One of the most if not the most anticipated sports titles of the year is here. EA’s Fight Night series is here once again in an attempt to try to blow our minds like its earlier entries. Fight Night Round 3 was described as the first “True Next-Gen Experience” by many, which only makes it harder for Fight Night Round 4 to live up to it. So does Fight Night Round 4 live up to all its hype, or is it overshadowed by the success of its predecessor?

Now that EA knows the Fight Night games have established themselves as the kings of console boxers, they’ve become a little more confident. It can actually be seen just in the way the title is presented. The menus have become a little more flashy, and everything seems more stylized in a sense. This is by all means a welcome change, and only adds to the incredible experience that is Fight Night Round 4. The line-up of boxers is also outstanding, with most of the biggest names in boxing history playable. Your getting Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Roy Jones Jr, Manny Pacquiao, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, and more. As perfect as this list sounds, one of my few gripes with the game is that its missing boxers like Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. We can always hope that more boxers are released as DLC, but for now the roster given is more than enough, and you’ll keep busy finding who your favorite fighter is.

The Legacy Mode, basically the campaign, is the main focus of the single player experience. You’ll either create a boxer or import an existing one given by the game, and build up your boxer’s stats and record to potentially become the “G.O.A.T” (Greatest Of All Time). It’s a really fun way to play if you have no one to play with, but it’s quite obvious that the game is meant to be played with others. You’ll train before each fight, which isn’t really that fun. Some of the training mini games have fun to be had, but you can simulate training if you want to get right to the fighting. Note that simulating will only give you half of what you can potentially get for acutally playing the training. Anyway, if you’re a completionist and want to actually reach G.O.A.T. status, it’s going to take you a pretty long time, and it’s going to be pretty damn tough. It’d be a much more enjoyable experience if it was more in-depth and the Legacy Mode meant something other than being an entertaining way to play by yourself, and obtaining trophies. Don’t misinterpret whats been said, the Legacy Mode is still a worth while way to play, its just not as revolutionary as every other aspect of the game.

Fight Night Round 3′s graphics are what made jaws drop, and defined next-generation graphics. Believe it or not, Fight Night Round 4 manages to improve on last outings graphics in most every way. The frame rate is now up to a glorious 60 fps, and manages to stay there the entire time. The character models are absolutely incredible, possibly the most realistic ever seen in a video game. The new all physics based gameplay effects the character models, in a truly revolutionary way. When getting hit in the fact, stomach, anywhere really; you’ll see how realistically the body will react. When throwing a punch, you’ll see every muscle in your boxers body react appropriately. It’s really something you’d never thought you would see in video games, at least for a long time. Everything looks top-notch, and is something that should be experienced by everyone.

The sound of Fight Night Round 4 works, but doesn’t live up to the graphics. The soundtrack EA has chosen is outstanding. All of the music fits appropriately with the title, and is a joy to listen to. The ring-side commentary of Teddy Atlas and Joe Tessitore adds to the experience, as they add useful and sometimes humorous comments. You will here repeats of the commentary though, especially if you play the Legacy Mode.

Fight Night has always been considered the most realistic boxing games ever, and the gameplay supports said statement. The gameplay is pretty similar to last times outing, but a few changes have been made. First of all countering punches has been made extremely important to winning a match, as they hurt alot more than a regular punch. A counter haymaker can stun your opponent instantly, but is harder to pull off. The right stick is still used to throw punches, and it still feels as great as it always has. The signature punches added are one of the coolest parts about the game. Every boxer has a signature punch, some of which really hold true to the real life counter part. Muhammad Ali has his classic rope-a-dope shuffle style of boxing is here, and it looks awesome. You’ll smile the first time you see this, and laugh when you rifle a buddy in the face with it.

All of this gameplay means nothing if it isn’t fun to play against others. Fortunately, the local competetive and online modes are fantastic. Locally, it’s a basic one on one boxing match. It’s still very fun though, as smack talking to the person three feet from you is much better in person than over a microphone. The online is still superb though. Fight Night Round 4 features an Online World Championship mode that ranks you against every other player in the world according to your weight class. Its a cool addition that only adds to how immersive the title can be if you really get into the online. The basic one on one is still very fun, and I’ve rarely ever caught the sightest bit of lag.

Fight Night Round 4 is so far the greatest boxing simulation ever, the best sports title of the year, and has potential to become sports game of the year. It is truly one of the best experiences you’ll have with a boxing game in a long time….or until Round 5 is released. I urge everyone to go out and buy it, and enjoy it as much as I do. You may not enjoy the Legacy Mode that much, but online and competitive play is incredible.

9.1/10

Secondary Comments – By Anthony Barlow

Fight Night Round 3 was one of my favourite fighting games of all time, so much so that I bought it on both PS2 and PS3 because it was s good. It was good, but it wasn’t perfect. This time around EA Sports have perfected what they were trying with the last game and have made something that everyone should at least to. I completely agree with pretty much everything Ryan has said, although I might have been tempted to score it a little higher than he did. The gameplay is almost perfect and, although the career can be a little lacking in places it’s definitely not something that’ll put off many. The online multiplayer suite is one of the best i’ve seen from a sports game and the ‘World Championship’ mode was a genius move by EA. It’s certainly not going to turn non-boxing fans, but for those who’ve got a love for the sweet science will certainly enjoy this game. It certainly seems to be a contender for sports game of the year.

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