MODES
Many of the game modes from past Fight Night games are here in Round 3. But Round 3 also sports 2 new features to the series – Rivals and ESPN Classics. The Rivals can be found in the Career mode while the ESPN Classics are their own mode of play. However, your rivals can be become instant classics and then become part of the ESPN Classics. With Rivals, you will come across fighter occasionally will be a rival of yours. These fighters are not any different than the rest of the fighters except that they have the distinction of being your rival. During the rival matches, the commentators will usually make some type of remark to let you everyone know that it is a rivalry. To mix things up with the rivals, you will occasionally see a fight at the weigh-in before a big fight. These fights aren’t much of anything, but they do add something different to the experience. The ESPN Classic fights feature some of the greatest fights of all-time. Here you will find fights such as Ali vs. Frazier, and some of the older bouts will even be in black and white. It is a pretty cool addition to the game to be able to go back and recreate these legendary fights.
Here is a quick list of some of the boxers in the game: Muhammed Ali, Joe Frazier, Evander Holyfield, Oscar de la Hoya, Roberto Duran, Micky Ward, Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Arturo Gatti, Erik Morales, Marco Barrera, Roy Jones Jr., James Toney, Floyd Patterson, Bernard Hopkins, Marvelous Marvin Hagler (this is his legal name), and Jermain Taylor. That’s not the entire list either. You’ll have to play the game to find them all.
The Career mode actually has a new twist to it. Not only can you create your own boxer and start from scratch, but you can rebuild the career of a legend. Take any boxer in the game from Ali to Oscar de la Hoya and try to build his career the way you want to. As with the regular career mode, you can pick their boxing stance, punching style, and blocking style. Then you setup their attributes the way you want in categories like Speed, Agility, Stamina, Chin, Body, Heart, and Cuts. You have 200 points to work with, so make them count. Once inside the career mode you start at the bottom rung, working your way to the top by training hard and taking on small contracts to fight guys you’ve never heard of. You hire your own trainer and hope he can mold you into a champion. Along the way, you train youself and get better before each fight. You can auto-train your fighter, or take a shot at doing it on your own. Hit the heavy bag, or practice on a punching dummy, or this year spar with other boxers. If you can find your rhythm you will gain new attribute points to make your fighter better and better. Then you can take those new strengths and put them to work against your next opponent.
EA really needs to revamp this career mode and bring back rankings and title holders. We want our boxing game to feel like we are in the world of professional boxing and not some world that EA has decided to present us that is unreal. If I’m fighting the same rival 2-3 times in a career and it’s a domination fest, why in the world would this rivalry continue? Please EA fix this come next version.
Fight Night Round 3 also features a few other gameplay modes in addition to the ones mentioned above. There is Play Now, Training, Hard Hits, Create a Champ, Online, and the all new “Get in the Ring” mode. Play Now is an exhibition match if you are looking for a quick game. Training allows you to get familiar with the different punches and moves necessary to become successful in the game. Hard Hits is 15 rounds, no time limit per round. First one to knock the other down scores the round. Most rounds at the end of 15 wins. Create a Champ allows you to create your own boxer, and challenges you to rise through the ranks to become the heavyweight champion of the world. Online gaming returns, and it provides a lot of replay value for the game as well as some great fights with people from across the country. Get in the Ring is a first person boxing mode, that is a nice new addition but difficult. With GITR you must be quick with your jabs or face the risk of meeting the canvas face first.
