Fight Night Round 3 Review

Posted May 24, 2008 by (120)

Remember EA Sports’ initial run of games for the Xbox 360? Nah, me neither. To be quite honest, most of them were forgettable, rushed efforts that left a sour taste in our mouths, lacking in terms of extras, accuracy, or maybe even fun, depending on the game. (*cough cough NBA Live 06 cough cough*) We even did a separate article, aside from the scathing reviews, explaining just what EA Sports had done wrong, and exactly what they should have done in order to do next-gen right. Even after that article, though, doubts hung in our heads about these company reaching the potential they had shown off at the previous E3 event with their Fight Night Round 3 footage.

But leave it to that very game to finally present what EA Sports had in mind for next-generation sports excitement. Yes, Fight Night Round 3 is actually a wonderful surprise, a game that takes many components that were great from Round 2 and improves them to the next-gen status we were so hoping for. Not only does the game have the graphics that were expected, but it also has some improved gameplay features that makes it feel more like a natural and less than some superficially produced effort. In short, this is as close to boxing as a sports game has gotten so far.

"Yes, Fight Night Round 3 is actually a wonderful surprise, a game that takes many components that were great from Round 2 and improves them to the next-gen status we were so hoping for." – Page 1, Paragraph 2

The game follows the basic pattern of the previous games. You can either embark in a Career mode, creating your own boxer and going down a road to many championships; engage in the Play Now option and simply get yourself going in the ring against a champion or contender; or challenge people either in offline multiplayer or online through Xbox Live. No matter what your option, though, you’ll find substantial gameplay that holds up reasonably well with the next-gen performance.