Fight Night Round 4 Preview

Forget what you knew about the fight game as depicted in Fight Night Round 3. The gameplay mechanics have been totally revamped and the result is a much more realistic experience that is truer to the sport of kings.

EA Sports showed the title off at the EA Sports Season Opener media event in San Francisco Thursday. The showcased fighters were the cover athletes – Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. Both fighters are depicted in their prime and both sport the signature styles.

As the game’s producer stated, Fight Night Round Three essentially promoted fighters standing in front of each other, toe to toe, and duking it out. With Round Four, fighters have the ability to duke, sidestep and, much like Ali was renowned for, “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.”

With Round Three, players used the right thumbstick to load up the punch and deliver it. With Round Four, it is the type of punch and where it lands that determines the power and effect. The title pays much more attention to real physics. For example, a hook that catches the shoulder on the way in will have less impact than a hook that goes in unabated to the side of the head. The straight-out paralyzing shot is gone, Round Four is “more about make them miss and then make them pay.”

The mechanics make it much more strategic, so players don’t have to throw 100-plus punches per round. As players perform in the round, they accrue points, which are then spent (or they can be banked) in between rounds to close cuts or improve stamina. While this might not mean much early in the fight, in the later rounds being able to boost stamina might mean the difference between victory and defeat.

The game has been improved both graphically and aurally. Each boxer supports muscle mass underneath their skin that will move and react realistically. And rather than use just one announcer, the game incorporates the full ESPN Friday Night Fights announcing team. There is a much better collision detection system in play.

There are new training games and the biggest roster of fighters yet available in a Fight Night game.

“We have a good variety of international champions, and contenders, and legends as well.”

In short, Fight Night Round Four is a “much more organic simulation of the real sport.”

Though the game is not slated for release until the summer, this first look showed an amazing game that will undoubtedly raise the bar measurably.