Game of the Week: Fight Night – Round 3

This week’s GOTW is Fight Night Round 3.  I just purchased this game used from the GameStop at the mall on the advice of one of my closest friends.  I’ve never been a big fan of the boxing games, although that is more from a lack of being around them than not actually enjoying the game play. 

I got the version for the Xbox 360 since that’s what my friend has.  I try to get games that I can play online with friends, since I really don’t have too many opportunities to meet people that have Xboxes and PS3s in the corporate world.  Plus, after I beat a game – It just gets boring if I’m not playing a human.

I wanted to be ready to challenge my boy who has had the game for several months, so I powered it up as soon as I got home.  The first thing I noticed was the music.  I like how EA included some Hip Hop on this game.  I was disappointed in the lack of diversity on both Burnout Paradise and on NCAA 2008. 

Since my used game didn’t come with a manual, the first area I went to was Training.  The training games seemed simple enough.  Just mash the buttons to punch right? — WRONG!  After standing there like a bump on a log while the timer counted down, I finally hit the Start button so that I could see the controller configuration screen.  The default setting is Total Control Punching.  Well, I want total control – so let’s figure this out.  After about 5 tries with the punching dummy, I figured out how to jab to the face and to the body.  Only after I went back out to the other training mini-games did I discover that I could learn how to punch in the Sparring mini-game.

Fast forward to Create a Champ.  I wanted to create someone in my own image, so I have a tall, muscular guy with a short cut and a goat-tee (which I don’t really have anymore).  I must say that the customization options are amazing and the graphics on the 360 make this a great addition.  I thought I would be able to take him right into a fight, but when I tried to do career mode – the game started to walk me through creating another fighter.  I wanted to get to some action – so I just backed out of that and chose the option to take a real boxer and build him up.  So I selected Sugar Ray Leonard.

I pumped up Sugar Ray’s power, agility, and speed and set the other attributes to around 20%, leaving about 9% for his chin.  The career mode makes you do training once you sign a contract and in training you can build up your attributes.  I did some heavy bag training to build up my chin and heart.  Then it was on to the first bout!

Ding Ding! My jabs and combos were a little weak, since I still didn’t have a good feel for the controls.  The boxer “International” was putting it on me a bit, and got the best of me in round one.  During the break, I listened to my (free) trainer and learn to stick and move.  I enjoyed eyeballing the Round Card girl in her bikini – (why do they all have tattoos?).  The next round, I really gave it to International, sticking and moving, bobbing and weaving, and blocking and parrying.  I took round 2 and then we split 3 and 4.   The bout ended in a draw.

I couldn’t go out like that – so I in the next fight, I started out sticking and moving, but also using my haymaker punch.  I knocked down the next boxer in the first round and then got a TKO in the second round.  The third fight ended in a TKO in the first round because the boxer stopped defending himself. 

I think I have the hang of it now.  I’ll read some pointers online to really make sure I know as much as I can about counter punching and defending myself. 

I’ll have a good time playing Fight Night Round 3 this week.  By the weekend I should be ready to take on my friend and become the Champ!