Fight Night Round 3 is the best boxing game ever made, but is that enough?
Graphics - 9.0 - Even though this isn't the X360 version of the game that doesnt mean that the graphics arent good. The player models are fantastic, nearly every boxer on the game looks exactly like their real life counter-part. As a match go's on and the players take more of a beating you can see bruises, blood, and swelling.
Sound - 8.0 - There isnt much to say about the games sound. The sound track is full of R&B and Rap and thats not my kind of music so naturally I wont like it. The in game sound is pretty good, sounds of punches smashing against the boxers and the roar of the crowd both sound great. I guess if EA would have added a couple of Rock songs I would have liked the sound of the game a bit more.
Gameplay - 9.0 - The punching and moving mechanics are pretty much the same as Fight Night Round 2 but it looks and feels much more realistic. Instead of one kind of Haymaker there are now three, Stun Punch which knocks the other boxer into a daize and you see through the eyes of the opponent, Quick KO which instantly puts your opponent into clich mode, and the basic haymaker that can take twice as much damage as a regular punch. I love the fatigue system, It determens the speed of you punches, blocks, and movement. It also determens the amount of damage you punch will deliver.
Career - 7.5 - Though the career mode is pretty good, I was kind of disapointed. Instead of improving Fight Night Round 2's career mode, EA just changed the career mode. You start off by either creating a new boxer and help him rise to the top or rebuilding a real boxer, After that you go to the career mode menu where you can buy new boxing gear which can give a an attribute bonus or sign a contract.There is no ranking system in the game any more so now you dont move up a ladder, instead you will randomly get fight offers and your popularity will increase after every win. Normally you can choose from 2 - 4 different contracts and each could have a different amount of money and/or a bonus. Sometimes with a bonus you could unlock new boxing gear and sometimes you could win a special contract fight or a large amount of money. Sometimes to actually receive the bonus you will need to complete a condition during the fight such as, winning the fight in the X round by KO, winning the fight by decision, and sometimes the condition could be losing the fight. Throughout career mode you will get a few rivals that you will fight over and over again.
Features - 8.0 - A new mode has been added to the game, its called ESPN Classic which allows you to play through some of the most popular fights of all time. Some of the stuff from the record books are now gone but top 20 boxers are still here and Hall Of Fame is still available aswell.
Overall - 8.3 - Though the game is good I would still expect a larger move foward in the series. Unless you are really into boxing games fight night round 3 doesnt have much replay value and the therfor it must remain a rental.
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