 2013.

• Fight Night Champion - Review

  
  

  

  Eye of the Tiger

  The noble art of boxing has been a part of gaming ever since Nintendo released Punch-Out!! in the mid-nineties, and although this classic is basic by today's loftier standards, its tagline of "as close to the ring as you can get without going through the ropes" is an accolade it once wore with pride. But today, the mantle of Heavyweight Champion has been passed on to the Fight Night series.

  Fight Night Champion is the latest evolution in boxing simulations. But rather than enter the ring with a cocky look of self-assurance, it defends its title with the tenacity of a seasoned veteran. The punching animations look slicker, the ebb and flow of combat is more convincing and the principles of the sport it represents are more naturally realised with a focus on believable stamina and full-body movement.

  In Fight Night Round 4 we were introduced to Total Punch Control, a system that used circular motions of the right analogue stick to convey the bread and butter of boxing ballistics. But in Fight Night Champion, the new Full Spectrum Punch Control replaces the old semicircles with directional inputs. You tilt upwards for a straight punch, sideways for a hook and downwards for an uppercut.

  It's a setup that's responsive and allows for less punishing execution, and with the face buttons now working in tandem, even Tekken purists can string together combos with ease. Further revisions include a modifier that lets you power-up every type of strike, reflex-based blocking that works with your fighter's attributes, progressive stamina deterioration that rewards forward thinking and a counterpunch system that demands stricter timing on your leans and weaves.

  

  Thrill of the Fight

  Fighting simulations are best enjoyed when trading leather with a friend, but to give its prize fighter a bit of extra pep, EA Canada has included a new Champion Mode. This tells the story of Andre Bishop, a boxing prodigy who is trying to fulfil his late father's dreams by becoming the Middleweight Champion of the World. What follows is a six hour journey of shattered dreams, bitter betrayals and euphoric redemption as Bishop battles his way from the very bottom - one knockout at a time.

  It's a ballad that's surprisingly gripping and sees Bishop bare-knuckle fighting in prison and competing in amateur boxing matches where each round is scored on the number of punches landed. Later bouts see you tackling scenarios like fighting with a broken hand and dealing with a corrupt referee who classes your body strikes as illegal fouls. It's 22 fights from start to finish and every exchange teaches you an important lesson about the art of pugilism. Rule one is keep your hands up.

  Once you've learned the boxing basics its then time to play through the returning Legacy Mode. This lets you craft a boxer in your own image (but likely with a more muscular physique) before embarking on a boxing career filled with knockouts, unanimous decisions and TKOs. The improvements over Fight Night Round 4 are many and include a more comprehensive levelling-up system and improved training games. You can even win fight money to attend better training camps.

  

  Got the Glory

  Then once you've exhausted the single player modes, it's time to craft your own legacy in the online ring. This works similarly to the previous game and includes both a new Lobby system for trash talking about how you once went 10 rounds with Lennox Lewis, as well as improved matchmaking. But the most intriguing addition is the online Gym system. This lets you and your friends team up for some heated sparring before testing your collective skills against another Gym in a Rival Challenge - and to the victor go the all important bragging rights

  As a package, Fight Night Champion is everything a fighting sequel should be. It builds upon its predecessor's foundations with better combat, enhanced features and more intuitive controls. But at the same time, it offers something completely different in the new Championship Mode. So while it's not a boxing revolution and has little in the way of rivals, it has still risen to the challenge of our expectations. And that's no small feat.

  GAME's Verdict

  The Good:

  • Fluid boxing animations.
  • Intuitive controls.
  • A compelling story mode.

  The Bad:

  • Hard going at first.
  • A bit familiar in places.
  • Helps if you "like" boxing.

  Published: 04/03/2011

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