13.4.2004

I have been a big fan of EA Sports Boxing Games since the Knockout Kings series came out and have followed it through each years progression. This series whilst a good didn't really serve up anything new gameplay-wise with each edition, until the Knockout Kings 2002 edition which tried to borrow gameplay from Victorious Boxers and failed leaving us with a very poor and not well like game.EA have gone back to the drawing board, torn up the mould for Boxing games and started from scratch and with a new title. The era of Fight Night is upon us. This game features a radical new control system for boxing games. No longer are punches controlled by the control pads buttons i.e, Triangle performs a Uppercut,Circle performs a hook, Square a jab etc. Punches are controlled by movements on the right analogue stick. This gives you full control over your fighter's fists. To throw a right jab you push the analogue stick to the top right diagonal, to perform a left hook you push the stick to the left and rotate to the top, to perform an uppercut you pull the stick diagonally back in the direction corresponding to the fist you want to use and rotate to the top. Head punches and body punches are shifted between by using one of the shoulder buttons. Blocking is controlled by holding a shoulder button and moving the right analogue to control the arm you want to block with. Boxer movement is controlled by the left analogue stick and by holding a shoulder button you can then make your opponent duck, dive, swing and sway to avoid punches and set-up your own counter punches. Signature punches are included as normal.The gameplay is also backed up by a solid collision detection system, so punches are detected properly. The game features great character models and brilliant damage modelling, you see a fighters face contort from a blow, bruising appears and cuts form, all with great trickling blood effects and blood flies under heavy blows. The only problem with this is that cuts no longer effect fight outcomes as fights in Fight Night won't be stopped if someone is cut badly so there is no chance of pulling off your own Lewis vs Klitschko. The only way to win matches is via Knockout, Points or Disqualification.The game features 32 Licensed Boxers ranging from Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Rocky Marciano right up to todays legends such as Lennox Lewis and Roy Jones Jnr. Sadly there does seem to be a lot of good fighter missing from the game, no where will you find Mike Tyson or the Klitchko brothers, how can a boxing game be without such top names? Also it seems like a lot of emphasis falls on the Heavyweight & Light Heavyweight Division as Super Middleweight, Middleweight and Lightweight fighters are very sparse. How can you have a Super Middleweight division without Joe Calzaghe? Also where is the hottest division in boxing at the moment the Light-Welterweight Division with fighters like Kostya Tszyu, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Sharmba Mitchell, Miguel Cotti, England's own Ricky 'Hitman' Hatton and Junior Witter?The sole reason for giving this four stars instead of five, is that beyond the gameplay improvements there isn't a lot to this game, the roster of fighters at 32 quite shallow and repetitive, create-a-boxer allows you to add your own fighters but still it's time EA signed up more names for their games. I also don't like the presentation of the game, commentary by the likes of Ian Darke and Barry McGuigan and ring annoucing by Jimmy Lennon Jnr have been replaced by some American Hip-Hop/Rapper called Tigger to give the game some 'Attitude'. This appears totally out of place and removes from the feel of the game. Hearing professional boxing commentators calling the action is far more pleasing then having some Bad Boy Rapper shouting and screaming and making wise-cracks.Gameplay alone this game is worthy of being in any gamers collection and is a must for any boxing fan. However it may lose replay value because of the lack of available boxers and the hideous presentation of fights. The saving grace for this game is that we can finally put Roy Jones Jnr in the ring with the likes of Lennox Lewis and Muhammad Ali and see how he'd really measure up.The game also features the ability to go online and trade punches with people there, which gives the game a lot of replay-ability after you've completed all the single player career modes. Also the PS2 version is the only one to offer multi-player online fighting so X-Box owners will be unhappy.Get this game and get as close to being in a boxing ring as you can get without risking getting hurt.

