Fight Night 2004 delivers a solid boxing game, with enough features to make it a classic.
Why: Well, simply put, this is a great boxing game. I mean I thought, "you know it's boxing, after a while it'll get dull and repetative." While it does get repetative, it is certainly not dull.
You can fight right off the bat with the play now feature that allows you to go head-to-head with any of the game's multiple boxing personalities such as Muhamed Ali, Roy Jones Jr, Lennox Louis and many more. However the real fun of the game is in career mode.
You start by choosing one of the boxers you wish to play as, OR by creating your own. This is where the game takes off. The ammount of customization is incredible and although you can't make a boxer that looks EXACTLY like you, you can come darn close. This is perhaps the best part of the game, makling boxers and unleashing them into career mode to unlock stuff such as new trunks, shoes, ring entrance effects and etc.
Although the career is good, it isn't perfect. The lack of much challenge at the beginning and then the sudden dificulty in later fights (only if you havn't trained on your own though) can be very frusterating, but the worst part is when you fight the speed-based fighters. I like to call them "speed balls", because they essentially dance circles around you in the ring and rarely let you get in a punch. This means rounds of frusterating chasing and the only hope of winning is often by decision. Perhaps this was a flaw, or simply an oversight but these fights against the speed balls wouldn't be so hard had the game allowed you to punch while you move. Instead you have to walk up to the never-ceasing-to-move fiend, and stop in order to hit him, by which time he has moved out of your range.
Other than that it's a great gameplay experience and the fun really begins when you go head-to-head with a friend.
Graphics: 8
Why: These are superb graphics. The character models (not the crowd mind you) are very realistic and when you've punched your opponent enough times, and/or hard enough, the swelling and cuts begin to be visible. My only grudge here is that the cuts and bruises always develope the same no matter how hard you hit them. Eg: a left hook will always count towards the damage on the right eye of your opponent. But overall it's good.
Sound: 3 (and that's being generous)
Why: Well, first of all, this game could have really benefitted from some customizable soundtracks. Instead, you've got a small selection of rap and hip-hop tunes that are simply ugly and annoying. So right away, I turned the music off. Next you have the game's announcer, Big igger, who does a great job at sounding as if he's really into the fight and the punches, but his unprofessional sound makes for an amatuerish feel to the whole boxing scene. The sound effects are good, though, and so are the grunts that come from the boxers as they get nailed.
Value: 9
Why: Fight Night 2004 is simply too good a game to let pass you by. The gameplay is superb, and the repetativness that it may have after playing it as long as I have, only helps you to be able to make new boxers and quickly advance in rank in the career mode and make a great boxer to play against your friends with in play now.
Reviewer's Tilt: 10
Why: Although it has some bumpy and rough spots, Fight Night 2004 is one of my favorite games and, certainly, my favorite fighting game.