Tenkaipalm
03-16-09, 03:21 PM
In nearly every sports videogame, there is an element of the core gameplay that is never quite as realistic as it should be. In Basketball games, it the rebounding. In Football, it's the passing. In Hockey, it's the puck movement. And in Boxing games... it's pretty much everything in the ring. And in all of these cases, the culprit is the physics engine. Where as other sports genres have tried to compensate by making the physics more complex, Boxing games have taken the opposite route, by simplifying the action to avoid physics issues. Unfortunately, this means we ususally get a virtual version of Rock-emSock-em Robots, with the advanced physics regulated to such trivial duties as ragdoll knockdown animations.
Not anymore.
EA's Vancouver team realized that in order to create a closer simulation of the sweet science, they had to better incorporate all aspects of the in-ring action. Infighting, outfighting, punch location, and punch impact, to name some. In order to do that, they had to embrace a more complex physics engine, and boy, did they.
Upon first laying eyes on the action, I witnessed an Ali-Tyson mythical matchup. Ali was simply keeping Tyson at bay with his superior reach. Tyson weaved left then right, slipped the jab, then threw a right hook to the body (like the Tyson of old). Ali threw a right hand, but the range was wrong- the punch grazed Tyson's left shoulder, and Ali's arm ended up draped over Tyson's back. Mike went into Ali's chest, and the two fell into a semi-clinch. Mike threw a right uppercut to break out of the clinch. The punch landed flush, and Ali went into the ropes, clearly stunned. Tyson jumps in on him, but Ali pushes him away, and is able to recover.
Another bout, a fighter catches an overhand right to the temple clean, and is wobbled. He tries to cover up, but his opponent unleashes a barrage of punches to his guard. He punches through the guard, but his arm gets caught in the guard. The hurt fighter tries to take the opportunity to clinch, but eats an uppercut. He falls into his opponent, but doesn't go down because his opponent's body is keeping him up. The other fighter moves away, and the hurt fighter finally goes down.
Now, raise your hand if you've ever seen anything like that in a boxing game. Yea, thought I wouldn't see any. Now, raise your hand if you've ever seen anything like that in real life? That's more like it.
The game is able to create these realistic situations due to the incredible physics engine. Punches actually "track" this time around, so it's possible to hit a ducking opponent. The location of the punch determines the effect of the blow, not just the power. A clean, vicious punch on the chin can cause your fighter to be seriously hurt, even if your health is full. Flash KD's are more common. Ever hear a fighter talk about he's going to just hit the other guy everywhere? You can actually do that now. Punches to your opponent's arms will wear down his guard (Winky Wright users beware). Distance from an opponent helps determine how a punch is thrown. Not getting full extension on a punch will nullify it's power, like in real life. Phone-booth fights are possible, along with strategic chess matches.
All of this is possile due to the incredible amount of sequences each fighter can do. Brizzo informed us that in Fight Night Round 3, if you linked all the possible sequences together and recorded it, it would amount to about 17 minutes of footage. Do the same in round 4, and you have an incredible 45 hours of footage.
Incredible visuals
I remember the first time I saw the Fight Night Round 3. I think that was truly the first Next-gen looking title to have been released. But Round 4 trumps it.
Firstly, the game runs at a consistent 60 frames per second as opposed to Round 3's 30. The result is more fluid action. The game looks more like you're watching a real bout on TV. the texture work appears mostly the same, but the effects are better. Blood and sweat sprays look more realistic. Fighters get sweatier as the bout progresses. The fighter's muscle tones (or lack thereof in a few of the heavyweight's cases) are more pronounced. Back muscles flex and ripple with every punch. The facial reactions to punches are more varied and realistic. The facial damage is realistically gruesome. Unlike Round 3, it's more noticeable during the action.
Each fighter's respective style was represented well from what I saw. The motion capture actors did an excellent job. Brizzo even did the acting for one fighter in particular (I won't say who), and the result was hilariously realistic.
The crowds look awesome, and they actually react realistically to the action. Judges and commentators are ringside, and the arenas look spot-on to their true life counterparts. My only disappointment was the lack of a ref in the ring. But, after oh, about 30 seconds, I didn't even notice.
