Who said “pre-rendered”
Lets just get this out of the way now shall we? This game is absolutely astonishing in terms of the visuals and its not until you play this game that you can say we are truly into the next-gen era.
When the first couple of trailers came out for this game a few words that popped up more then ounce were “pre-rendered” and despite EA denying it, fan boys were still addiment that these type of visuals were just not possible, well they can start eating there words as these graphics are as real as ever. All that was promised from EA like real time sweating and visuals actually affecting game play are all here as well. Now we all know that sexy slick graphics don’t make a game but they are done so well that they actually have an impact on the way you approach your fight thereby affecting game play. With the lack of hubs on screen you have to rely on your own instinct, fighters will slouch over when they are tied, there punches will appear desperate and there overall body language will suggest to you that they would rather be at home on the couch watching rather then fighting. Also close examination of your opponents facial expressions will tell you when he’s about to hit the canvas or when to get the hell out of the way, this all works well considering it’s the first time this franchise or any fighting genre franchise has had no hub.
The animations are about as smooth as a babies bottom, but its not until a KO that we see the rough edges which is my only gripe about the visuals. When you or your opponent get knocked to the canvas sometimes the animation will stutter up and it will look like the boxer is having a bit of a spaz. Other then that this is a very polished looking game. Even the little things have been given a bit of spit and polish, things like hair movement, this shines when a boxer has long hair or dreads and the slow motion cut-scenes are “matrix amazing.” When this occurs your bound to get a few ohh and arch’s from ya mates.
Ali upstaged?
"The greatest of all time" Muhammad Ali was on a plane when a stewardess asked him to fasten
his seat belt, Ali told the lady "Superman dont need no seat belt". The
stewardess told the champ "Superman dont need no plane!"
Ding, Ding, Ding!
Now who woulda thought this... The sound in a video game actually has an impact on the game play just as much as the visuals do. Now if your deaf I suggest you go to the options menu and turn on the hub, I say this because the sound in the game is so important that it can be the difference between a win and your ass on the deck. The main things you want to listen out for is your boxers breathing pattern, if its heavy you are going to want to take a defensive stance for the time being as this means your boxer is fatigued. Another thing to keep your ears open for is the commentator. Although a tad repetitive the commentator acts as a good gauge on how the fight is going. He will often help you out with a few tips and hints and will also tell ya when you are about to fall and likewise for you opponent, he also helps when you want to know who the momentum is with. Its not just the commentator you have to listen to but take it from me, you should also listen to your trainer when in the corner. He will help you out immensely with tonnes of info based on the fights happenings. Other nice little touches include the crowd being very responsive to what’s happening in the ring and when things get real exciting the crowd will even get out of there seats and shadow box to will you on.
Now the sound out of the ring is not so impressive, with a very limited soundtrack which becomes repetitive quite fast, so fast that you will be humming the tunes in no time.
Get in the ring
Game play is what has put fight night on the map, with one of the easiest and innovative control schemes seen in gaming. This control scheme appeals to both the newbies to the franchise and the hardcore fans as its easy to pick up and works well and is responsive at that.
EA is famous for chucking out yearly versions of sport titles with a few upgrades here and there but this is not the case here. They outdone themselves by adding a few new modes. One of them is named after the title of this section, Get in the ring takes a new look on the game, I mean this literally, you really do get a new look at the game. In this mode you are the boxer and its all portrayed in a first person perspective. I still prefer the regular camera but this is quite a fun mode when played with a mate.
The other new mode is thanks to the ESPN deal signed a few years back, EA have the rights to anything sport pretty much and its taken them a year to actually use it to there advantage and with this particular game they use it well, with ESPN classic fights. You can relive the rumble in the jungle, the thriller in Manilla you can pretty much play through some of the most famous fights that have ever taken place.
Another main addition to hit the series is new types of punches, although not groundbreaking they do throw up a few more options for the player. Particularly the stun punch will have the strategists shiting there pants as this can change the fight single handily, although a risky punch as it takes a wind up and a half to throw it can win you a fight if it manages to land. When actually in the ring you better be using your fighters strengths to there fullest otherwise you will be waking up in a hospital in no time. The overall balance in the ring is just superb, so if you have a boxer that’s based around speed he will want to move the bigger fighter around and make him miss and it actual works, the bigger fighter will soon tier out and then you can just lay in to him so real life tactics will work in the virtual ring.
However the mode you will be spending the most time in will be that of the career mode. You have the choice to either create a rookie or bring a legend out of retirement, ala Rocky, and go from the underworld of boxing to the bright lights of heavy weight champion of the world. For the most of it, this mode is fairly basic and lacks some depth although it does what its suppose to. The mini training games make another appearance and are just as easy as they have always been. It could really do with a bit of a makeover, perhaps add a typical boxing storyline to it, again ala rocky
Did you know?
Geroge "the grill" Foreman on his lastest promotion tour to NZ was asked if he liked the sport of rugby, His reply..."RUGBY! {laughs} Man that sport is crazy, I have huge respect for all players of the game as they take hits all the time and without a second thought they get straight back up and go again" Reporter: So would you let your kids play the sport? Foreman: "Oh no, no, no I would rather my kids take up the sport of boxing rather then rugby, its just to dangerous for my liking"
Man VS man
I’ve had one session of online gaming on this game and must say that its quite well set out with some pretty good stats and info is readily available for each player and with leader boards making an appearance as well you will be able to mark yourself up against some of the best analogue stick sluggers in the world. Something else that attracted my attention was the ESPN integration, you get the latest scores, news and video with live ticker updates, ESPN radio, ESPNEWS and ESPN Motion. This will mainly appeal to the Americans as ESPN tends to focus on the more American dominated sports.
