Fight Night Round 2

[Godfatha]

Well I just rented the game over the weekend and I must say that I will be purchasing it come payday. I did play it on the Xbox so there may be some differences but I can definitely say that this game was an improvement over the first.

First off, the annoying announcer who was a poor Chris Rock knockoff has been scrapped for a more credible announcer. The announcing did get a bit repetitive but it was nothing that got annoying. The music still has a hip-hop theme so that may turn a few people off.

As for the controls, the usual Total Punch Control is still here and I love boxing like this. I will never return to the button method as it's just too annoying. Haymakers have been added although they're far too easy to do and far too easy to dodge when the AI does it (and it's quite often).

A nice little addition is that on the Knockdown punch it shifts to a replay where everything is slowed down and the sound is amplified. If you play it with huge speakers (like I do) you can hear the sub going crazy on the punch.

The detail on the faces are quite impressive especially on the newest feature: the Cutman feature. Here in between rounds you play as the cutman to reduce swelling and the damage of cuts on all 4 corners of your face. It's very easy to get the hang of and all you do is rotate the right thumbstick following the beat of the pattern on screen. I see it as a little mini-game in between rounds.

The career mode has the usual "create your own boxer" and "take a regular boxer and take him to the top." What's even better is that you can change weightclasses and unify different titles. The training sessions have been changed. You can lift weights (by using the analog sticks to lift the weights), use the punching bag (how many times you can hit it in X amount of seconds) or the combo dummy (same as before).

The bad is that there are still some issues with collision detection. There were times that I knocked a guy down and I didn't even hit him (either he blocked or I was too far away). Not that I'm complaining of course There is also the issue that if you knock a guy down near the ropes, he'll sort of go into spasms. It's kind of funny to see but still, it takes away from the feel of the game.

But even still, I rather enjoyed this game and I highly reccomend it to anyone who's a fan of boxing.

A-

[King Ellis]

Is it worth getting if you already have the first?

[LL!]

With Splinter Cell 3 and Wrestlemania XXI coming out, I dunno how much time I would have for this, but I'm very interested in checking it out as the last Boxing game I played was Knockout Kings 2001.

[Cactus Drags]

I loved the spasming, although all too often it looked like was jacking off.

I hope the minigame feature is optional, as it sounds like it breaks up the flow of the game. Still, I might just pick this up. The total punch control is legendary.

[thatshortguy]

I hope the minigame feature is optional, as it sounds like it breaks up the flow of the game. Still, I might just pick this up. The total punch control is legendary.

←

Gotta admit that I thought the Cutman feature wasn't as fun as expected, and I didn't expect to be fun in the first place. It does interrupt the flow of the fight (although, once again, it gives folks that insane amount of realism that the kids seem to be clamoring on about), which annoyed me a bit. To its credit, though, it features a pretty b.a. Career Mode, and the taunts are as good as ever.

Roy Jones Jr. digging someone's grave as they're counted out = excellent.

[Fitzy]

Does it still have that incredibly annoying vision line up thing from the the first one? I hated that feature as it was just annoying. It turned me off the game big time and couldn't ever get into it because of it.

[Cactus Drags]

I loved the vision thing. Beats button-mashing anyday.

[thatshortguy]

Does it still have that incredibly annoying vision line up thing from the the first one? I hated that feature as it was just annoying. It turned me off the game big time and couldn't ever get into it because of it.

←

Yep. If you get drilled, you're going to have to try and line up the two targets to the middle of the screen in ten seconds.

If you have a cut over either eye, it actually makes it tougher to get that eye's target to the center. For example, if you have a cut over the right eye, it'll take more effort to get the right analog stick's corresponding target over to the middle area, whereas the left eye will move fairly normally.

[Cactus Drags]

Sounds like they've gone a bit far with that, there is a point where realism becomes a bad thing. I've not seen it done in a boxing game before though, it's usually mash the buttons or hope and pray you get up.

[Docpepper]

I'm really thinking of buying this game but is the create a boxer better this year or the same as before ?

[Godfatha]

The create a boxer mode is far better than last year's version. It's different in that for your body and your head, you don't choose pre-set bodies but you use the sticks to determine how much fat and muscle is present on your body. You do the same for the head and the ears. Then you tweak how the nose, the eyes, and mouth are. It's fairly detailed and I got a good representation of myself.

On a side note, I have to laugh in the opening video at Roy Jones getting pummelled on by Hopkins. Guess it's clear who EA loves now.

As for the vision thing when you get knocked down, it was hard at first because I had no idea what I was doing, then I just lined everything up to the center ref and I got up in 2 seconds. I can't say how difficult it is to get back up considering I had never been knocked down.

