Fight Night 3 review

Fight Night Round 3
Publisher: EA
ERP: £39.99

EA originally showcased Fight Night Round 3 as a PS3 demo, a vision of the future that trumped anything we’d seen at the time (May 2005). Okay, the game eventually showed up looking extremely nice on Xbox 360 too. There’s also a version for PS2 if you want to go that far. The point is, Fight Night on PS3 is the prettiest edition and worth the wait for Sony’s console. Alright, it’s probably inconclusive regarding overall performance but for now we should make the most of it.

Fight Night Round 3 is simply a terrific game of boxing, as anyone who played the 360 version will tell you. For PlayStation 3 EA has added a first-person Get in the Ring mode to emphasise the realism, with the other guy ducking and weaving before you, his composure and facial expression are your clues to his next move. We can’t tell you how satisfying it is to watch an opponent become fatigued and distracted just waiting for the knock-out blow. On the other paw, you feel so pathetic when your vision gets blurry, you can hardly see through the stars, and he’s on you like a tiger. Get in the Ring makes quite a difference to the gameplay, we love it.

You wonder if GITR is a feature deliberately withheld from the 360 version, because the rest of the gameplay feels fine-tuned to support it. Even while not playing the whole game in first-person, a Stun Punch will force you to temporarily defend from that viewpoint. It’s generally easier to see punches coming than in Fight Night 2, as the action is slowed to make your blows more strategic. If all you want to hammer buttons for fast-paced ‘arcade style’ boxing, FNR3 will feel more like a simulation to you. But the payoffs are worth it, like victory with a Flash KO or whenever you connect with your Haymaker you really feel like Khan.

The online experience with PS3 Fight Night is no better or worse than on Xbox 360. You miss all the Xbox Live extras of course (Leaderboards, Achievements, Gamerscore, etc) but you’re still toe-to-toe with contenders from all over the world.

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