As some of you may know, I'm one of the admins on the the forums for www.maxboxing.com. One of our forum members, Brizzo, works for EA and is one of the producers for the upcoming, hotly anticipated game Fight Night Round 4. Brizzo hooked me up with an invite to EA's Fight Night Round 4 community day event, where members of various gaming and internet communites hung out with EA, Vancouver studios and got to get some hands on with the game.

I got into Canada Sunday evening. We all met at a bar in downtown Vancouver, where we talked mostly about boxing and the Fight Night games. Everyone was cool, EA shoved as much free beer as we could handle down our throats, and we played a lot of Fight Night Round 3. Here's a vid of some of the action, featuring yours Truly:

http://vimeo.com/3331535

The next morning, we all took a trip down to Griffin's boxing and fitness, for some real action. "Coach" was advised to not go easy on us, and he didn't (3 days later I'm still sore as hell). Some video, including yours truly displaying my shadowbox skills and proclaiming my greatness:

http://vimeo.com/3340851

Okay, so I ain't the next Floyd :lol: But I had a blast training. Right when we were all about to drop form exhaustion, we were saved... By none other than Sugar Shane Mosley and Sergio Mora. Shane didn't completely save us, though. He made us do some pretty sadistic medicine ball exercises, and 4 of our gang got to "spar" with Sergio, one of them being Maxboxing's very own Brizzo. I was able to get a quick impromptu one-minute interview with Shane (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcWBhChZFRQ&feature=channel_page). I didn't ask anything most of us didn't already know, but it was cool to get him on camera for a quick second.

After that, we headed to the EA Vancouver studios. Got the dev's spiel on FNR4, and had a 30 minute Q&A with Shane and Sergio. Then we went on a tour of the HUGE facility, and checked out the motion capture studio.

Then, the moment we all were waiting for, we played the game for about 3 hours... My impressions?

Due to a non-disclosure agreement, I cannot divulge any specifics about the game. EA will let me know when I can discuss certain features of the game, and as soon as they do, I'll post updates.

Overall however, I will say this: This is the best boxing game ever created. No ********. The build we played was only a week past alpha, and already it was far better than FNR3. There has never been a more realistic simulation of in-ring action that what Brizzo and his people have created. Hardcore fans will be ecstatic with the changes made to the series. I simply cannot express enough how impressive the game was. It's the perfect example of what happens when you make a game for boxing fans, by boxing fans, with a nice balance for the casual fight fans. Here's a vid of some initial impressions, from EA's blog site:

http://vimeo.com/3344522

I didn't take too many photos actually, but here are a few shots I got:

Griffin's Boxing and Fitness:
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1393/1000587hi6.jpg


Sergio:
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2768/1000592kw0.jpg

Shane:
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/6953/1000593un2.jpg

Me and Shane:
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/4260/1000597by0.jpg

Me and Sergio:
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1442/1000603kq1.jpg

EA's full size futbol field:
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7537/1000605lz1.jpg



I had a blast during the event, and met some cool people. Fret not about the future of boxing, there are many genuine fans, and I honestly think this game will do a lot to nudge it back towards where it used to be- it's that good.

thanks for the info. I'm looking forward to FN4.

Cool, thanks for the write-up.

Great write up. I loved FN3 and can't wait to play as Tyson!

Sounds like a great trip.

so is it different enough to buy.... i didn't feel like FN3 was different enough to purchase it was just more of the same...

Excellent. I can't believe it's taken EA so long to release a new Fight Night game, as they are guaranteed to make a fortune on it. I'm surprised they don't treat it like Madden or NHL and release a new iteration every year.

Thanks for the heads up. Hope its everything you say, definitely been waiting a long time for a good boxing game for real boxing fans.

Excellent. I can't believe it's taken EA so long to release a new Fight Night game, as they are guaranteed to make a fortune on it. I'm surprised they don't treat it like Madden or NHL and release a new iteration every year.

Well, there's only so many roster updates you can make for a boxing game. ;)

(Actually I'm a fan of the Madden series, but still :D)

nice balance for the casual fight fans
This says it all.. Can any fighter still throw over a 100 punches a round like in 3? Are there still 4-6 knockdowns before your opponent stays on the ground.. This was the norm.. I usually had to knock them down 4-6. Are there more 1 punch KO's.. If EA kept or added more special punches it will be about as sim as SF4.. I'm a disgruntled FN fan.. I just want them to get the basics right, & be accurate & true to the sport..