Is it a K.O
Well I’d say it’s a T.K.O as it does have its minor gripes but for a first gen game on the PS3 it stands up well as one of the premium sport titles on the market.
Round 4?
Now I dont think theres any dout that there will be a round 4 when you consider its EA thats making the game and they truly are the king of sequals
We all know that the sport of boxing often throws up fairytale storys for athletes who live on the street and fight for street cred untill they come across the sport of boxing, so perhaps a story in the career mode would give it some much needed depth. I mean all they gotta do is watch a few episodes of the TV series "Contender" and you will have half a dozen storys to pick ideas from.
Use of the motion senceing was fully missing in Round three, so the debut of motion sencing in round 4 would be something to look forwd to.
Capture the glammour of boxing. In round 3 EA captured the underground of boxing, the windy City Gym did that on its own but we see boxers at the end of there careers with there hummers and bling bling and firework entrances and we just dont see anything like that in Round 3
Pay for a demo!? Pah! That would never happen. And if it did, we'd definitely do a little checking before running a story on it... But some demos kick all the ass, and here's 10 we'd happily pay for.
Wouldn't pay for any of them and its not because they aren't good games
i was buying playstation magazines for psx demo discs, i remember playing the shit out of THPS demo.
I rarely play demos as I'm usually sure about which games interest me and which do not, and I don't want to spoil even the slightest bit of the games I'm truly interested in. So ultimately the only demos I try out are for games I know I'm not going to buy. I don't even touch alphas or betas for much the same reason. I don't understand why anyone would pay for a demo.
Except that it was a mistake which has since been corrected. Who likes pesky facts though, eh?
Not 85% (roughly) of the posters on this site thats for sure, they LOVE misinformation. The glossy mag journos of the internet are a rabid bunch :)
Without facts we would live in a lawless society, which I wouldn't mind. The strong or the most cunning will rule and everyone else are fodder.
Since we do have actual facts that are universally accepted, we can come together and have a civil debate.
I highly doubt it was a mistake. Out of all companies. Keep in mind ea and microsoft also have a contract. I am sure it was damage control
I am, and it's free, until I pay 60 euro in September of course. But then I also get a full game. It's a sham US & Canada have to pay for pre-orders but that's probably more to do with the banking/credit card system over there than to do with MS/sony/activision/bungie.
Getting into the destiny Beta also means ordering the full game...no extra nor separate price, you just get to play the game for 10 days a month before release as an incentive or pre order bonus. Not to mention you can cancel your pre order after the beta if you like.
You know the article wasn't being 100% sincere, I think they're being slightly hyperbolic about it.
Lost a few weeks of my life to that MGS2 demo :)
The MGS1 demo was passed around my primary school classroom like the common cold, took me months to get that back eventually! There was one kid who would pretend not be home when I called to get it back.
And speaking of paying for demos, people offered me their pocket money to buy the MGS1 demo off me haha.
I love how everyone took an article celebrating some of the most memorable demos in history and turned it in to a negative discussion. Hats off to you people, you are the bitterness in my morning coffee and I love it :D
Mgs1 demo you had to buy as it came with pro evo if I remember and I think mgs2 came with zone of enders.
"I love how everyone took an article celebrating some of the most memorable demos in history and turned it in to a negative discussion. Hats off to you people, you are the bitterness in my morning coffee and I love it :D"
lol I'm still trying to digest EverydayGuy's bad attempt at sounding profound (comment #2.1.2). I can't even consider an on topic response yet.
I'll move on to the bitterness once I'm done with that.
I'm not paying for a demo, I don't care. Now publishers, what you COULD do to EARN more sales with upcoming games without screwball tactics is what a few games have done back in the day: make a game that you don't expect to make PHENOMENAL sales from, and add a sneek peak/5 minute demo of your upcoming big hit. A game that did that was Zone of the Enders with a sneek peak at MGS2. What's wrong with that?
From LEGO Batman and King Kong to NBA 2K6, Fight Night Round 3 and more, 411's Dan Watson takes a look at the easiest games to get achievement points in!
By now consumers have lived in a generation where digital downloads is what has been growing the media over the last couple of years. We are beyond the years where demos are a special sneak peek or only a select few are able to receive them through magazine subscriptions etc. Demos today have been made downloadable through marketplaces like PSN, Xbox Live and PC to deliver the experience on a mass level. It's also no surprise that this is a huge way to market a game and expand sales upon consumer's that are either on the fence of a purchase or weren't in the market for one in the first place.
"These can help, however all of these outcomes can have a negative spin and show more faults then not in this scenario. So while some developers and publishers see demos as beneficial, others don't seem to go in the same direction. Some reading this article might be scratching their heads at why developers wouldn't, but there are a few reasons why:"
But 10 minutes on FUEL turned me off the game.
If that was the actual game, then the devs should be ashamed of themselves. If not, they should have had better sense than putting that thing out.
No demo no thanks!???
So, if there's no demo for Halo 3 and Code of Duty 4 (which there isn't)
You wouldn't buy it right?
Another gamer who loses out.
Just rent the game!
Come on! Those are well known games well into their franchises who need no introduction. New IPs have struggled on the Wii that, imo, would have done way better with a demo but Wii and Ninty just don't seem to get the needs of third parties on their console.
That said a bad demo can put you off a great game(hello Sega and VC demo!) or fool you into thinking a games OK(hello Sega, again, and the misleading Sonic Unleashed demo which made it all seem like it would be gloriopus leggy, leggy sonic stuff with no bloody Werehogs!)but overall I'd like the chance to see what the games run like and play like.
there has been so many games that never released a demo and still ridiculously sold so many copies. Games like gears of war, gears of war 2, halo 3, call of duty 4, GTAIV, and fallout 3.
