After watching the Rocky movies, I had to have a boxing game. I picked this one up and wasn't disappointed.
User Rating: 9.4 | Fight Night Round 3 XBOX
Fight Night Round 3 is a very realistic boxing game for the Xbox. There are a lot of different modes, but, the best one is the career mode. This is where you make your own boxer (or choose from one of the included boxers) and take him to the top. There are 4 different training modes that can boost your stats if you do well in them. Before you train though, you must decide which boxer you will fight. There is usually a pool of 3-4 boxers to pick from, each having different stats and rewards for winning. The fighting system might be the best I have ever seen. You use the right analog stick for just about all of your punches. Slight right will make a straight left jab, vice versa with slight left. To do a hook, do a quarter turn with the right analog stick. To do an upper cut, do a half turn with the right analog stick. The A button does your signature punch. That's just the basics though. You control your boxer with the left analog stick. To block you hold the right trigger and move the right stick in the direction you want to block. To avoid punches, you hold the left trigger and move the left stick in the direction you want to avoid. It all seems complicated, but once you get into the groove, it's quite simple. When you are fighting, each boxer has a health meter. Once you drain your opponent's meter, he begins to wobble. Land one more good punch at he will drop to the floor. If he gets back up before 10 seconds, knock him down again. Sometimes you only have to knock him down once, other times you need four or five knockdowns until he stays down. This is truly one of the greatest fighting games of all time. The graphics for the boxers themselves are fantastic. The graphics for the fans are just awful though. If your going to make awesome graphics for some of the people, why not take time to make the rest look nice. Sound is also great. You get the best feeling when your glove hist and opponents face and you hear that crunching sound. Just awesome. Any fan of boxing, or, someone who just likes a good game can;t go wrong with Fight Night Round 3.
