Fight Night Round 4: Demo Hands-On
By Vaibhav Mehra, June 10, 2009

So I got my hands on the Fight Night Round 4 demo, and I was thinking Ali vs. Tyson, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”, or maybe biting off Ali’s ear with a special move maybe?. That however wasn’t to be as the demo only has two relatively lesser known boxers, Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton, from the Welterweight categories. Since this is a demo it has a video about what all is new in FNR 4. Straight after that you jump into the practice ring with your trainer. Taking this short tutorial is really helpful. You can just jump into the ring and start throwing those punches like a pro after taking the tutorial.

The demo allows you to play 3 three minute rounds at the Boardwalk Hall at Atlantic City. With the trainer and his assistance in tow, the boxers appear in brief cutscenes with their stats on screen.

The controls are uncomplicated and very easy to get used to. There is a lot of focus on the right stick, with all the punches squeezed into it. You can do a lot of what the actual boxer can, lean to avoid your opponent’s punches, switch your stance, clinch the opponent when you think another punch might knock you out or simply push you opponent when he’s too close. There’s also the illegal move, make three of those and you’re disqualified. The one my boxer made was the “head butt”, I hope each boxer has a different illegal move in the full game. Maybe I can bite off Ali’s ear in the game with Tyson after all!

 

During the rounds, you come to realize the importance of the clinch and push options when you find your boxer too close or far from the opponent making it impossible to land punches. It really adds to the authenticity in the boxing experience.

The in-game HUD has the information on the Round, Time and three vital stats for each player – Health, Stamina and Block. The gameplay experience is intense, with the boxers being very close to each other most of the time. Almost every time after a volley of punches you’ll feel the need to push the opponent away. Apart from the responsive Jabs and Upper/Lower Cuts, landing those haymakers isn’t that easy with the AI always getting the block in just as you’re about to land one.

The commentary is average. Only thing of notice was that the commentator would say something different about most of the punches, I found that one feature quite authentic.

After you struggle to land those haymakers on your opponent, you invariably end up winning the match. The match round up shows the damage count and hit percentage statistics for the match. As you can see, I was playing as Manny Pacquiao, and I still won !!

Overall, FNR 4 is a step up from FNR 3, both graphically and in terms of gameplay mechanics. It delivers an intense gameplay which is bound to keep the boxing sim fans glued for hours. Add to it the multiplayer and that adds a whole new dimension to the game. EA has an extensive ranking system and a "World Tournament" as well.

 

There’s also the Corner Game, which happens between rounds, where you get to spend points earned during the round to heal your boxer.

 

After the game you can make you can visualize the match with the Instant Replay option.