A Not-So-Successful Comeback

Grade: B

Fight Night Champion's added story and expansive online mode should be the one-two punch from Electronic Arts, but in more than a few respects, the game has missed its mark.

Fans of the previous Fight Night installment will find little to complain about, as Champion will let players jump back in the ring and get into the fray.

The controls are just as tight as Round 4, but the players will find that the essential function of the block button has been completely changed. No longer will players move the block guard around in a last defense to counter incoming punches, but Champion introduced a system that blocks for the player, at least in theory.

Champions most touted addition, "champion mode," follows the rather lackluster story of Andre Bishop, a falsely jailed aspiring boxer. Bishop's time in the big house changes his outlook, and when his name is cleared, he attempts to regain his footing in the boxing community.

Champion mode is both short and relatively uninteresting, turning the standard face-off between men into a mission mode where only through special conditions will a player find victory. Players looking for the classic zero-to-hero, create-a-champion route will find solace in the game's staple "legacy mode," substantially increasing the game's replay value.

Thankfully, EA Games created an immersive online multiplayer that truly is the pinnacle of any boxing game made to date. Players will have the option to fight as one of Champion's 50 fighters the developers masterfully recreated, or to walk the path of a champion in a "create-a-fighter mode."

EA has also included the addition of clans in this title, but has done so in an incredibly revolutionary way. Players can either find or create gyms, which more or less become the base of operations for the player's online experience. In the gym, the player can always find a practice match, a training partner, or his next rival. Gyms work together to bring fame and glory to their clans, and through blood, tears and sweat, one gym will become the stuff of legends.

The game is the first title in the series to ever receive the ESRB's coveted ‘Mature' rating, as the game attempts to explore the grittier underbelly of the sport. Sadly, EA Games' attempt at conveying boxing's darker side lacks credibility, and even at the game's darkest moments, players will find themselves unmoved by Bishop's tale.

Online matches can, at times, be the fairest way to determine skill in the Fight Night franchise, though sometimes lag and a "one-hit-KO" are detrimental to determining a fight's true champion.

The game's matching system is also slightly flawed, as often times players will be matched with opponents of much higher or lower skill levels than their own. Flaws aside, the game's online mode will keep players amused until EA's next Fight Night iteration.

The game plays the way a boxing game should, but at times can be erratic in its judging. A player that makes more counter-punches than the opponent, but throws fewer punches can still lose a round. Also, the game gives preference to the players who use a haymaker every punch, opposed to the player who works the body.

The game's in-depth character creation, its fantastic – though similar – game modes, and widely supported online community make Fight Night Champion a king of the ring, but sadly its few flaws keep it from becoming the greatest ever.

E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com