Fight Night Champion Review
Whether you are an experienced boxer, or this is your first time in the ring, Fight Night Champion offers a deep and visually impressive experience
Like previous titles, Champion offers a robust set of online options. There’s the usual ranked and unranked head to head play, but that’s merely a quick pickup choice compared to the other modes available. The biggest mode is probably the Online World Championships, which lets players create and guide their boxer through the ranks, much like in Legacy Mode, instead this time against real opponents. Players are ranked individually, and those who claim the title will surely have a tough time defending it. Whenever a champion player or an online leader (such as most KOs) logs in, everyone receives a notification – even if they are mid-match. This kind of a connected experience offers an engaging way to compete online and keep tabs on the local and global leaderboards.
The game also offers Gyms – these online hubs act like a central location for a team of boxers. Players can practice with their gym members, or take on rival gyms in structured competitive matches. Within the gym, members are free to customize all the rules and aesthetics of their matches. When fighting rival gym members, the fights turn into real matches for extra XP and credibility to your own team. Trophies are awarded for wins, and ranks are tracked on the global gym standings. Overall, the online features in Champion are robust, engaging, and provide ample opportunity to both connect and compete with others.
Given that two years have passed since Fight Night Round 4, Champion has taken upon a seriously upgraded visual look and style. The game presents a very focused and realistic approach to presentation, from gameplay to behind the scenes experiences. Visuals are crisp and realistic, with great real time motion blur and new lighting effects. The character models are highly detailed as well – punches that land send ripples through your opponent, and the KOs in slow motion are a particular highlight. There’s also an extensive damage system – thanks to a Mature rating, the game isn’t afraid to show significant bruising damage and blood during matches. It isn’t over-used though, so everything is kept at a believable and realistic level.
While for the most part the game keeps its Mature rating in check, the soundtrack is definitely where most of the rating draws from. The game’s music is laden with expletives and risky lyrics, so while it may be catchy, this isn’t a game you’d want to crank up when others are around. Thankfully, it doesn’t get any worse – the rest of the game’s presentation uses the M rating to add some significant elements without going overboard. For example, the Champion Mode dialogue and themes often fall into adult territory, which allows the characters to become more developed and highlight vital moments of tension. The commentary duo keeps things interesting, if repetitive after a while.
Many would agree that with a lot of franchises from EA Sports, it is important to take the time and significantly improve upon each iteration. Most of the time, with a yearly release cycle, it becomes a very difficult task. Fight Night Champion, thanks to a longer development cycle, doesn’t suffer from this potential problem. Almost everything in the game has been tweaked and improved, to the point where it becomes more than just a sports sequel. Addition of a story mode was a risky step in the genre that has paid off surprisingly well, with good character development, writing, and well directed cutscenes. Legacy mode offers the same type of customization and depth that fans have come to expect, while inside the ring tweaks have been made to make the game more accessible without dumbing it down. Online options are as robust as ever, and the game looks quite stellar thanks to new effects and dynamic physics. For boxing fans, there is absolutely no reason to miss this title – and if you’re merely curious, you could be in for a pleasant surprise.
Our ratings for Fight Night Champion on PlayStation 3 out of 100 (Ratings FAQ)
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