Fight for Gold on PS3 Fight Night Round Four

These boxing games tie pretty much in both the number and skills of the boxers, with Fight Night Round Four getting high marks in both categories. Check out this group of great 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, yes! And secondly, it makes you wonder if half of these guys became wrestlers so they could kick ass at anyone who made fun of their names: yeah, Kermit and Vivian, I’m looking at you. And then of course there are the different fighting styles. And there is a great truth, 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 a few of the important factors that make up a boxer’s overall style. But it ultimately comes down to general strategy, which is why Fight Night Round Four developed eight basic boxing styles. First, there is the conventional boxer, who doesn’t stray too far from the fundamentals, as he tries to set things up with the jab. You also have the slugger, who religiously uses the power shot. EA calls him a “slippery, pocket-sized defensive-style fighter,” but he’s better known as a Counter Puncher. Lastly, Inside Fighter and Outside Fighter round out the list of boxing styles in PS3 Fight Night Round Four. The Inside Figher, as you can tell, gets inside the face of his enemy, while moving his head and trying 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 might seem a bit unfair. But at the same time, reviewing the evolution of sports video games helps you fully appreciate the greatness of games like PS3 Fight Night Round Four. While one would think there would be a lot of boxing video games, or at least a high demand, that wasn’t really the case back then. Boxing video games wouldn’t appear right away, and when they did, this was their big debut in the world of sports video games.

I remember seeing this for the first time and being a little bummed out, frankly. Even by yesterday’s standards, this was pretty lackluster. Very little action or strategy here – you just pressed the button (that’s right, button, not buttons) and hoped to land that many hits before time ran out. The animation was practically non-existent. Things would eventually get better, in many ways, with the next generation of game consoles. At the end of the 80s, one of the great successes was a much improved version of 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 considered a classic.

It’s one of a handful of old-school sports video games that a hardcore gamer can plug in and still face a challenge. But it was still “arcade-y,” as far as the boxing video game goes. In that sense, it was a bit silly and not intended to be a serious representation of the sweet science. With that in mind, compare older classic sports video games to the current leader in PS3 boxing games, Fight Night Round Four. They served their purpose for a less demanding era of sports video games, and that was it. They were hits with hardcore gamers and critics back then, similar to how Fight Night Round Four is a hit, critically and commercially. Reviews of Fight Night Round Four generally include statements such as “The best boxing in a video game” and “Great game online”. Once again, EA has delivered a knockout blow with the Fight Night series, making the boxing video game experience unprecedented in the history of video game consoles.