Impressions: Fight Night Round 4

EA is back again with the next in it’s wildly successful Fight Night series, Fight Night Round 4. For a fan of its predecessor, it’s been a long time coming and is finally almost upon us. I’ve gotten some time with the demo, hit the jump for a refined version of what can be made of the game so far.

When first coming upon Fight Night Round 4, your going to notice a more stylized presentation. EA has definitely gotten the hint that people love this game, and it’s starting to show in the way the title is presented. It’s become a little more flashy in a sense, and has more “finesse” put into it (no puns intended). Anyway, when starting up the fighting, you’ll go through a little tutorial to either teach new comers how to play or give a quick refresher on the moves. Seasoned FNR 3 vets should have no problem with Fight Night Round 4. The actual gameplay itself hasn’t changed much at all. A few little tweaks to the gameplay have been made but nothing significant enough to have to re-learn how to play. The only gameplay aspect that has really changed is the ringside mini games, which aren’t really mini games at all. Based on how you fight in a given round, you will gain points which can be used ringside between rounds to regain health or stamina. You can press auto and have the game do it for you, or strategically place the points where you feel needed. It’s less tedious than last outing’s face rubbing, cut swabbing bologna and keeps the player more focused on solely the fighting. One major aspect that I’m surprised was even possible is that the graphics look even better. Character models have become so insanely detailed to the point where muscles are moving and reacting with every movement, everything looks cleaner, minimal to no jaggies, and lighting effects are spot on as usual. If anything else, Fight Night Round 4 is definitely a looker. The ringside commentary is just as good as it was last time, the music fits appropriately, and completes what already is shaping up to be quite the package.

Obviously, I haven’t gotten any time with the actual campaign or online components of the title. But from whats been shown it looks like EA is going to bring us another great boxing title. Come back in late June for the review, and keep coming back to ThePlayStatioNetwork for news on all the finest PlayStation news.

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