WHAT PLAY YOU!? Version 2.0

[NorthSeaTiger]

Has the booking system been changed since Pro Evo 15? We got that for our son as a change from FIFA, and we were sick of being booked or sent off for EVERY single sliding tackle we made. There just seemed to be no room for error, and whilst its more realistic that FIFA, its bloody frustrating. We will be back to FIFA this year methinks...

[RancidPunx]

Nope, it's quite hard to get a booking in Pro Evo.

 

 

 

I am almost nervous about playing online.

 

Presume the standard is very high

[Shucky Ducky]

Her Story

 

Not strictly a game as such, just more unravelling a series of police interview tapes that make up a murder mystery

 

It's quite good and engrossing

But I wanted more, would love a complete "cold cases" type game

Think it'd be cool

[RancidPunx]

Is there any good forums for Pro Evo?

 

Have lots of stupid questions.

 

I plan to immerse myself in this for the winter.

[Steve Justice]

PES World is the best place to go.

[Teedy Kay]

FIFA 16 is broken, run a player into the box and penalties ensue.

 

As a defender you don't even have to press a button and the attacker will go over and the ref will give it.

 

It's utter fucking dross.

 

Finesse Shooting goals from anywhere are shit too.

[Murtz]

What has happened with FIFA since 2014? I'd understand if it didn't improve but it's actually become shitter?

 

Complacency from winninh every year perhaps?

[Steve Justice]

It echos what happened to PES when the 360 and PS3 came out. It turned to shit.

 

It's a shame really. I'm getting bored of importing kits on PES at the moment. It's all I'm doing in between the odd competition. Roll on 29th October.

[Bettencourt]

FIFA 16 is broken, run a player into the box and penalties ensue.

 

As a defender you don't even have to press a button and the attacker will go over and the ref will give it.

 

It's utter fucking dross.

 

Finesse Shooting goals from anywhere are shit too.

 

I think it's just reflecting modern day football as fouls, free kicks, penalties are given for just about anything these days.

[MungoChutney]

I've noticed that I'm winning a few penalties but I've yet to concede one that I can remember.  The game play is actually ok I think but how a game can make the player models look worse than a previous incarnation is beyond me.  The size of some the players heads in proportion to their bodies is ridiculous.

[AnotherCrapUsername]

Just picked up a PS3 for £25. Thought it was a decent buy to be fair.

 

Only problem is, being an Xbox man myself, I'm out of the loop.

 

Can I play PS1 or PS2 games on it?

 

What games do people recommend that I puck up to play?

[Kamaras-Tash]

Anyone played the UFC game for the PS4? Only had a Ps4 for a couple of months so been going for games whilst not new I'd not played ( completed Imfamous 2, Last Of Us & Dying Light )

 

I loved the UFC games on the 360 much preferred it to the EA one which I bought at the time although that was decent as well, are the controls similar to the Undisputed games rather than EA MMA.

 

I remember seeing a video on Youtube of the new UFC game and it highlighted loads of glitches with funny commentary making it look shite, it's on the PSN store for £10.79 at the minute though so it's tempting 

[Merzbow]

Just picked up a PS3 for £25. Thought it was a decent buy to be fair.

 

Only problem is, being an Xbox man myself, I'm out of the loop.

 

Can I play PS1 or PS2 games on it?

 

What games do people recommend that I puck up to play?

 

The Uncharted games and The Last of Us are probably the most obvious exclusives but some personal favs are Yakuza 3/4, Demon's Souls, MGS 4 (tho you really need to play the others before it but there's a Legacy collection with them all) and Journey.

 

A lot of people would say Heavy Rain so maybe try that, I wasn't a fan as I found the voice acting and story to be rotten.

Edited October 7, 2015 by Merzbow

[Onyx2]

Just picked up a PS3 for £25. Thought it was a decent buy to be fair.

 

Only problem is, being an Xbox man myself, I'm out of the loop.

 

Can I play PS1 or PS2 games on it?

 

What games do people recommend that I puck up to play?

PS1 yes, PS2 no (apart from the very first launch model. Unlikely that's the one you have).

 

Well you might as well go through the exclusives, depending what you like to play. Anything by Naughty Dog: the Uncharted series, Last of Us. Infamous. Little Big Planet. Gran Turismo. Metal Gear Solid games. Motorstorm Apocalypse. Warhawk. Heavy Rain. Ratchet and Clank.

 

Depends what genres you prefer.

[jasmith85]

I was currently playing Fight Night Champion and I wrote a piece for my English class. Would I be able to get peoples opinion on this piece.

 

Knocking out the competition

Is Fight Night still the king of the ring?

 

Seconds Out, Ding Ding. It's the fifth installment for the fight night series and it seems Electronic Arts Canada have put all thrown one heck of a unblockable 10 hit combo with this one.

