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Fight Night Champion Hands-On Preview for Xbox 360 (X360)

Fight Night Champion Hands-On Preview for Xbox 360 (X360)

A Solid Right Hook

The amount of hype that I’ve seen Fight Night Champion receive is parallel to the hype that Fight Night Round 3 received when it was first unveiled. It was viewed as one of the premiere early next-generation games, featuring spectacular HD graphics and intense combat. For all of its praises, I felt like Round 3 was a bit too much like an arcade game, focusing on landing the next big punch instead of the finesse of the entire fight, which led me to skip Round 4. Now, developer EA Canada is focusing on a more realistic approach to boxing with Champion, which promises to be one of the better sports games of the year.

Fight Night Champion Screenshot

Let’s get right into the reason why I skipped Fight Night Round 4: the gameplay. Right from the start, it becomes clear that the goal of Champion isn’t to impress you with the way it looks on your 60-inch TV when you break someone’s jaw. Instead, Champion is about the entire fight. In the several hands-on matches I played, I admittedly did start out like I was playing Round 3: looking to land the big heavy punch. What happened instead was that I tired myself out and never really won points with the judges. So, I adjusted to more of a long term finesse approach of playing and it worked like a charm, resulting in matches either a lot closer that didn’t go in my favor, or just winning the match.

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Despite this change in gameplay philosophy, Champion will still be accessible to any veteran or newcomer of the Fight Night series. You have the option of either using your face buttons to control your punches, or using the right analog stick for more “precision” control. While veterans swear by using the analog stick, it’s sometimes a bit tricky from my experience to nail it down. I feel more comfortable using a combination of the two, though I do see the distinct advantages of using the analog stick. Regardless, the game controls well, and the combination of the improved gameplay with the tight controls result in a great hands-on experience.

Fight Night Champion Screenshot

But what has me most excited about Champion is something I didn’t get to try out for myself: the campaign mode. In it, you’ll assume the role of Andre Bishop, an up and coming fighter looking to make his way through the system. Cutscenes make the game feel more like a Grand Theft Auto title than a Fight Night title. There clearly is a story that the developers wanted to tell, and it’s a story I can’t wait to hear. The long-running campaign mode where you can create a fighter will also be intact as Legacy Mode.

The Fight Night series has always emphasized visual prowess, and Champion is no exception. Forgoing the “shiny boxer” look that Round 3 had, Champion has a dark, gritty tone. While boxing is commonly referred to as “the beautiful science” (and it certainly plays like it), there’s not much beautiful about the way a boxer looks after a fight. Fight Night Champion captures that essence. It doesn’t look like you’re playing a game anymore; there’s a complete immersion the visuals present that may well be unmatched in any other sport games out there. This is only enhanced by the commentating, which while it’ll undoubtedly get old (and I’ve already heard plenty of repeated lines), I’m thankful when they’re quick to point out when I’m playing a fighter wrong and ignoring his strengths; I can’t tell you how many times people were playing Muhammad Ali online and not jabbing until the commentators mentioned it.

Fight Night Champion Screenshot

I loved Fight Night Round 3, but I wanted it to be so much more. While Round 4 didn’t recapture my attention, Champion surely has. A promising narrative campaign combined with improved gameplay and visuals to help create more of a realistic approach to boxing all help make Fight Night Champion one of the better upcoming games this year.

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Game Features:

  • Play through a full fledged narrative campaign as Andre Bishop as you play through his rise to glory.
  • Fight Night’s spectacular visuals combine with a more realistic approach to the series combine to bring the best boxing experience to consoles.
  • Chose from over fifty world famous boxers as you duke it out with your friends.
  • It’s so realistic, Floyd Mayweather still won’t fight Manny Pacquiao


  • Round 5…FIGHT!

    Fight Night Champion is EA’s next entry into their acclaimed boxing franchise, and from all early indications, it looks to be a winner. For gamers new to the series, Fight Night Champion promises to be easy-to-pick up due to some tweaks to the control scheme, while still maintaining much of its depth for veteran players. A new feature called Champion Mode is one of the most hyped new additions to the game, and EA has not been shy about touting just why it is going to set Fight Night Champion apart from the rest of the series.

