Battle it Out For the Gold in PS3 Fight Night Round Four

These boxing games are pretty much reliant on both the amount and abilities of the boxers, and Fight Night Round Four gets high marks in both categories. Check out this bunch of heavy-hitters you can play as: Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson, Anthony Mundine, Marco Antonion Barrera, Arturo Gatti, Sugar Ray Robinson, Erik Morales, Joe Calzaghe, Tommy Morrisson, Nonito Donaire, Victor Ortiz, Shane Mosley, Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Robert Guerrero, Billy Dib, Amin Asikainen, Tomasz Adamek, Jake LaMotta, Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker, Diego Corrales, Yuiorkis Gamboa, Fernando Montiel, Jorge Arce, Paulie Malignaggi, Carlos Monzon, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Kermit Cintron, Vivian Harris, Corey Spinks, Nate Campbell, Emanuel Augustus, Winky Wright, Sergio Mora, Jermain Taylor, Roy Jones Jr., Vinny Pazienza, Kelly Pavlik, Eddie Chambers, Joe Frazier, James Toney, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, and Lennox Lewis.

When you see that collection of boxers, we only have two things to say. First, over 40 boxers to choose from – hell yeah! And second, it sort of makes you wonder if half of these guys became fighters so they could kick anyone’s ass who made fun of their names — yes Kermit and Vivian, I’m looking at you. And then, of course, there are the different fighting styles. And there’s one great verity, regardless of what happens in the end. The type of fighting style each boxer possesses will set the tone of the match. Punching, defense, stance and hand position, are just some of the important factors that make up a boxer’s overall style. But it ultimately comes down to overall strategy, and so Fight Night Round Four developed eight base boxing styles. Firstly, there is the Conventional Boxer, who doesn’t veer too far from the fundamentals, as they attempt to set things up with the jab. You also have the slugger, who religiously uses the power punch. EA calls him a “slippery, in-the-pocket defensive style fighter,” but he’s better known as the Counter Puncher. Lastly, the Inside Fighter and Outside Fighter complete the list of boxing styles in PS3 Fight Night Round Four. The Inside Figher, as you can deduce, gets inside his foe’s face, as he moves his head and tries to work the body.

It is a slight fallacy to look at yesterday’s sports video games from today’s perspective. Judging older boxing video games by today’s technology may seem a trifle unfair. But at the same time, revisiting the evolution of sports video games helps you fully appreciate the greatness of games like PS3 Fight Night Round Four. While you’d think there would have been an abundance of boxing video games, or at least a huge demand for it, that wasn’t really the case back then. Boxing video games wouldn’t make their appearance right away, and when they did, this was their big debut in the sports video game world.

I remember seeing this thing for the first time and being a little disgusted, quite frankly. Even by yesterday’s standards, this thing was pretty lackluster. Very little action or strategy here – you just banged the button, (that’s right, button, not buttons) and hoped to land as many punches in before time ran out. Animation was virtually non-existent. Things would eventually get better, in many ways, with the next generation of game consoles. By the end of the 80s, one of the big hits was a certainly improved take on the boxing video game. The subsequent appearance of a popular boxing video game, a few years later, would fare considerably better. The innovations are obvious, and it is regarded as a classic.

It’s one of a handful of old school sports video games that a hardcore gamer can plug in and still get a challenge. But it was still “arcade-y,” as far as the boxing video game went. In that regard, it was a little goofy, and didn’t pretend it was a serious portrayal of the sweet science. With that in mind, contrast the older, classic sports video games to the current top dog in PS3 boxing games, Fight Night Round Four. They served their purpose for a less-demanding era of sports video gaming, and that was that. They were hits with the hardcore players and the reviewers back then, similar to how Fight Night Round Four is a smash, critically and commercially. Fight Night Round Four reviews usually include declarations such as “Best boxing ever in a video game” and “Great online play.” Once again, EA has delivered a knockout punch with the Fight Night series, making the boxing video game experience unparalleled in the history of video game consoles.