Xbox Hardware & Games

Fight with style, fight with grace—one punch is all it takes!

Video: 5
Sound: 5
Gameplay: 4

In the world of boxing, a competitor needs style and grace. He also needs to be able to talk the talk and walk the walk. Fight Night Round 3 starts the player off with creating just that competitor, anything from ear size, hair, fighting style, and more. The more bouts you win, the more contracts you will be shown. The crowds in the stands, as well as the venues, grow with your popularity and how high profile the fight is. Players will start out as an amateur and, eventually, after winning the Amateur Belt, move on to professional fights. Before each fight you will be able to train specific parts of your profile to try and gain an edge over your opponent. Although managing your career is a large part of the game, nothing can compare to the actual fights.

I loved the graphics for this game. I felt like I was really pummeling my opponent. With the 480p resolution, every time a player hits their opponent, or is hit themselves, blood and sweat fly off the bodies. One of the best video features is in between rounds when you can see the beating that each fighter is taking—blood dripping from lips and noses, swelling and cuts on the eyes and cheeks. You start to hurt along with your fighter. During this point, the player gets to choose between performing a manual healing or auto. You can see the swelling go down as your trainer ices the eye. Also during the between rounds, are the very nice-looking ring girls. Yes, I know they are animated.

Although the game features some nice in-game graphics, nothing compares to the greatness of when your fighter finishes off the opponent with that one perfectly timed punch. This is rendered in slow motion—is there any other way? You see the punch and the reaction of the opponent, as well as the blood spewing out of his mouth. Fantastic!

Of course, graphics for a game such as this would not even begin to come alive if it were not for the audio. The in-game Dolby Digital 5.1 puts you in the middle of that ring. Crowds cheer all around, entrance music plays, and each hit has a specific and crisp sound—whether it is to the face, body, or an illegal head butt. This game does it perfectly. Even that thud when a fighter gets knocked to the ground sounds like the real thing.

I would have loved to give this game a perfect score, but the gameplay was just too difficult for me to get used to. None of the buttons are useable during the fight portion. Only the analog stick—left for motion and right for punching—and the triggers work. This took me a long time to figure out. I still don't think I am doing everything I learned in training. For a while, I had to use both my right index finger and thumb for the punching, thus leaving the right trigger (the one you need for blocking) free. Hence, I got hit in the face a lot. It just seems as though ever time I want to hit someone with a left hook I end up pushing the analog stick to the right.

Somehow I managed to go 5-0 in my amateur career and I am, at this point, 9-2 as a professional. I have just started using the controller the right way and found that I have done pretty well and have not been getting hit as much. Anyone who has played one of the games in this series shouldn't have as much trouble as I, but, for those who are playing for the first time—it does get easier.

All in all, EA has put out another great game. Often, I have woken up from the night's slumber and wanted to go straight to furthering my boxing career. It is one addictive game, especially when you want to redeem yourself after losing a fight. I watched an occasional fight on PPV but never thought I would have this much fun beating the crap out of someone.

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