Fight Night Round 4 PlayStation 3
User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 79 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 58 out of 79
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 79
  3. Negative: 13 out of 79

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  1. formerfightnightfan
    Jun 27, 2009
    1
    Why can't i use buttons!?!?!?! I LOVED fight night round 3 i have long awaited this game - I don't like the new engine - I don't know why they had to get rid of the old one!? I think the graphics and sound are better on the old one and again..why can't i use the frickin buttons!!!
  2. GerardH
    Jul 8, 2009
    0
    I vote this a 0 to offset the hype on this game. It's really a 7.0 at best. The game is graphically superior and the physics are as well. Unfortunately 20 min into the game you can tell that's all they spent their time on. There is NO option for buttons to be used as punches. Total Punch Control is it, but the analog stick is way to inaccurate to control everything. I jab when i should hook. I hook when i should uppercut. I throw to the body when i should be throwing to the face. Most annoying of all is i try to uppercut and throw nothing for 2 or 3 seconds. Just forget about throwing a combo. EA really screwed up by trying to force the TPC on us...2) The computer is way too difficult. In FNR3, I had a record of something like 100-2. I used to be able to play on the hardest setting and get a win. On FNR4, i'm playing on difficulty 2 out of 4 and in 20 matches with the computer, i have only gotten as far as a draw. That's it. I can't tell if the computer wants me to spam punches or try and be tactful, but it doesn't matter cause the computer blocks or dodges like 60% of your punches. At first I thought there was a new emphasis on defense. Bobbing and weaving to get to your man is a welcome addition, but it seems like the CPU counters are 5x more powerful...3) Online gameplay sux horribly! No longer do people have to watch what they throw or vary it up because they can just spam you with punches all round long. You have to either dodge the punches or time the block just right, and when i mean 'just right' i mean split second. Basically you have no hope of doing that consistently enough to beat your opponent without taking too many shots yourself. So basically give up on defense except for the occasional attempt, and analog-control-mash. Seriously. A guy i fought who had a 26-2 record completely killed me twice. Then when I finally gave up on defense and body-punch-spammed with Tyson, I started winning...Point is, anyone who tells you this game is great is only looking at the graphics and is a casual gamer who will have forgotten about this game in a week anyways. This is Street Fighter 2009, boxing edition.… Expand
  3. Mr.Anon
    Jul 8, 2009
    0
    Perfect graphics mean nothing when followed by some of the worst gameplay I have ever seen. Total Punch Control seems cool at first but is a joke. You'll throw a hook instead of an uppercut, a body punch instead of a head punch and a lot of times, you'll throw nothing at all. Fight Night Round 4 improves on some of the issues from FNR3 ( like making haymakers easier, bobbing and weaving and 'auto-aim' for people who like to like to stay in a leaned position ) but then throws out even worse new problems, like having no work-around to TPC, allowing people to punch spam with no penalty to their stamina and parrying punches is MUCH harder.… Collapse
  4. AgostinoC
    Jul 17, 2009
    4
    I was pretty excited to get this game and have been playing it religiously in my spare time. I have to admit that most of that play time is due to the fact that I want to justify my purchase, as I quickly found out that the play control is abysmal. Quite often I try to block or dodge but my boxer throws a punch instead leaving me open for a counter-punch. This is frustrating to the point where I almost broke one of my controllers, smashing it on the ground when I had a 12(9)-0 and I lost because the controls were too laggy and inacurate for me to beat the next rank of CPU opponent which had punches much more accurate and quick than I could do even when I was spamming jabs. This game could have been so much more had there been an option for button based punches like "round 3". For some reason I thought there would be one. Had I known this wasn't possible I never would have picked up the game. This is potential flushed down the toilet. I'll still try to beat the game, but in small doses. I have to control my anger by playing no more than 2 matches per session.… Expand
  5. joec.
    Jun 26, 2009
    3
    Great graphics and sound marred by poor gameplay an down right shocking controls its far to easy to misfire the wrong type of commands for punches in the heat of a fight as the imputs are far too fiddly to be accurate 100% of the time , no button punch control option is unforgivable this leads to online gameplay that is just a complete an utter spam fest not to mention another ea sports 2010 title that has the same disconnect glitches as 2006 titles did ea have taken no imput about fixing these online braking bugs from the community for 4 years i guess u might get around to fixing them in your 2011 titles ea sports ?… Expand
  6. LukeH.
    Jun 27, 2009
    4
    Visually good game but it lacks in gameplay big time. Online is very poor. I played against someone who threw 823 punches in 6 rounds and they barely lost stamina whilst I did little over half that and my stamina was drained. Everyone only seems to pick Mike Tyson aswell. You then get 'body spammers' who doesn't have a slightest clue what to do and just throws the analogue stick around constantly (similar to button bashers on Tekken). The career is not much better either. They will continue to walk into you and push you against the ropes. You cant walk around them as you have your firsts up therefore limiting your movement, if you put your guard down you will get a haymaker straight to the chin. They have got rid of the post match healing system but instead got a stupid points system where you gain points by blocking punches then able to spend your points by 'buying' health/stamina/damage. I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone. Gets boring fast. Its the same old same old from EA. Include a new feature and sell it off as 're-defining gameplay'.… Expand
  7. fandango89
    Feb 1, 2011
    3
    Very disappointed by the game. As people have said, the control is awful. I would try to block or dodge and it would throw a punch. Punch control sucks as it would always throw a different punch than I was trying to. Because of way it is set up the punches aren't distinguished well enough. The recovery mini-game after getting knocked down is the worst part of the game. The computer does it fine but it is soo finicky and uncontrollable and confusing that I usually couldn't get up after being knocked down in the first round. Also the game makes it so once you start to lose, it's basically over and you can't come back because your stats are down. You also get tired way too fast and it's too easy to grab another person and recover. Worst of all the fight night games, hopefully they improve for the 5th one which I probably won't buy now. Was not worth my 20 dollars. Good character customization.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 47 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 47 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 47
  3. Negative: 0 out of 47
  1. 1UP
    91
    Fight Night Round 4 not only matches its predecessor, but improves upon it and has reclaimed it's title as the best boxing game in the world.
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  2. GamePro
    90
    Fight Night Round 4 lacks some of the wow factor of its predecessor, but it builds upon the strengths of Round 3 and corrects most of its weaknesses.
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  3. Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
    100
    Like many games earning classic status, FNR4 generates repeated standout, jaw-dropping moments, and none of them are pre-scripted. [Aug 2009, p.64]
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