This is honestly one of the most visually impressive games I've seen. Screenshots don't really do this game justice, but here are a few exclusive ones direct from EA to salivate over:
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/4894/mailgooglecomcsu.jpg
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1629/mailgooglecom2c.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1964/mailgooglecom3.jpg
Just writing about this has got me wanting to play it again. I'll keep updating as I get the word to release more.
Not anymore.
EA's Vancouver team realized that in order to create a closer simulation of the sweet science, they had to better incorporate all aspects of the in-ring action. Infighting, outfighting, punch location, and punch impact, to name some. In order to do that, they had to embrace a more complex physics engine, and boy, did they.
Upon first laying eyes on the action, I witnessed an Ali-Tyson mythical matchup. Ali was simply keeping Tyson at bay with his superior reach. Tyson weaved left then right, slipped the jab, then threw a right hook to the body (like the Tyson of old). Ali threw a right hand, but the range was wrong- the punch grazed Tyson's left shoulder, and Ali's arm ended up draped over Tyson's back. Mike went into Ali's chest, and the two fell into a semi-clinch. Mike threw a right uppercut to break out of the clinch. The punch landed flush, and Ali went into the ropes, clearly stunned. Tyson jumps in on him, but Ali pushes him away, and is able to recover.
Another bout, a fighter catches an overhand right to the temple clean, and is wobbled. He tries to cover up, but his opponent unleashes a barrage of punches to his guard. He punches through the guard, but his arm gets caught in the guard. The hurt fighter tries to take the opportunity to clinch, but eats an uppercut. He falls into his opponent, but doesn't go down because his opponent's body is keeping him up. The other fighter moves away, and the hurt fighter finally goes down.
Now, raise your hand if you've ever seen anything like that in a boxing game. Yea, thought I wouldn't see any. Now, raise your hand if you've ever seen anything like that in real life? That's more like it.
The game is able to create these realistic situations due to the incredible physics engine. Punches actually "track" this time around, so it's possible to hit a ducking opponent. The location of the punch determines the effect of the blow, not just the power. A clean, vicious punch on the chin can cause your fighter to be seriously hurt, even if your health is full. Flash KD's are more common. Ever hear a fighter talk about he's going to just hit the other guy everywhere? You can actually do that now. Punches to your opponent's arms will wear down his guard (Winky Wright users beware). Distance from an opponent helps determine how a punch is thrown. Not getting full extension on a punch will nullify it's power, like in real life. Phone-booth fights are possible, along with strategic chess matches.
All of this is possile due to the incredible amount of sequences each fighter can do. Brizzo informed us that in Fight Night Round 3, if you linked all the possible sequences together and recorded it, it would amount to about 17 minutes of footage. Do the same in round 4, and you have an incredible 45 hours of footage.
Incredible visuals
I remember the first time I saw the Fight Night Round 3. I think that was truly the first Next-gen looking title to have been released. But Round 4 trumps it.
Firstly, the game runs at a consistent 60 frames per second as opposed to Round 3's 30. The result is more fluid action. The game looks more like you're watching a real bout on TV. the texture work appears mostly the same, but the effects are better. Blood and sweat sprays look more realistic. Fighters get sweatier as the bout progresses. The fighter's muscle tones (or lack thereof in a few of the heavyweight's cases) are more pronounced. Back muscles flex and ripple with every punch. The facial reactions to punches are more varied and realistic. The facial damage is realistically gruesome. Unlike Round 3, it's more noticeable during the action.
Each fighter's respective style was represented well from what I saw. The motion capture actors did an excellent job. Brizzo even did the acting for one fighter in particular (I won't say who), and the result was hilariously realistic.
The crowds look awesome, and they actually react realistically to the action. Judges and commentators are ringside, and the arenas look spot-on to their true life counterparts. My only disappointment was the lack of a ref in the ring. But, after oh, about 30 seconds, I didn't even notice.
This is honestly one of the most visually impressive games I've seen. Screenshots don't really do this game justice, but here are a few exclusive ones direct from EA to salivate over:
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/4894/mailgooglecomcsu.jpg
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1629/mailgooglecom2c.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1964/mailgooglecom3.jpg
Just writing about this has got me wanting to play it again. I'll keep updating as I get the word to release more.