I've had some Xbox 360 issues lately...so that might account for some of the minor issues I bring up about Fight Night Champion. Just FYI
BOXING!
It's my first day with the new Fight Night game and I am excited. I wish I didn't have to work or that I would have been smart and rented it earlier...or later. Whichever, because it's sitting at my house right now, calling for me to pound some faces.
First off you start right in on a prison fight...one where you have been headbutted to near unconsciousness by a skin head. It's a little of a trial-by-fire, because it's a franchise game that has had it's control scheme adjusted for this edition. So that's an uneasy place to throw your gamer. I like it.
By just chucking the player into the story mode it grabs hold of those people (like me) who weren't a 100% sure about EA's ability to tell stories anymore. So far, it's a good one.
The punches seems to have real weight, when thrown and especially when landed. The camera rocks a little when you land shots. It adds a little excitement and drama.
The blood effects are also much improved. It drips everywhere and stains your trunks, his trunks and the canvas. Good times.
In one of the first couple pro fights as the story character I was facing down what can only be described as "one big mofo" and I cleaned that bastard's clock!
You are tipped that the guy will try to get you with a left hook, because he thinks you are weak on that side...but if you bide your time, the counter will present itself and BAM! One-tep, two-tep. You done.
That is the greatness of FN:Champion. One punch knockouts! In FN: 4 it felt ridiculous to be Ali or Tyson trying to chase some "dazed" opponent around that always seems to duck out of the way of your freight train power shot to the dome. In Champion, you can tell when they are dazed a little (weak knees, slack jaw or covering a lot) but a shot that is flush and unseen will skip all that crap and send him face down to the canvas.
Movement in Champion does seem a little slow. You can do quick flicks that move you fast, which I haven't got completely used to yet. And there are these little weaves that require the
The camera movement seems to be weighted more on your opponent than you, which seems odd to me. It may be more realistic, but early on it is throwing me off my rhythm.
And I have already screamed about a billion times for the ref to get out of the god damned way!!!
I like the added realism of having him in the ring, but never would a boxer's vision be blocked by a ref. Well...maybe, but he'd get knocked the hell out in the process.
It is very annoying and I have to adjust my gameplay because of it. But if you change the camera style to "Close" instead of "Champion" it seems to help quite a bit.
During the story you have goals and challenges to overcome. Which are cool, but one is setup very, very poorly. In boxing when you get cut, it can be a big deal and protecting a cut while maintaining your offense is a delicate balance. Well, in one fight you get cut on the first punch of the damned fight. Even if you have your guard up. Come on. Did the guy have a damn knife in his glove? That is some weak crap.
A few fights earlier you are presented with the challenge of having hurt your hand during a fight. But it starts play in the fifth round, and that is what they should have done for the cut. It just puts a fake feeling on the whole fight, to start off injured right away. It's not like you are fighting Muhammad Tyson-Frasier-RazorBladeMan-Ali.
The presentation style of the last three Fight Night games have all been different, but all been good. Round 3 was kind of edgy/grainy with classic boxing colors and lettering. Round 4 was a bit more flashy and clean. Glamorous, even. Champion seems to be a mix of both. During the story before the fights there are these dramatically lit, grainy shots from the locker room before the fight. It's just a halt, to keep you from being thrown into the fight when you are actually in the kitchen grabbing a Dew, but it's a really nice touch instead of big text on screen saying "FIGHT? Yes/No"
One move I don't like is the mixing of video game footage with actual video. There are these ESPN cut scenes, which are important to selling the story of a real boxing contender, but render the stuff. It would make it feel like all part of the same art medium. Not a mix-mash of parts. But that is a little thing.
Right from the first fight in the story you have a stamina bar to tell how tired you are. It's not the most realistic, but its important to know and you can't easily tell any other way.
If you were boxing you wouldn't have to guess whether you were tired or not, you would know. You do not get one for your opponent, which is awesome. That you should have to figure out on your own.
A problem I always have in Fight Night when I use the stick to punch is, usually I don't throw what I wanted and even though I swear I only pushed it once he always punches a couple times. Maybe I'm just spastic during the fights, but it's really annoying. Especially when your opponent is backing up all the time.
One issue that might be related to just my Xbox is some weirdness with the sound. Between rounds your corner man gives you some tasty bits of info and his audio is so quiet I can't hear it. Most of the time its mostly because the stupid announcers are yammering on about something they've said 800 times already, but even when they aren't I can't hear him well.
LEGACY MODE:
My first go-round of creating a more fit, boxing version of myself for Legacy Mode has gone poorly. If you aren't part of EA's special whatever you don't get to customize your face. You just get to pick a template and go with it. As I'm currently offline, Xbox-wise, I had no choice but to pick a generic Anglo face.
One thing they've improved upon are the tattoos. It seems like every boxer that steps into the ring nowadays has some super awesome tats. Rounds 3 & 4 gave a pathetic offering of body art to customize your boxer.
Champion gives a lot more choices, but you don't get to choose the size or specific placement. Which would be cool. Maybe someday.
The training is still lame, but not as lame as Round 4 and not quite as easy as Round 3.
Stamina is a huge deal in FN:Champion, both in the ring and in the gym. If you over work yourself during training you will go into the ring underpowered.
You can train in different gyms to gain an edge in certain skills, like speed, but a lot of the training games are still frustrating as hell. This time there is no "auto train" for 50% option. But it doesn't seem real clear what kind of points you get from the training anyway. There is a bar for your stats, and they go up a little. That's the best I got.
I'm still working through it, may amend this a little. But so far, I like it.
EA has been champ for awhile for boxing games, but with Fight Night Champion's addition of a story and some drastic realism they have moved up in class.
1 comment:
you should try dead space for a good EA story, and it's full of brutality and gore. The camera will be a pain sometimes, but easily tollerable.
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