[Docpepper]

if its anything like the previous version , you can go into the options and disable the vision lining up deal

[JStarr]

Hopefully, Hopkins has a better year as coverboy than Jones did...the Madden jinx is obviously spreading.

A bigger and more diverse soundtrack would have suited the game nicely. If you make a giant tattooed punk-lookin' guy with a mohawk, it just seems odd to have him coming to the ring with Fabolous playing. And I like the fact that you start as an amateur as you try to get the hang of the game...and if you played the hell out of the first Fight Night, you can simply whip the hell out of everyone and pad the resume a bit. :thumbsup:

[LL!]

Question: Is the soundtrack for the game able to be altered in the XBOX version? That may be the deciding factor here.

[Enter Blue Guy]

I picked this bad boy up at EB on the way home from school. I loved the shit out of the first one, besides the fact Roy Jones kicked my ass over and over again for a long time. The guy at the counter (who is the nicest guy in the mall) told me he loved this game and it was much better then the original. Since he hasn't let me down yet when dishing out advice, I bought it and am going to play it as soon as I wrap up this essay I'm doing. I am a boxing fanatic and love realism, the vision line up didn't bother me in the first game and the cut man deal in this one sounds pretty damn cool. I'm a sucker for realism. I'll post my thoughts on the game later.

[jase12881]

Nearly all the minigame-like features can be automated so that you don't actually have to do them, though I believe you get a bigger advantage by doing them. It's not too much of an advantage though, so if you want to avoid them, you can.

As an example, I hate the combo dummy, so I simulated aggressive speed training the last time. I got +4 on speed (+5 is what you get for doing the minigame perfect) so I'm not complaining.

The create-a-champion mode is better than before, but I wish there were more/cooler nicknames. I went with "The Hammer"

As far as the lining up thing goes, I've only been knocked down once, but it's easier to line them up now since you're actually lining up a target (I'd actually prefer it without the target like 2004, but it is easier than 2004 so if you found that difficult, this should be a little better)

Also, I kind of don't like total punch control, so I go with button attack, but I still have to use the total punch control for haymakers, but it's not too bad. If I practiced it I could get into total punch control, but I find I can hit faster with the buttons.

My favorite thing is, to knock the guy down via a headbutt

[Godfatha]

I've avoided using haymakers entirely through out my career. I started off as a heavyweight, then I moved down to a light-heavyweight and blazed through that division. I won that title, then I got the offer to fight for the Heavyweight title. So I accepted and boy howdy I got tuned. It was the worse beating I ever took. Sure I had the speed, but the power of my opponent was insane. It ended in the 11th round by KO for me (I'm like 26-0 with 26 KO's) but the cuts were so bad that on my left eye, after each round it would be at 1000, right eye would be at 700ish, and for swelling, it would have the same numbers.

[Enter Blue Guy]

I found the path to the heavyweight title fight to be pretty easy. Up to the fight I was 36-0 with 36 KO's and only 3 fights going past the 6th round. Then I get to the heavyweight title fight and I face a guy who looks like Ivan Drago and he fucking overwhelmed me right off the bat. I go and try to assault the guy with body shots like I usually do. The first few rounds I usually go body shot combo, move back, dodge any shots my opponent throws and repeat until I weaken the opponent to just throw hard shots at my will and avoid most punches he throws, which works for me everytime. So I try that and the guy just throws hard haymaker after hard haymaker connecting every time fucking time. Usually I can get out the way of the haymaker's in time because you can see them coming a mile away. But this fucker had a huge reach advantage and I was like... what.. the... shit. He was making me his bitch. I try to get close and the fucker just unloaded on me. It was the first time I was on the defensive in any fight. Luckily, I avoided getting knocked down (in the first, he knocked me down in the second), but still, I got worked the first round. After that it was pure quick jabs, move back, try to lean away from the haymakers, and throw a weak combo when I see a good opening. He was controlling the pace of the fight and I was way out of my element. Finally, I wore him down enough to get in and throw hard shots, but even then I knocked him down like 8 times before I finally KO'd him in the 10th. He made my face look like ground beef. Swollen eyes, bloody mouth, but I finally put that fucker to sleep, asserting my rep as "The Sandman". Still, it was a war. It really did remind me of Rocky vs. Drago.

Edited March 12, 2005 by Enter Blue Guy

[Cactus Drags]

Total Punch Control is more skillful than the buttons. It stops button bashing for a start. I also enjoy the training games, I just dont like the sound of the cutman one. I'll hopefully be able to trade something in for Round 2 at Easter.

[Godfatha]

Maybe it's just the way I box, but I rarely ever cut open the guy's eyes. Whereas sometimes I can get my eye busted open in the first round. Maybe I don't use haymakers, but their nose and lips get busted open and that's it. Anyone else experience that or is this just me?