    Fight Night Champion Screenshot

    Champion Mode differs from the usual sports game ‘career mode’ in that it is story driven. Players step into the role of Andre Bishop, and it is their task to take this up-and-comer from his modest roots and turn him into a success. Throughout the story, Bishop must focus on his training and fights while dealing with an overreaching promoter named DL McQueen. According to EA, this will not be a career mode with some extra lines of dialogue thrown in, but a full-fledged story that will actually drive the action, and in some cases offer unique challenges specific to Champion Mode. EA has gotten some press due to the fact that Bishop’s journey is a gritty story; it is the addition of this mode (in conjunction with more realistic facial damage) that has earned the game its ‘M’ rating. Prison fights and mature language are just a few of the surprises to be found in Champion Mode. EA said that this is not to garner attention due to shock value, but an attempt to depict the struggles of a boxer in today’s world. There is a lot of potential with Champion Mode, and at least one boxing fan (me!) is hoping that this new addition plays out like a great interactive Rocky-esque movie.

    The traditional career mode has returned as well, and is dubbed Legacy Mode. As with earlier games in the series, the player has the freedom to create a boxer from scratch and work him up the ranks to become a champion. Your boxer starts as an amateur, and after working your way into the professional ranks, you will begin to earn cash in the form of fight purses that can be used for additional training. EA has promised that from the get-go the leveling and training process will be more organic by allowing the development of a fighter with specific skills that suit your play style and that some issues from past games have been addressed. This is great news for folks who are looking forward to taking their created boxer online to prove their worth against human opponents.

    Fight Night Champion Screenshot

    One intriguing feature in Legacy Mode is persistent damage. According to EA, the punches your boxer takes during a fight could potentially have a lasting impact on your career. This means no more reckless fights where defense takes a backseat to a constant barrage of punches; leaving yourself open to a big shot could cut your fighter’s hopes of becoming a legend short. It will be interesting to see just how much of an impact this will have on gameplay.

    As alluded to earlier, the control scheme has been changed slightly, and it could be for the better. Rather than inputting a specific motion on the right stick for a jab or a hook, the player simply has to flick the stick in the required direction to achieve the desired punch. Fight Night purists may cry foul; however, not only does this make the game slightly more accessible to new players, it may also alleviate some of the frustration from past games in which getting your fighter to throw a crucial hook becomes less of an exercise in thumb dexterity and more about reflexes.

    Fight Night Champion Screenshot

    Visually, Fight Night Champion is beautiful. Fighters look strikingly similar to their real-life counterparts, even more so than in past entries in the series. A major focus for the developers was the damage that appears on a boxer’s face and body during the course of a fight. EA has said that this was about authenticity and realism, not gratuitous violence; if you get caught with repeated blows to the face, they wanted it to show. It is just one more facet that should help to draw the player into the experience of the fight.

    Fight Night Champion has all the makings of another great game from EA Canada. Since EA hit us with Fight Night Round 3, we have come to expect certain things from their boxing franchise: Gorgeous visuals (which are amazing as usual, just look at the screenshots!), controls that put the player in the driver’s seat and really add to the immersion, and tight gameplay. All of these pieces appear to be in place, but it remains to be seen if Champion Mode will deliver. However, if it does this could be their best entry into the series to date. Come March 1st, we will find out.

    Game Features:

  • Full spectrum punch control: Control your boxer’s punches with precision and accuracy like never before with a new synergy of gameplay controls. From overhand punches to strategic counter jabs and one-punch knockouts, overwhelm your opponents with your refined skill set.
  • Physics-based gameplay: Move around the ring, and time your attacks with precision. Building off the best-in-class gameplay engine featured in Fight Night Round 4, you now have an even wider range of abilities when it comes to counterattacks, setting up combos, and attacking your opponent.
  • Legacy mode: Create your alter ego and put him in the ring against past champions. Work your way up the ranks through training and scheduled bouts, and establish your name as the fighter to beat. Take your boxer online and see how you size up against the best in the world competing for local or worldwide belts in the all-new Fight Night Nation.
  • Authentic content: Fight Night Champion showcases the truest graphical representation of the sport, lifestyle, and culture of boxing with authentic and dynamic blood, realistic body damage and deformation, and mature content throughout. Experience the violence and brutality that is true to the trade.

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    • Compatible across virtually all gaming platforms and devices
    • An unmatched, immersive gameplay experience (THX 7.1 surround sound capable, detachable mic, and more)
    • Gel padding is incredibly comfortable across a wide range of head sizes


    We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
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