 

Now I hold my hands up and admit I am a huge boxing fan, whenever boxing is on TV I'm there on the edge of my seat screaming "hit him" basically I'm the equivalent of a typical football fan. Now I only started playing the fight night series since Fight Night Round 3 on the Playstation 2. I instantly fell in love with the game, I spent days just gripped to my screen, overcoming with joy like a kid at Christmas by watching my created boxer knock out man after man, there's that inner child in all of us that enjoy violence.

 

The minute you put in the game your instantly thrown in the the mix your straight into Championship Mode taking the role of a prisoner (Andre Bishop) in what appears to be a prison fight. First job of the game just like Fight Night Round 4 is get up from a knockdown, the game takes you through the basics such as ducking, countering, cheating and throwing combos. Its a very nice and gentle way of getting into the game despite the rough environment your character is in.

 

Talk about being thrown into the deep end. Immediately your in a prison boxing fight playing as Andre

 

What really separates this game from its competition and it's older brothers is the controls. Unlike other fighting games from EA the player would need to make a silly rotate eg. a half circle for a hook. We'll that's yesterday's jam. The new system is simple you can either use the face buttons or the stick (at the same time) and a simple flick of the right stick in any direction will deliver a punch so mass combos are so easy to use. Block is just one button and the computer does the work for you and the rest follows suite. EA Canada wanted to mix things up make it simpler and faster and I believe in terms of controls it's a well oiled machine.

 

So now you are all to grips with the game and you are all alone now in the squared circle to take on the likes of the Mike Tyson's, Ricky Hatton's and Jake LaMotta's of the boxing world. The baddest, the fastest, the strongest, the most durable boxers, brawlers and technicians and you must best them all to make it to the top of the Fight Night world. Are you ready?

 

If you are ready, the game flows extremely well, it's a fast paced realistic boxing game. It's clear EA Canada really thought about every aspect of boxing with this one in terms of game play. Even when throwing a punch and your opponent quickly throws a jab it either throws your shot off target, disables it or takes away the power. The countering system is outstanding, if you step into a punch your opponent takes a small step back and throws a haymaker of their own and often it can lead to a flash KO depending on the boxers stats, the power of a counter punch is considerably more powerful than a power punch. The game changes camera angle to indicate a counter window is open followed by a flash of the screen like lightning to indicate a counter punch has landed. Its a lot of the little things that make the game play unique and special. What did annoy me about the experience was the animation where your CPU opponent gets up from a knock down, EA have only inserted a few sequences so you can usually tell what the result is of the knockdown is before the count of 3, if your opponent gets to their feet or tries and then falls flat on there face the ref ends the bout. I would of like to see a few more realistic knock down animations here.

 

The game favors the smart and technical, you can just go at it like Rock'em Sock'em Robots trading leather post haste but if your boxer isn't powerful they will tire quickly. The game want your to aim to throw 70 punches a round to ensure your maximizing your stamina. It's great when you have friends round with a few beers it's jolly good fun and the fight often ends in page knockout because the other guy has ran out stamina which leaves you open up to easy knock downs. I spoil the fun I step back counter and deliver that outstanding knockout and use the "sweet science" to defeat my friends. Fight using with your noggin and not your fists and you'll go far, button bashing never got anyone anywhere (unless your playing the Sydney Olympics 2000 on the Playstation1). A basic comparison would be like Fight Night Champion is like poker "minutes to learn years to master", the more you play the more you can see each punch and a defence and counter it and you develop a system that works for you.

 

I've heard many games say when you are facing this character it would be like facing them in real life and it is so rarely true. This game actually means it, I faced Mike Tyson and in the first few rounds he was like himself or Clubber Lang in the Rocky films, he will try and take your head off but will tire quickly in the later rounds from all those power shots. A great example I was facing a lefty fighter and one thing you must not do is skip round to your left other wise your going down as your walking right into a left hand hook and often going to get rocked or knocked down (like Michael Bisping went to sleep against Dan Henderson at UFC 100). When facing a guy us long reach they will use that reach to keep you at bay and try and make you play the distance game. If you have a cut the computer will go for it more often that normal like in real life, it's mind boggling.

 

Online is where the true test lies I believe, in terms of putting your skills to the test. EA have tried there best to make it a pleasurable and fun experience. Firstly I barely had any connection issues the games. I experience a few seconds of lag in the first round then it was as smooth as silk and quicker than a hiccup, it was a real time boxing game which is amazing when you think about it. With online you can create your own gym where you can invite past fighters, friends, and foes. Having your own gym you can set up a a in gym tournament to see who is the king of the ring, fight other gyms or just spar with chums. Having your own gym requires you to create you own boxer and challenge others and the more you fight the more experience points (xp) to upgrade your fights stats. So the more you fight the better you get (even if you loose constantly). The only issue I've had is match making me with someone on my own level and I've faced people who are nearly fully upgraded,it's basically David Vs Goliath but you don't have a sling shot or a rock and you have pillow hands in comparison, it makes for a short fight.

