Fight Night Champion

As a huge boxing fan, a boxing game is always in my arsenal of video games for a system. Sadly, as the popularity of the sport dies, so does the production of quality boxing games. As with football, EA has monopolized the boxing realm with it's Fight Night series. As with football, EA has no competition. With Madden, many die-hard fans (including me) will say that NFL 2K5 is still a better game than any Madden. As far as boxing, the closest thing to compare Fight Night to is...........Mike Tyson's Punch Out? Ready To Rumble? It's own predecessors? For EA, they have boxing fans held hostage; either we buy Fight Night or we join a gym. So how does Fight Night measure up against it's toughest foe: EA's game play development?

The Game Play: As with all other EA games, the graphics in the game are astounding. They did a great job making sure that they picked up on the little intricacies of each boxer (how Ali throws his jabs, Frazier's bob, etc.).An effective jab really snaps the head back on a boxer. Power punches aren't the super slow haymakers of year's past; they look similar to a normally thrown punch, but the reaction and gameplay response is completely different. Your boxer won't be as quick to put up his guard, it saps a lot of stamina out of you, and if it lands, the screen distorts in a way that is potent, but doesn't mess up the vision of the gameplay. Many fans would be excited to see that there is a good mix of control settings in the game. People used to Fight Night 4's use of the right stick for punches have that same ability, but a little cleaner this time around. Fans of the button use of controlling will be happy to see that EA listened and implemented it back into the game. A major problem that I have with the game is that once you turn it on, it immediately attempts to connect you to the EA servers. If you've ever played any EA games, this could be a long process. It comes in handy because if there is someone in your weight class holding a title online (with a created player), as soon as you enter into the menus, their name will pop up and ask if you'd like to challenge them. The downside is, if you don't care to play online, you are still stuck waiting 2-3 minutes just for the game to start. As with previous incarnations of the game, stamina is still a problem, though after a few updates it's gotten (slightly) better. When playing against other players, it seems as if power never leaves the boxers throughout the rounds despite someone constantly throwing and missing power punches. Against the CPU, it's the opposite; your power seems to fade quickly though their power and stamina stay stagnant. One thing that I do like is that if you land goo, clean shots, the stamina doesn't decrease nearly as fast as if you just throw a lot of punches. Also. after playing with lighter weight classes, the heavyweights seems to throw abnormally slow. Granted they are bigger, but Ali's jab was incredibly quick and (after playing a few middle and welterweight fights) his jab seemed more like Butterbean's. The Legacy Mode (for your created player) is pretty much the same from the previous games. It seemed a little short to me though; I feel like I peaked too fast. The online play is pretty lousy. I got frustrated with it within a couple of days having the game. People make ridiculous boxers with otherworldly reach and power, which leaves you ineffective. I've notice a lot of 90" reaches, with a boatload of power all put onto one punch that they throw all fight long. Also, the boxers tend to be maxed out in chin and heart making it impossible to knock them down. Essentially, to compete with others, you HAVE to buy XP points in order to win matches so you created boxer could have XP points for Legacy Mode. I'm not down for that, therefore I stay away from online play on EA shoddy servers.

Story Mode: The Story Mode featuring fictitious boxer Andre Bishop is certainly the highlight of the game. The Story Mode plays out like a movie comparable to the movie "Undisputed" starring Ving Rhames and Wesley Snipes. Bishop goes from top contender to inmate, to champion as well as progressing through various weight classes. I'm not one to watch cut scenes and watch the storyline, but I was thoroughly captivated by the story. Though the story is REALLY fun to play, it is also relatively short and leaves you wanting more. If I'm EA, I do something similar next game, but have different outcomes depending on what decisions you make. That way, we'd be required to play Story Mode (which they obviously focused the game on) multiple times to get the full experience.

Unlockables: There are plenty of unlockable characters in the game. Some that obtain as you beat them in Story Mode. There are also a plethora of unlockable legends that can be purchased. Many of them are boxers like Bernard Hopkins and Manny Pacquiao; boxers that have been significant in multiple divisions that they've locked in their best division.

Overall: This is probably EA's best installment of the game. There is a lot to love about the game. The Story Mode alone makes it worth playing. The game is fun and intense when you first play it, but the more you play it, the more it's shortcoming come out. Nevertheless, it's worth of the title "Champion."