Great write up. I loved FN3 and can't wait to play as Tyson!
Online is gonna suck.. All the casual boxing fans will gravitate towards Tyson & only Tyson.. Expect TONS of Tyson Vs Tyson matches, or you facing Tyson 90% of the time.

nice balance for the casual fight fans
This says it all.. Can any fighter still throw over a 100 punches a round like in 3? Are there still 4-6 knockdowns before your opponent stays on the ground.. This was the norm.. I usually had to knock them down 4-6. Are there more 1 punch KO's.. If EA kept or added more special punches it will be about as sim as SF4.. I'm a disgruntled FN fan.. I just want them to get the basics right, & be accurate & true to the sport..

I'll just say you will not be disappointed. Just because it has some casual appeal doesn't mean hardcore fans like us won't like it. Trust me on this one.

Online is gonna suck.. All the casual boxing fans will gravitate towards Tyson & only Tyson.. Expect TONS of Tyson Vs Tyson matches, or you facing Tyson 90% of the time.

and this will be mega super ultra uber amazing. I just hope they put some kind of pre-fight taunts or have Tyson say anything. that squeeky voice never ceases to be funny.

Cant wait for this, any estimated release date? Even ballpark release date?

i sure hope they got rid of that overexhaggerated parrying system. never in my life have i seen one catch anothers fist leaving them open for a full 3 seconds. just retarded. there was also no close up game in fnr3. no shoulder to shoulder action whatsoever. the windup punches were also ridiculous and arcady.

i sure hope they got rid of that overexhaggerated parrying system. never in my life have i seen one catch anothers fist leaving them open for a full 3 seconds. just retarded. there was also no close up game in fnr3. no shoulder to shoulder action whatsoever. the windup punches were also ridiculous and arcady.

It got to the point that when we played, people would be afraid to throw a punch! :-)

Cant wait for this, any estimated release date? Even ballpark release date?
June. I'll have a review copy two weeks prior. All the big names (IGN, Gamespot, etc.) have to get theirs first.

i sure hope they got rid of that overexhaggerated parrying system. never in my life have i seen one catch anothers fist leaving them open for a full 3 seconds. just retarded. there was also no close up game in fnr3. no shoulder to shoulder action whatsoever. the windup punches were also ridiculous and arcady.
I'll just say that the devs were making fun of this. In fact, they were making a lot of fun of FNR3.

I know undisputed has 80 fighters.. Wouldn't you love 80 real boxers?

So you feel that the game captures the pace of a real boxing match? The main complaint I've had with previous boxing games is that it's possible to throw far too many punches and the game degrades into an arcadish punching fest.

What I am really really hoping is for this game to have a very well developed create a character aspect.

It's inevitable that with licensing agreements (Even Mike Tyson JUST got into a boxing game) that there will be at least a score of fighters missing from the roster.

However, with a very good create a character function the User Community can pick up the slack. Similar to NCAA Football and rosters.

I know with the PS3 you can download saved games via PC and put them on a thumb drive.....etc. That would be a great way of users sharing real fighters that they have made to simulate fighters that are omitted from the official game.

I remember I made a really really good Mosley that I spent hour and hours doing for FN3. Looks fighting style.....etc.

I can't wait to mop the ring with Soda Popinski

Awesome! Is Floyd in there? If so, I'd be curious to see how they implement his shoulder roll.

So you feel that the game captures the pace of a real boxing match? The main complaint I've had with previous boxing games is that it's possible to throw far too many punches and the game degrades into an arcadish punching fest.


It's still possible, but you wouldn't want to necessarily, for the same reasons as in real life, unless of course, that's your fighter's style.

The first fight I had, I threw around 750 punches in 10 rounds, the other guy threw close to 900. However, the connect percentages were much closer to real-life than FNR3, in the 30-40% range.

What I am really really hoping is for this game to have a very well developed create a character aspect.

It's inevitable that with licensing agreements (Even Mike Tyson JUST got into a boxing game) that there will be at least a score of fighters missing from the roster.

However, with a very good create a character function the User Community can pick up the slack. Similar to NCAA Football and rosters.