21.9.2004

Until 'Fight Night 2004' arrived on the shelves, there was a big gap in the market for a good boxing game that was smooth and realistic. There were a few that came close such as 'Knockout Kings', and 'Rocky' but they weren't really polished enough and there was still the big problem of button bashing and particularly with Knockout Kings, no easy way to move round the ring.Thats where this wonderful game really comes into its own. EA have basically decided to go back to the drawing board, and ended up creating a whole new way of fighting; total punch control, and generally a really good game.So, what is this total punch control? Well,its a system that totally eliminates button bashing by allowing you to throw all your punches solely from the right analogue stick. To throw a jab you move it diagonally to the left, for a straight you move it diagonally to the right, for a right or left hook you move it to the edge in the appropriate direction and up, and for a right or left uppercut you move it down and up round in the appropriate direction. If you want to throw a body punch you hold down L1 and the punch you want to throw. Its pretty straight forward.As i have said, this system totally eliminates button bashing and allows you to throw punches and when you get better, combos smoothly and easily. As well as a new punch system, EA has also come up with a new blocking system which is very similar. All you do is hold down R1 and by moving the right analogue stick in different direction you can get different blocks. Moving it up is just a straight forward guard, moving it to the right or left produces a right or left guard, moving it downwards to the right or left produces a right or left downward block etc.Both these systems allow you to smoothly and easily throw punches and combos, block incoming blows with realistic speed, lean away from punches again with realistic speed, and when you become a bit more advanced, you can move the analogue stick in a 360 degree motion to have your fighter do the same, thus confusing your opponent. However if you find these controls too hard to use, then you can always change them on the settings menu, which allows you to go back to the old system of button bashing. Ok if you like that, but it may give you sore thumbs.The other big thing about 'Fight Night 2004' is the in depth 'create a boxer' mode which is better than ever before, allowing you to create yourself down to the last detail. You start of by chosing your name, height, weight etc and move on to eye colour, hair type etc. You can even go as far as chosing how close your eyes are togther, and how big your ears are. As i said, its very in depth and is very fun.Once you have created your dream boxer, you can then enter him into a career which is also very extensive. You start off ranked fifty and as you win fights you work your way up the ladder until you finally reach that target of number one and becoming champ. Each time you win you earn money which increases as you progress further up the ranks. You can then use this money in the fight store where you can buy better looking shorts, gloves, boots, protection, etc etc.Before each fight, you get the chance to train your boxer in order to improve his stats. There are four different forms of training; Heavy Bag, Sparring, Combo Dummy, and Punch Mits. You have to acheive a certain amount of points in order to get the the full amount of stat points each time, which is fifteen. With these stat points you just add them onto your current ones. There are eight areas to improve; pwer, speed, agility, stamina, chin, body, heart, and cuts. Get one hundred on each of them to become a real fighting machine.Overall, 'Fight Night 2004' really is a fantastic boxing game, with a revolutionary new control system which allows you to punch, block and weave much more smoothly and easily. If you like boxing or boxing games then this game really is a must-have. You will not be dissappointed!

2.5.2004

I have always been a fan of boxing games, owning knockout kings '99 and forward. This game beats them all by far. Their is a large choice of fighers, past and present to chose from, including Ali, Lewis, Liston and Barreira to name a few. The game uses new technology so that you can use the right analog stick to swing a punch, although this can take a bit of time to get used to, it can be very rewarding to pull off a large combination. Also, if you are just starting and find it hard to use the right analog stick, you can set it so that you can use the buttons as well. Another part of the game that has improved is the realism, there are now surprise knockdowns, a much inproved damage system,

1.5.2004

This is a must for all boxing fans, not just because it is the latest in a long line of high quality EA boxing titles but rather that it has possibly changed the way boxing games will be controlled in the future.The new 'total punch control system' is not just marketing speel but actually works and massively changes the gameplay and crucially ups the involvement of the player. For once, when you deliver a bone-crunching left upper-cut which has your opponent reeling across the ring, you actually feel like you have landed the punch not just pressed a button on your controller.The left analogue stick controls boxer movement around the ring, plus a series of bobs and weaves,

26.7.2004

Boxing itself is something, which people either love or hate there are no in-betweens. I believe that this will pretty much be the case in Fight Night 2004. I have played most of the knockout series games and can call myself a fan but I have to say this game is miles ahead of its older siblings. The realism within the fights is most impressive, blood and swelling appear whilst fighting rather than at the end of each round. You can really see the impact of some of your most powerful left hooks and uppercuts it is great. The animation is fantastic too and you can't help but feel sorry for your opponent as he starts twitching on the canvas after you have assaulted him with a barrage of your finest fists.The downside is an obvious downside.

4.4.2006

Having got both Fight Night and Fight Night Round 2 and played both rather intensely I have come to the decision that Fight Night 1 is a tad better than round 2. While there are improvements in Round 2 such as being able to move up and down in weight there are also minuses... the opposition is more interesting in the first installment, also the yearly awards system in Fight Night is a good feature, giving your boxers something else to aim for other than just that title shot!... while the awards system in Round 2 is awful in comparison... also the graphics in Round 2 are fairly dissapointing... the arenas seem blurred and boring compared to the excellent atmospherics in Fight Night...

