GameCube

Fight Night Round 2

As much as certain events have made gamers a little bitter at EA's business tactics, Fight Night: Round 2 does illustrate what the company is very good at: taking a good thing and making it even better.

With one sluggish performance after another, the boxing genre had long past its prime. Boxing titles relied on traditional gameplay mechanics that confined the player to limited use of their fighter, and made for bouts that were nothing more than mindless, button-mashing sessions.

However, all that aside, I personally was thrilled to see many of the issues that I brought up from my review last year addressed in Fight Night Round 2. The inclusion of the cutman mini-game between rounds is a great addition, and the Haymaker provides a phenomenal sense of drama with punches that can knock boxers out at any time. I personally can’t wait to see next year’s version, and I think fight fans will agree that EA’s scored another knockout with this title.

It looks so real you can feel your brain slapping against the inside of your skull. Also more lifelike is the career mode, in which your fighter will actually age, necessitating training and the best equipment. But, nothing makes you feel quite as alive as being in the ring, where sweat and bloody spray are the champagne of victory. Absolutely glorious.

Pound for pound, Round 2 improves upon the series while actually expanding the genre. While the punches lack the power experienced in last years game, EA makes up for it with its innovative total control configuration. Depending on your skill level and your ability to grasp the new controls (if you chose to use them) you may find that Round 2 provides hours of entertainment. The flaws in the game are purely cosmetic and easily overlooked as they have no bearing on performance. Round 2 definitely delivers a knockout punch to the competition. Wait a sec. What competition?

Superb concept. Flawless execution. Rock-solid controls. A diverse array of characters, and innovative technique application. This title is a total blast to play. It’s a class act of a boxing game all the way, easily worth its sticker price. Keep in mind that I’m simply talking about Super Punch-Out!, which is the extra easter egg packed into the Gamecube’s version of Fight Night Round 2 in lieu of any sort of online play.

Round 2 doesn't back down and gets ahead on the scorecard, making Fight Night once again the gold glove favorite.

Last year's Fight Night 2004 reinvigorated boxing video games, as boxing had become a sports genre that many people had written off years ago. After a sequence of mixed results in the Knockout Kings series, EA Sports' Fight Night came along and introduced entirely new mechanics to the boxing genre, creating a fast-moving and free-flowing style that better reflected the pugilistic arts seen on TV. A year later, the second version in the Fight Night series is here, and it does what it has to do: improves on an already winning formula.

Fight Night Round 2 is without a doubt a very fun sports game. It improves on its predecessor on all aspects and especially the control system is very satisfying and realistic. Thanks to the great models, good replays and passing comments, this game will give you hours of gaming fun. If you're looking for a boxing game then look no further. This title has more atmosphere, delivers more realism, and hits harder than any other game in the genre!

Fight Night: Round 2 is a fantastic game that is hampered more by the system it’s played on rather than anything the developers did. If Super Punch-Out!! is enough of a selling point, or you’re limited in system choice, Round 2 is still worth the purchase. On the other hand, if you have the luxury of getting it for another system, do so.

As a big supporter of last year's game, I had equally big expectations for EA Sports Fight Night Round 2 -- especially since there was still so much that could be done to make it even better. Regardless of its room for improvement, though, the original had done so much right in its first appearance that it easily remained my favorite athletics title of 2004. The reason it did is because it managed to accomplish something that few other sports titles rarely do: it invented a new mechanic that would change the genre forever from that day forward. With a debut like that, I was curious to see how well the development team could follow up on such a powerful first effort.

Round 2 est une très bonne surprise dans le sens où il apporte pas mal de petites nouveautés et qu'il gomme les problèmes de Fight Night 2004. Le gameplay est toujours aussi bien pensé et une fois que vous vous serez accommodé au système des deux sticks, vous prendrez un plaisir immense à enchaîner les combats qui sont réalistes, techniques et plutôt difficiles malgré la jouabilité instinctive. Si on pouvait s'attendre à une suite profitant de la renommée du premier épisode, on obtient au final un jeu techniquement supérieur, au gameplay amélioré et à l'intérêt encore plus profond, plutôt positif non ?