‘Fight Night Round 3’Producer: EA SportsRating: 3 and a half stars

When EA Sports’ ‘Fight Night’ series began in 2004, sports gamers took notice.

It was unlike anything anyone had seen before, especially with boxing, because of the stunning graphics and unique controls, which utilized the controller’s thumbstick to throw punches based on the motion of the stick.

Last year’s ‘Fight Night Round 2’ added the Haymaker punch, vastly improved the career mode and replaced the annoying Big Tigger with slightly less annoying but more monotonous commentary.

In EA Sports’ most recent release in the series, ‘Fight Night Round 3,’ not much has changed from the past two years – and that’s not necessarily a positive thing.

There were some basic changes. The developers slowed down the Haymaker, making it more obvious when the fighter wants to attempt the large, winding punch. Gamers need to pay greater attention to timing, blocking and parrying before throwing a Haymaker.

This more realistic approach takes some the fun out of the game for casual fans, but prevents newcomers from walking around the ring, fist cocked, ready to haul off and land a punch which could knockout a fighter more deserving of the decision – all in all, a needed adjustment.

EA Sports also decided to tinker with the career mode, maybe thanks to the addition of ESPN’s name to the series. Instead of receiving an actual ranking and challenging fighters who are ranked higher than you, this year’s career mode rotates around popularity.

The more your fighter wins, the more his popularity grows. The popularity meter dictates who you can fight and when you can challenge for the championship belt.

But once you step into the ring, ‘Fight Night Round 3’ just feels too much like its predecessors. Fighters do have customizable fighting and blocking styles that weren’t available before, but the additions don’t make a large difference.

While EA Sports was wise not to mess too much with something as successful as Fight Night, the changes made don’t entirely warrant purchasing this game. The bulk of the attention will be on the Xbox 360 edition of this game and its graphics.

For the older consoles, though, there’s nothing that really deserves attention. ‘Fight Night Round 3’ is a solid game, but not the groundbreaking one ‘Fight Night’ and ‘Fight Night Round 2’ were.

Published on April 1, 2006 at 12:00 pm