If you, like me, pre-ordered Fight Night Round 4 from Gamestation (if you’re in the
What do you get in the demo?
In the demo you get to re-create history by fighting 3 rounds choosing to box as either Ricky Hatton or Manny Pacquiao. Each round lasts 2 minutes giving you a total of 6 minutes fighting time. 6 minutes may not sound long, but it gives you a real insight into what to expect when the full game arrives at the end of June.
So what should I expect?
Fight Night Round 4 is a massive improvement from Round 3. It feels more natural – still using the impressive and natural analog stick to punch though – and definitely a lot more fluent. It doesn’t feel as sluggish as Round 3 did, and each blow really feels like it hurts either you or your opponent. The new inside fighting technique allows you to get in and close with your opponent, unlike in Round 3 where there seemed to be an invisible wall between you and getting real close with your opponent. You can also miss punches quite easily especially if you’re tired which allows your opponent to dodge the punch, and then to rub salt into the wound it gives them the opportunity to counter punch you and potentially knock you to the canvas. Why would I want to miss punches I hear you ask? Because it makes it more realistic and it feels more natural as it’s impossible to connect with every punch no matter who you are.
What are the graphics and audio like compared to Fight Night Round 3?
FNR3’s graphics were really impressive, but even then it looks like EA have worked wonders over the past year or so with the graphics and audio. Flicking through the boxer line up they all look like their real life counterparts. Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao both look visually looks stunning and exactly how you would expect them too. On their way to the ring you get the big pre-fight build up with each boxer having their own entrance style. In the ring there’s plenty of sweat showing and depending on how heavy the beating, blood pouring from the boxers face. If you manage to land a knock-out punch you get the slow motion replay showing the ripple of the face often causing the ‘Ooooouch, that gotta hurt” reaction from the player.
Any additions to the game that is new to the series?
As I only have access to the demo the two main additions that are noticeable and worth mentioning are the new points system that you use to heal yourboxer after each round, and the different technique to getting back up after falling to the canvas. In Round 3 after each round you would take control of the cutman and try and reduce any swelling as well as closing up wounds to the eye. I really enjoyed the hands on approach with that. Well in Round 4 things are a little different. Now you gain a certain amount of points based on your previous rounds performance which you can either manually dish out to your boxer to either heal the body orgain more stamina, you can just auto select if you get lazy or alternatively you can decide not to use any points and save them up for the next round. I personally prefer Round 3’s technique, however like me you will probably just eventually use the ‘auto’ feature so you can get back into the fight as quick as possible.
When you get knocked down to the canvas (hopefully not that often) you have to use the left analog stick to gain your balance and your right analog stick to get your boxer up. As you slowly get up you have to keep your left analog stick central to make sure the boxer doesn’t fall back over again. The more times you get knocked down the harder it becomes to regain your composure and the harder it becomes to get back up. It feels more natural than in previous games and is a welcomed addition to the game.
What other boxers can you select?
You are able to peruse through all the boxers and the game shows a roster of 48 boxers including Welsh favourite Joe Calzaghe and boxing legends like Mohammed Ali, George Foreman, Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. Unfortunately there is no British hopeful Amir Khan and to my devastation, no Money Man Floyd Mayweather Jnr. Hopefully with fingers crossed they will release some sort of Boxers Pack as downloadable content.
What is the soundtrack like?
Although no official soundtrack has been announced yet, as you would expect it’s very hip-hop / rap based. Once we get more info on the soundtrackyou will be the first to let you know.
When can I expect to pick up the demo for myself?
The demo will be available to download sometime this week with the game releasing 30th June 2009. Alternatively you can pre-order the game from Gamestation and receive your early access code to the demo.
If you have downloaded the demo, let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below!
