Fight Night 360 K.O.'s current-gen contenders

by James Ransom-Wiley on Feb 7th 2006 1:15PM

According to 1UP's recent multiplatform comparison, Fight Night Round 3 for the Xbox 360 looks to be the first next-gen title that will pull away from its current-gen brethren. To date, ten titles featured in the 360's library are also available on the PS2 & Xbox. And while critics agree that these next-gen editions are prettier, some titles, namely Madden, are so stripped down in the features department that it's tough to recommend them over the current-gen offerings—and let's not forget that King Kong 360 was nearly unplayable on standard definition TVs.

Thankfully, this trend is all set to change with the launch of Fight Night Round 3. The 360 version is the definitive version, featuring improved visuals and animations that actually enhance the gameplay, including the Playdough-face super punch replays—and in this case, the fact that the game lacks a feature the PS2 & Xbox versions have, the HUD, is a good thing. To be fair, the current-gen versions will include all of the new gameplay features added to the 360 version in addition to a real-time ESPN news ticker (apparently "online technology overseas" prevented its inclusion in the 360 version). So, those that have not made the upgrade will still have a good game on their hands, but they may never understand what all the fuss is about.

Source

Tags: PS2, PSP, Xbox, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (22)

It's definitely the best of the bunch, but honestly the animations are pretty choppy.
We spent some time playing the demo this weekend and it's fun for a bit, but really it makes for better screenshots than gameplay because of the animation choppiness.
I guess because the rest of visuals are so good, we expected it to play smoother.

Anyway, fun for a bit. I won't be buying it, but it was great to download it for free.

Choppy?

Must have played a different demo than me. I played a little last night and it still floors me. Not only is it a very pretty game, but the gameplay is improved as well. This is one game that will make a nice addition to my game library.

I would have to agree with #2. I never had interest in Fight Night before I played the 360 demo. My room mate was into, but I never "joined the club". However, the demo may actually lead me to buy it.

I wouldn't say it is "choppy", I would just say that some of the transitions may not seem as natural as they maybe could be. The gameplay is superb, especially with the fantastic Xbox 360 controller.

I guess we were comparing it to the E3 FightNight demos that EA had demo'ed.

Don't get me wrong, it's not awful, it's just not silky smooth.

But it's $20 more than current gen...is it worth it? Yeah, but $20?

But it's a demo. Demo's are supposed to be unfinished and glitchy. I expect (read:hope) that the final version will be an improvement over the demo and it's awful attempt at capturing the "big moments" of each round.

The game rox, i didn't see any choppiness. Smooth as hell and crystal clear

This game is something else. At first I was impressed with the visuals on my old 480p tv. Then I took it over my friends and saw it in 720p or 1080i, whichever it was, his tv does either, and I was amazed. The game runs very smoothly. The only thing I will complain about is when the boxers fall their bodies will twitch a bit. A big improvement over the previous boxer though. I love how there is no HUD whatsoever on the screen.

Wow $20 more? Really?

The game looks good, the animation is a bit jumpy (ie not smooth), but it still looks pretty good.

Honestly I'll play the demo rather than pay for it. It's fun for a few minutes, but come on.

This game is awesome. Everytime I have friends over we play the demo and it's a blast. Everyone loves it. If you like playing with friends in the same room this game is a must have.

I must say that being able to demo a game definately is a good strategy at selling more games. I was not thinking at all about buying this game till the demo. It is now a must have for me. On the other hand...Segas Full Auto demo has clearly given me a clue that the game is crap.

this is why demos are released. I have read developer blogs and magazine articles addressing that EA has tweaked the game speed and fluidness as an adjustment to the criticism they recieved over the demo. I wouldn't call the demo "choppy" but just overall slower paced than previous current gen versions of the game that I have played. No fear though...EA has addressed that the game will be tweaked and will run better in it's final version. This is stuff that companies just COULD NOT do before. Release a demo, get feedback, adjust what's needed, then release. It's a foolproof solution that the PC gaming has had but the console gaming industry could have used YEARS ago...unless your talking about an iD game...they for some reason release there demos MONTHS after the actual game is out. But that's another story.

"But it's $20 more than current gen...is it worth it? Yeah, but $20?"

this just makes me laugh. I'm assuming from your comment that you have a 360...if you do...did you not know when you bought the 360 that games would be $60? I mean, that was pretty much a given from E3 on. I still to this day do not understand why people would buy a 360, and then complain that the games are $60? It makes no sense. This would be like buying a Hummer right now and then complaining because it costs you more for gas. Give me a break.

