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[Bradford]

Played the demo last night (available on Xbox Live as of 5/28/09). They've simplified the inputs for a number of different moves over FNR3, including haymakers and body shots, and added some moves for evasive bobbing and weaving, the latter of which I couldn't seem to make work. Otherwise it's pretty much the same game with what appears to be a much more realistic physics system (and hopefully some more depth related to choosing different fighting styles, which they've been hyping).

It remains to be seen whether they've improved what was really wrong with 3, which was its atrocious character management, saving, and overall menu system (not to mention EA's terrible online interface).

http://fightnight.easports.com/features ... ightround4

[cool_breeze]

Comes with new improved sweat, blood, and snot physics!

[Bradford]

http://kotaku.com/5304510/fight-night-r ... -beautiful

MMA is hot and WWE never quite fades away. Boxing eternally hangs from a cliff.

Since the 1970s, each decade of boxing disappointment has been followed by a decade when those of us who can still name a single active heavyweight realize that the previous decade wasn't so bad. The 90s of boxing? I miss them. Boxing never seems to improve, except in my memories.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. says to go to hell, Stephen.

EA is so fervently behind Fight Night's right-stick punch system that it didn't deliver an option to map punches to controller face buttons this time.

Good for them! Good decision or bad decision, good for them for believing that they know better than their players what makes a good control system or a bad control system.

The right-stick technique is conceptually sound. Tilt in the direction of a left or right jab. Hook in the direction of a left or right hook. Pull back and arc in the direction of a left or right uppercut. What could be better? The problem is that many of us can't execute those controls reliably, myself included. My view is that game controls should be invisible and intangible. We should forget them and achieve a oneness with what's on the screen: I think an action; I believe I've done it; It happens. With Fight Night Round 4, sadly, what I think will be an uppercut winds up being a hook half the time. Perhaps I will continue to improve, but it's disappointing that EA did not offer a control scheme that lets me do what I want to do. Why not let the game learn what I think is a hook and map that move to my fighter's hook? Why force me to only use EA's pre-defined arcs? It's a narrow option that has led me to question whether I'm failing at the game or whether the game is failing at me. I'd rather focus on boxing than the controls, but players be warned: if you stink at these controls, you're in big trouble.

I can't seem to muster my scorn into words sufficient for this. Maybe we should just acknowledge that every remotely competitive fighting game player on the planet is laughing at you right now and move on. The game should learn from you instead of you learning the game? Whatever punch you think should just happen without you having to input it correctly?

These controls are a tiny fraction of the execution complexity of even the basic combos and special moves from most 2D fighters. Hey, you know what else, if you don't push the direction pad and the A button at just the right time, Mario falls into the pit, too. I guess the game should just learn that whenever you accidentally push B instead that Mario should jump anyway.

What a jackass.