2.4.2004

Having viewed several streams and read in depth into Fight Night 2004, I have come to the conclusion that it will most definitely be one of the topics of conversation - in the gaming world. Atleast for this year, if not longer.Being a fan of the Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) movies, I've been in search of a true boxing game - although not much of a fan of the 'sport' - I believe I've found the title for me.The new "Total Punch Control" system introduced by Kudo Tsunoda, the executive producer, is a system which allows you to use the two analogue sticks on the Playstation2 or the X-Box (hence the games exclusiveness to these consoles) in the following ways; On offence the power at which you tap an analogue stick initiates the power of the punch,

5.5.2004

I've been looking forward to this game's release for some time now, and I can honestly say that it hasn't disappointed me in the slightest! Everything about the game is extremely polished, and the presentation, as is usually the case with EA, is exceptional.The create-a-fighter option is superb, really giving you the opportunity to create a character that resembles yourself (unless you happen to look like the Elephant Man), and it even manages to capture the whole "out of the ring" decisions such as who to fight, which affect fighters (well, promoters) in real life. Even the opportunity to add people to your entourage adds yet even more realism to this great game.And so onto the gameplay itself.

18.5.2004

this game is excellent, the best boxing game that ea sports has ever done !what i really like about this game is the career mode, i have to say that because i haven't played anything else yet except my virtual self, thats right, you can make a good likeness of yourself in create a boxer mode. you can alter just about anything you would dare to imagine on the human face, you can stretch the chin, bring the eyes closer together and pick what size ears you would like and everything, the game is THAT GOOD !another thing which is much better than ea sports other boxing games is that you start from a lowely 50th in the pecking order and you have to fight your way to the top,

13.7.2004

This game is one of the best EA titles released so far in the 2004 range. It looks less like an EA game menu wise (which is a good thing!) but retains the beautiful and realistic graphics and player physics. Its hard not to think your in a real fight it looks that good.The game can be annonyingly hard, as iv so far only won 1 of my last 10 fights, however this can be classed as good as it means it wont be completed in one day! The controls are genius, however as with all new EA ideas it probably needs a couple more attempts to get it perfect as its hard at first to realise what punch your throwing. The carrer mode is great, however it seems to similar to the old EA boxing series,

9.2.2005

A boxing game worthy of the sport, in the past all boxing games like the painful Knockout kings have been frantic button tapping just like Tekken or something similar. Not since HBO boxing on the PS1 has actually having some knowledge on the sport make a difference. This is a brilliant game and i have had numerous fights at 3 mins a round over 12 rounds with my mates something never possible with previous games. The fact that you chose the punches and if you feint then connect with a big left hook you actually feel like you achieved something. The only drawbacks are that 'Tigger' does the commentary for what reason i cant imagine get HBO involved!

16.2.2005

Fight night 2004 has taken boxing games to a new level. Not only has EA totally revamped the way that we play boxing games but it has enhanced what we love, KO's. The introduction of total punch control via the analog stick is something that removes the button bashing frenzy that once dominated the boxing genre and replaces it with a system that can be used to pummel an opponent with a variety of punches and counters that flow like a real fighter's.The career mode is a fight to the top of your weight category for the chance to take on the champ. Along the way you have to improve your boxers abilities through interactive training,

19.6.2004

I should begin this review by admitting that my experience of this game is limited to the career mode and my 3 day old attempt to make 'el toro loco' (a creation of my own) the world champion! Once I created a boxer in my own image, what else was there to do but to try and take him to the top of the fight tree and, more importantly, ensure I earn enough money and unlock enough features to get the sexiest entourage and the coolest intro music available.So far, the game is simply superb and I haven't even gone beyond rank 15 and thus fought Ali, Lewis, Foreman etc. The best boxing game I have ever played. The controls are a fantastic idea. I would recommend people not change to using the buttons,

27.2.2006

Excellent stuff from EA games. If you have been looking for a boxing game for PS2 this is well worth purchasing.Choose your favourite boxer and fight at different levels (heavyweight, lightwieght etc) and progress through the rankings until you get a shot at the world title.To begin with the controls take a little getting used to but once you do you will have great control over your boxer and will be pummelling your opponent into a bloody mess.The graphics are excellent and the fighters look great Learning to be patient and look for openings and knowing when to back off becomes important as does keeping your punch meter high so your punches don't run out of power and there's nothing more

14.6.2004

This is the second time ive tried to voice my views on this game lets see if it works this time.FN (Fight Night) is easily the best boxing game on PS2 at the moment. Presentation, create own boxer, music - infact everything is done well.Few gripes - for example - fights should be stopped when one boxers face is cut badly, it would be good to move up or down weights.Once you have get to the top if not very hard to stay there till u are forced into retirement. (maybe put a few more belt into a weights division so u can become updisputed champ!?!)All in all very good game not sure how long a life it has once you become champ but the fun is all about getting there and kicking butt in the process - would prefer to give this 4.5 stars.

Fight Night 2004 (PS2) - Reviews

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