Besides, it's only $10. N64 games were $60 years ago, and games have been coming out at $50 since NES. It's about time for a price increase. Anything else bought in 1985 has since doubled or even tripled in cost by now...game prices are subject to the same inflation as everything else. If you ask me it's good for the industry. The developers will get more out of there efforts, and it's not something that is going to change. Although I won't be surprised if nintendo keeps at $50...and then maybe 2 years down the road MS and Sony follow suit. If you don't want to pay $60, then wait a week or two, go to your local EB, and buy the used copy for $45-50.

I agree with #12 totally. Think about how much the cost of game development has gone up over the past 20+ years, yet prices have stayed the same. We're lucky we aren't seeing games for 70+ (sonic and knuckles) the way things are. Cost have increased, the prices have to increase, this is good for the industry. If developers (theoretically) have more many, they just MIGHT be more willing to risk some of that on a new IP instead of rehasing the same old things. I'm not saying sequels is a bad thing, but sometimes something new is needed. Take grand theft auto for example, how much more can they do to make that game better, and according to the blogs they plan on making 8 more over the next 5 years? That's just ridiculous. But that's besides the point.

As far is i know the average income has increased vastly since 1985, it's time for the price of games to reflect that. I don't like seing a $60 price tag as much as the next guy... but you either have to deal with it or like he said, buy used.

It's 10 dollars, not 25, 30, or 40. 10, that's not much. I remember paying 70+ for Virtua Racing for Genesis, anyone remember that one? I've been a fan of Fight Night for a long time, the quality of this demo (that's DEMO NOT FINAL) is increadible and I'd happily plunk down 60 or more for it. My only wish is that there's a way to manually get up after a knock down and not leave it up to the sunjectivity of AI. If you're a boxing fan, or just a fan of quality gaming, you can't go wrong with Fight Night. This is the game that should shut up the whiney mouth babies who weren't fortunate enough to get a 360 so they subsequently call it crap. The graphics surpass ANYTHING seen thus far and I'm thrilled I spent the money on the system. I instantly regretted my Virtua Racing purchase, but I've never once regretted the 360. I was a PS fanboy, but MS is where it's at right now. Maybe that'll change, but for now, who cares. The only downside to Fight Night is that it's released on Valentine's Day and I'll most likely get in trouble from my wife for playing it and ignoring her. That's a much larger price to pay than the aforementioned 10 bucks.

The head reactions to jabs and others fast punch ARE choppy. The head just get back a little. No feedback at all.

Let's hope EA will fix this for the final version.

If you experienced the demo being choppy I don't doubt you. But you gotta relize that it was a demo and not the final retail copy. The choppyness will be gone in the final version.

"It's about time for a price increase."

Sure...enjoy spending $59.99 on a game like Gun for the 360.

Black is coming out in a few weeks and it costs $39.99. Go figure. It's a supply/demand pricing model...it always will be. I remember paying $59.99 for Ninja Gaiden on NES back in the 80's, but that was because of Nintendo's royalty and cartridge costs and the risks included. CDs did away with such suck costs, whence why game prices (to both the consumer and the publisher) were immediately lower with the PS1.

I just think the publishers are charging more because they can...because it is expected, though not in any way justified.

Um, I can't figure this game out :D

It's smooth, I think. Playing one "level" kinda blows, and though I keep knocking out the other opponent (and get my butt handed to me as much --I'm Jones, right?), I still am just Tekken-firing fast (read: no clue, pressing every button, sending Hail Marys.

:)

Sell it to me now...or sell it to me in five minutes when I'm done cleaning up all this drool.

Great game, I can't wait to play the full version!

If anyone gives a toss about price, I remember paying around $75 (Australian) for Golden Axe on the Sega Master System when it first came out....

#17 how can you say it's not justified? You probably can't name one consumer electronic or anything else for that matter that cost the same ammount as it did in 1985. The cost of making these things has gone up, so why shouldn't the cost of purchasing them?

Fight Night 360 K.O.'s current-gen contenders

Reader Comments (22)

Posted: Feb 7th 2006 1:37PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Feb 7th 2006 1:46PM (Unverified) said

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Posted: Feb 7th 2006 2:23PM tigws6 said

Posted: Feb 7th 2006 2:31PM Rudolphe22 said

Posted: Feb 7th 2006 2:50PM leffga said

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Posted: Feb 7th 2006 3:43PM Bobbo said

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Posted: Feb 7th 2006 4:03PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Feb 7th 2006 4:13PM Rudolphe22 said

Posted: Feb 7th 2006 4:55PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Feb 7th 2006 5:17PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Feb 7th 2006 5:53PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Feb 7th 2006 6:11PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Feb 7th 2006 8:07PM iomatic said

Posted: Feb 7th 2006 9:08PM Don Jose said

Posted: Feb 8th 2006 3:36AM Djtodd said

Posted: Feb 8th 2006 4:32AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Feb 8th 2006 4:32PM Rudolphe22 said

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