Fight Night Round 4

Fight Night Round 4 is a boxing video game developed by EA Sports. It is the sequel to Fight Night Round 3, released in 2006. It was released in 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry.[2] The game's featured boxers are Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.[3] It contains 48 licensed boxers[4] as well as several new modes, such as Legacy mode.[5]

Fight Night Round 4
Cover art featuring Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson respectively
Developer(s)EA Canada
Publisher(s)EA Sports
Platform(s)PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
Windows Mobile
BlackBerry
Release
  • NA: June 23, 2009
  • EU: June 26, 2009[1]
  • AU: July 2, 2009
  • JP: January 28, 2010
Windows Mobile
  • NA: September 22, 2009
BlackBerry
  • NA: October 23, 2009
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Marketing

Demo

On May 14, 2009, a demo of the game was made available to those that had pre-ordered the game from GameStop, although it was made available for everyone to download later that month via Xbox Live or PlayStation Network. The demo features a three-round exhibition match between Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao in the wake of their fight on May 2, 2009. A tutorial mode is also accessible at the beginning of the demo, which is featured in the final release.

On August 27, 2009, a new updated demo was released. It now features a ten-round exhibition match between Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, in addition to the previous Hatton vs. Pacquiao match. It also features the return of the classic control scheme for the game where players can use the controller buttons for most controls instead of the right analog stick. This control scheme was originally in all previous Fight Night games, and it was brought into Fight Night Round 4 after fans were complaining about using the new control scheme and sufferings form clusters.[6]

Downloadable Content

On July 27, 2009, the first piece of downloadable content for Fight Night Round 4 was released. It is free of charge, and includes a new training gym, new gameplay sliders, new equipment and an alternate version of Sugar Ray Leonard.

Additional trunks, gloves and shorts were released along with face button control support in a free update at the end of August.[7]

The next piece of downloadable content, the Boxer Pack, contained Oscar De La Hoya, Vitali Klitschko and Wladimir Klitschko, as well as alternate versions of James Toney and George Foreman was released on 27 August and can be purchased through the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace.

In early December, a new pack including Bernard Hopkins, Evander Holyfield, Sonny Liston and two new modes (Old School Rules & Ring Rivalries) was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

PlayStation Home

On July 16, 2009, EA Sports released a themed game space for Fight Night Round 4 as an expansion to the EA Sports Complex in the European and North American versions of PlayStation Home.[8] The game space is called "Club Fight Night" and features a Club-DJ mini-game with rewards, two video screens and seating for avatars. In an update, there would be a robot boxing mini-game available to play. This space was released in the Japanese version on October 9, 2009. On November 25, 2009, two producers of Fight Night Round 4, Mike Mahar and Brian Hayes, were in the space for a live chat with the Home community.[9]

Features

Physics based controls, Career mode is redesigned and replaced with legacy mode, players Can use photo game face to more easily put the player in the game, boxers can only block high and low, More focus on counter punching, User controlled cutman is removed and replaced with a point system, and Downloadable characters. Fight Night Round 4 Also added Flyweight and Bantamweight weight classes for the first time in a game. New boxers to the franchise allowed recreations of fights such as Ricky Hatton vs. Paulie Malignaggi, Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns and Fernando Montiel vs. Nonito Donaire.

The game features 12 arenas, including Boardwalk Hall and the MGM Grand.

Reception

Fight Night Round 4 received "favorable" reviews on both platforms according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[10][11] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of three sevens and one five for a total of 26 out of 40.[29]

GameSpot's Justin Calvert praised the game's fast action and its online play.[18] 1UP.com's David Ellis commented that the physics engine improved the gameplay, and made punches feel more realistic.[30] Game Revolution said "Its incredibly accurate physics system doesn’t just set a new bar for boxing games, but for all games across all genres." GameSpy's Will Tuttle noted the game's "stunning visuals", and praised the online gameplay.[19] GamePro's Andrew Hayward thought that the gameplay flowed better as a result of the frame rate, which ran at sixty frames per second.[16] IGN's Nate Ahearn felt that the game delivered "the best pure boxing ever seen in a video game."[24] Destructoid said "It doesn’t matter if you care about boxing; this superb game is worth a look from everybody; the game itself is a blast to play, and that’s what stands out." Eurogamer described it as "An intense, heart-rattling experience that gets more rewarding the more time you invest in learning the nuances. With incredible attention to detail, technical achievements are more than mere eye candy and a deeper, more rewarding fighting system than ever before, it's an essential purchase for boxing fans and fighting game aficionados."