 

The graphics are really crystal clear, since the game only has to render two main characters at one time a lot of detail has gone into the fighters. You can see the sweat drip down each boxer, the blood splatter and the blood gradually stains the ring and the boxers shorts. The cuts and swelling look amazing, it looks like a scene from Rocky, the eyes puff up and the cuts look realistic and really blend in well with the fighters skin. When choosing the martial of shorts you can really tell the different between silk and sequins. No stone has left to be unturned when it comes to graphics.

 

Now career mode (known as legendary mode) falls into a bit of a Marmite situation either loved it or hate it. Personally I love it, I have always enjoyed Fight Night career mode but I've had others complain that Rees no change from previous editions and I can see there frustration. The career mode hasn't really changed since KO Kings, you create a boxer from scratch give him a look, stats, weight class outfit and style but that's about it, ok you can upload your own face using a camera and it usually does look ok but it takes time it took me 10 minutes to get this process completed so I chose a template face. Now you start in the amateur games trying to win a bracket tournament, after doing so you turn pro working up the ranks to become champion then jump up a weight class and become champion there and then you just face recycled fighters until you choose to retire. The goal of this mode is to become the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T.) through the ranking system which means having over 50 fights and becoming world champion. Now upgrading your fighter is different from other games, you can choose how you want to upgrade him, maybe you want someone with a mean right hook and great defense and everything ok, that's doable, you have up to 220 upgrades to work on and you start with 50 so use them wisely. You upgrade though winning fights, doing well in training games such as sparring and meeting objectives in fights. I loved creating myself and knocking out the best of the best being outside with top notch defense and a great jab and killer right straight, it's like raising a pet you nurture your fighter and watch him grow to become champion. The only problem is that the game is pretty easy after upgrading all your stats and it's rinse and repeat every fight, I had to ramp the difficulty to the hardest difficulty and I still whooped everyone and knocked out every boxer I faced retiring with a perfect record of 55-0-0, there wasn't a challenge but that's where championship mode comes into play.

 

Now championship mode is EA attempting to create a perfect comeback movie within a game and it does this well. You really feel for your fighter which is Andre Bishop. A young middleweight prospect who comes from a fighting family, his younger brother (Reymond Bishop) who wants to become a boxer, your trainer (Gus) who also trained Andre's late father. I won't spoil the story too much but the goal is to become champion it's pretty much a fairy-tale story which can be annoying at times. A nice touch is that they involve the ESPN sports team to deliver news broadcasts on Andre's career. The story mode offers some unique challenges, in one fight you must NOT attack the body due to dodgy officiating, another situation is Andre breaks his right hand (his power hand) in the very first round so you must win with just one hand and the game punishes you for using your broken hand. Each fight has its own challenge and scenarios, and the in game music really turns up the tension in fights. It's a twisty topsy turvy mode with ups and downs and I of liked to have more fights and a bit longer story-line, it's a roller coaster mode. It's fun but it's short and Andre barely runs of stamina and seems to have great power in every area, it makes for a fun experience but not realistic one. Apart from this let down I really enjoyed the final fight puts all your skills to the test against your rival and will punish you for a minor slip which is good when your facing the undefeated world champion who's knocked out everyone in his path, your rival is the ultimate bad ass.

 

The soundtrack is pretty catching and somehow captures the essence of boxing, you almost feel like your in a boxing gym whilst listening to it. I actually purchased the soundtrack I enjoyed it that much. It mainly consists of Rap and R&B and I don't find this style of music to be my cup of tea (usually). It's another perfect fit into the jigsaw that is Fight Night Champion. The background noises are often repeated and could of done with a few more crowd noises inserted in there and a roar of the crowd when I nice combo or a knockdown landed.

 

Verdict

We'll Fight Night champion most definitely ticks all the right boxes where I am concerned, and the most important thing about a game is it fun to play? Do you look forward to sitting down and having a good hour slipping, ducking then delivering that all mighty thunder of a punch sending your man to the floor unable to answer the ten count? Most definitely YES! it's the most fun I've had in a while when it comes to beat'em ups and it's the most fun I've had in a while. From other reviews and word of mouth when EA Canada are in charge they don't disappoint. There's a few bad apples in this game but they don't really affect the experience. This is the best boxing simulator on the market bar none, EA have been building up to this since it's first incarnation back in 1999 (KO Kings) and in 2011 they swung and hit. The graphics are outstanding, the controls are simple and favors those who take it more seriously but let's you go banana's if you so wish. EA have polish and fine tuned every little detail, and they've made a top of the range sports car out of a old Mini slowly upgrading and fine tuning it over the years. Overall it kept me gripped to my seat and no matter how many times I got punched, countered and knocked out I kept coming back for more.

 

Fight Night Champion - 8.7 / 10

 

Edited October 10, 2015 by jasmith85