I know with the PS3 you can download saved games via PC and put them on a thumb drive.....etc. That would be a great way of users sharing real fighters that they have made to simulate fighters that are omitted from the official game.

I remember I made a really really good Mosley that I spent hour and hours doing for FN3. Looks fighting style.....etc.

We didn't go into CaB mode as it was incomplete, but we did get a rundown of the features. You'll be pleased, I think.

Awesome! Is Floyd in there? If so, I'd be curious to see how they implement his shoulder roll.
I can't say whether or not Floyd was in the game, but I will say the devs did a GREAT job of capturing styles. Emmanuel "Drunken Master" Augustus is in the game (I think I'm allowed to say that since that info was in a earlier press release), and one of the devs actually did the mo-cap for him, and it looks and feels perfect. Tyson's peek-a-boo style is down to a T.

I can't say whether or not Floyd was in the game, but I will say the devs did a GREAT job of capturing styles. Emmanuel "Drunken Master" Augustus is in the game (I think I'm allowed to say that since that info was in a earlier press release), and one of the devs actually did the mo-cap for him, and it looks and feels perfect. Tyson's peek-a-boo style is down to a T.
Is Augustus's presence an example of the depth of their licensing or is he the token cult favorite this year?

Is Augustus's presence an example of the depth of their licensing or is he the token cult favorite this year?
Well, the devs wanted to really make sure they did thier best to create a roster that would appease both the hardcore fans and casual fight fans. There are names on the roster that most people will never have heard of. Pretty much, if your favorite fighter isn't in the game, it's because his management sucks, or he wanted something ridiculous.

For instance, the devs contacted Hasim Rahman's team about being in the game- they replied that they wanted him to be the title fighter, lol. Some fighters contacted the team and asked to be in the game for free.

Well, the devs wanted to really make sure they did thier best to create a roster that would appease both the hardcore fans and casual fight fans. There are names on the roster that most people will never have heard of. Pretty much, if your favorite fighter isn't in the game, it's because his management sucks, or he wanted something ridiculous.

For instance, the devs contacted Hasim Rahman's team about being in the game- they replied that they wanted him to be the title fighter, lol. Some fighters contacted the team and asked to be in the game for free.
Thanks, that answers my question perfectly!

There's a new trailer up:

http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/14252467/fight-night-round-4/videos/_fightnight4_trl_sizzle.html

Also, you can watch IGN's "Rewind Theater" of it, where they break it down more for you.

There's a new trailer up:

http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/14252467/fight-night-round-4/videos/_fightnight4_trl_sizzle.html

Also, you can watch IGN's "Rewind Theater" of it, where they break it down more for you.
The height & reach will really add to the realism.. But hit detection & movements still seem robotic..

While all the promised features sound good I know from being a long time gamer and follower of EA sports that every year the promises and write ups sound great but it usually differs from what is actually delivered. Forgive my skepticism but I am always a little leary when I read about all the innovative features of a game, especially sports games because it is so difficult to replicate. I really do hope this game is great because the previous Fight Night games have turned me off to the series. In fact none of the Fight Night games have been very good in my opinion. I actually preferred it more when it was Knockout Kings and even that needed a lot of work.

Like others my biggest complaint is the volume of punches you can throw with minimal long term damage to your stamina. It seems like the only thing that hurts your stamina is getting hit and that has always bothered me. The other thing and probably my biggest complaint of the series is against the AI while playing offline it is virtually impossible to have a fight go the distance. Every fight you win by knockout and usually inside 6 rounds. The only people that would ever stretch it out is Ali and Chris Byrd and Byrd only because he ran but you would still get him. Once you get someone into trouble early its game over within a few rounds.

I would really really like to see a fight stretch out the distance and not just because of running and lack of punches. I remember in Fight Night Round 2 I got to the point of throwing only jabs against people and still knocking them out in Round 4. This was when I gave up on the series. I have high hopes though. The hockey games I gave up on in 2004 because they were so poor and this years 2009 is the best hockey game I have ever played so hopefully boxing can wow me too. The only thing that worries me is I heard there is only an analog system with no button use. I hope this is not true since I prefer buttons. Nothing is more annoying than wanting to throw a hook and throwing a jab, or wanting to throw an uppercut and throwing a hook. I know this isn't a true boxing sim but come on how many boxers want to throw an uppercut and accidentally throw a hook?