Criticisms were mostly focused towards the single player aspects of the game. IGN's Nate Ahearn commented that the minigames found in the legacy mode were too difficult, a sentiment echoed by GameSpy and GameSpot.[18][19][24] Giant Bomb's Jeff Gerstmann criticized the legacy mode for being wrapped in "layers of unnecessary menus".[23] Official Xbox Magazine said "Despite the uphill difficulty curve, repetitive commentary, and long loading times, Round 4 is a force that topples its mind-blowing predecessor in every category." GamesTM said it was "A calculated and intelligent game that favours forethought and tactics over button mashing and impatience."

The game topped the UK sales charts for several weeks.[31] Total sales exceeded 1 million units.[32]

References
  1. Ellie Gibson (May 12, 2009). "Get early access to Fight Night 4 demo". Eurogamer. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  2. "FIGHT NIGHT Round 4". Electronic Arts. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  3. Nate Ahearn (March 9, 2009). "Tyson and Ali on Fight Night Round 4 Cover". IGN. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  4. "FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 Boxers". Electronic Arts. Archived from the original on April 6, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  5. Nate Ahearn (June 15, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4: Legacy Mode Revealed". IGN. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  6. Tim MaCdonald (August 27, 2009). "New FEAR 2/Fight Night Round 4 DLC Demos Online". NigHtmares. Archived from the original on August 29, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  7. Jim Reilly (August 12, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4 Getting First Boxer Pack". IGN. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  8. Locust_Star (July 15, 2009). "This Week in PlayStation Home: BUZZ! and Fight Night Space Launches, and More!". PlayStation Blog. SCE.
  9. Locust_Star (November 25, 2009). "This Week in PlayStation Home: New Red Bull Space + Event, Fight Night Producer Chat & More". PlayStation Blog. SCE. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  10. "Fight Night Round 4 for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  11. "Fight Night Round 4 for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  12. Samit Sarkar; Anthony Burch; Brad Nicholson (July 10, 2009). "Review: Fight Night Round 4". Destructoid. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  13. "Fight Night Round 4 (X360)". Edge (204): 103. August 2009.
  14. Kristan Reed (June 25, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4 (X360)". Eurogamer. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  15. Matthew Kato (August 2009). "Fight Night Round 4: Round 1". Game Informer (196). Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  16. Andrew Hayward (June 23, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4". GamePro. Archived from the original on June 26, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  17. Jesse Costantino (July 2, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4 Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  18. Justin Calvert (June 29, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  19. Will Tuttle (June 25, 2009). "The Consensus: Fight Night Round 4 Review". GameSpy. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  20. "Fight Night Round 4: Review". GameTrailers. July 1, 2009. Archived from the original on July 6, 2009. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  21. Michael Lafferty (June 24, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4 - PS3 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  22. Steven Hopper (June 24, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4 - 360 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  23. Jeff Gerstmann (June 23, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4 Review". Giant Bomb. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  24. Nate Ahearn (June 23, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4 Review". IGN. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  25. Ryan McCaffrey (August 2009). "Fight Night Round 4 [Incomplete]". Official Xbox Magazine: 64. Archived from the original on June 27, 2009. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  26. "Review: Fight Night Round 4". PlayStation: The Official Magazine: 64. August 2009.
  27. Joe Roche (July 3, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4 (PS3, Xbox 360) Review". 411Mania. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  28. Tom Hoggins (June 26, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  29. "Famitsu Scores 1/20/10 End of Eternity Edition". NeoGAF. January 20, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  30. David Ellis (June 23, 2009). "Fight Night Round 4 Review". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  31. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/115273/EA_Titles_Dominate_UK_Charts_As_Fight_Night_Wins_Again.php
  32. https://mygaming.co.za/news/business/9425-these-console-games-each-sold-over-1-million-in-2010.html
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