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Fight Night Round 3

EMAIL PRINTps3

9.0 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 37 critic reviews
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Based on 11 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: EA Chicago

Genre(s): Sports, Boxing

Players: 2

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: December 5, 2006

Summary

Go toe-to-toe with greats such as Ali, De La Hoya, Joe Frazier, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones. Outside of the ring, gamers can establish intense rivalries through pre-fight events putting purpose and passion behind every hit. Three new Impact Punches a la the EA Sports Haymaker keep gamers at the edge of their seat as players are only one punch away from the entire dynamic of the fight changing. Land a perfectly timed Flash KO or jump into a quick mid-fight mini-game to land a humiliating knockdown punch. Thrown using EA Sports Fight Night's innovative analog punch system, Impact Punches are high risk and high reward - put down your opponent or get knocked on the canvas. Boxing's Greatest Rivalries - Watch ESPN Classic footage of real-life bouts or re-create the greatest fights from past and present including Arturo Gatti vs. Mickey Ward, Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Eric Morales, and Ali vs. Frasier. Establish intense rivalries of your own by intimidating opponents before the big fight with heated press conferences full of hype, trash talkin', and fights at weigh-ins. Relive the best rivalries of your career in ESPN's Instant Classics! Create a style of your own, then see how you match up against the authentic signature styles from the world's best fighters. Licensed boxers use tactics and strategies that match their real life counterparts. Self Determinant AI adapts its style to match user strengths and to exploit weaknesses. The PlayStation 3 version showcases a unique gameplay feature set including an exclusive new mode called "Get in the Ring" that continues to cement this title as the king of the virtual ring. [Electronic Arts]

Also On Metacritic

GAMES: Fight Night 2004 Fight Night Round 2 Fight Night Round 3

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central GameSpot Hints & Cheats

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

GameShark

The jewel of the EA Sports lineup.

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PGNx Media

Fight Night round 3 doesn’t radically change the series but the gameplay is so incredibly solid that the game is still heavily recommended.

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TotalPlayStation

I can't hammer home enough the point that though this is very much a sports sim, it's still both accessible and deep enough that neither the casual nor hardcore crowds will be dissuaded. It's easily one of the PS3's strongest titles.

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Games Radar (in-house)

Round 3's meaty punching action delivers more bone-crunching thrills than just about any other fighter out there. It won't go easy on you, but once you've risen to its punishing standards, this is pure, addictive, long-haul fun.

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Game Informer

Skin textures on the in-game character models are among the most realistic in all of video gaming. The 360 fighters may have looked really good, but these guys look damn good.

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1UP

It's a great showcase of what the PlayStation 3 can do, and it's a much deeper -- and more tactical game -- than you might expect.

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Yahoo! Games

A stronger, smarter fighter than it was during its Xbox 360 battle.

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Eurogamer Portugal

Fight Night Round 4 is without doubt the best boxing game of today, with incredible graphics, distortion and real time expressions.

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Games Master UK

A perfect, gorgeous-looking boxing sim that's full of fisticuff fun. [Apr 2007, p.61]

Play UK

A few control niggles cannot hide its quality. [Issue # 149, p.70]

AtomicGamer

The great boxing action, high level of tactics in developing your offense and defense, and excellent selection of real-world boxers all come through, and the new first-person camera almost makes up for the toned-down graphics (when compared to the 360 version).

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Digital Entertainment News

Fight Night Round 3 is gonna knock you out—gorgeous graphics, awesome controls, and great gameplay. Porting over the same hard-hitting gameplay as found on Xbox 360, Fight Night Round 3 throws in an exclusive new mode and makes good use of PlayStation Network. Aside from lengthy loading times, there’s little reason to not enter the ring.

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Play Magazine

If it only played as good as it looks, we'd have a sports-game classic on our hands. [Jan. 2007, p.67]

PSM Magazine

When it comes down to it, this game is about playing against real people, online or off, and in that regard, there's little out there that's as gratifying--or impressive. [Jan. 2007, p.74]

Gamers' Temple

I can’t count myself as a fan of professional boxing, but I did find Fight Night 3 to be very enjoyable. I liked the challenge of needing to fight smart to win, and found that this made the game far more engaging to me than other fight games.

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Next Level Gaming

Take the great graphics and mix it up with the innovative HUD-less fighting system and solid boxing engine and the result is an excellent boxing game that is at the top of its class.

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GamePro

If you've got to choose between one version or the other, it's hard to go wrong, though the PS3's Get in the Ring mode is a tempting bonus. Otherwise, it's pretty much a draw.

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Game Chronicles

The graphical boost is undeniable, but the cost in framerate and odd technical glitches may be too high.

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GameZone

No SIXAXIS seems likes a missed opportunity but still the game controls very well and the UI is easy to navigate through.

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IGN

The toned-down haymakers, better balancing, and inclusion of various styles makes playing with your buddy an awesome experience, and the mechanics are so good it even makes fighting against the CPU worthwhile in the beginning.

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GamingTrend

This title is amazing to look at, and the graphical candy will hold you for a while. My suggestion would be to just turn off the sound if you intend to show the game off, and then take your boxing gloves online.

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Game Revolution

Fight Night Round 3 may not have a spotless career, but with such hard hitting graphics and intense Vs. action, we're willing to forgive its foibles and trumpet its unparalleled successes.

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GameSpot

Admittedly, most of the improvements and updates found in Round 3 are merely incremental updates over Round 2, but they're still enough to warrant stepping into the ring for another bout, just as long as you haven't already played the game on the Xbox 360.

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GameDaily

Jabs, haymakers and devastating knockouts have never looked so vicious, thanks to wicked damage modeling and photorealistic player models of 28 boxing greats, such as Muhammad Ali, Bernard Hopkins and Evander Holyfield.

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Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

And one thing Round 3 does very well is pounding home this message: Bringing a good defense into the fight is just as important as bringing a good offense. [Jan. 2007, p.71]

GameSpy

One of the first absolutely must-own titles for the PS3. While the graphics are undoubtedly amazing and manage to outshine the 360 version, especially in the exclusive first-person mode, it's still got the same problems as the other game, and more.

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games(TM)

Anyone already au fait with the Xbox 360 version of Fight Night Round 3 need not invest, but those new to the series or PS3 could do a lot worse than Electronic Arts’ slice of ultra-realistic ultra-violence. [Feb 2007, p.115]

VideoGamer

Fight Night Round 3 features online play, with the usual set of options such as player stats, leader boards etc. There's minimal lag, mostly appearing at the beginning of each match, but the fights play out smoothly and the frame rate most definitely holds its own.

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PSW Magazine UK

The depth and quality of the core gameplay is sold short by the simplistic Career mode. A contract is signed for each fight, you train, then box, and the process is repeated. There's no tangible sense of edging along a long road to glory. Apart from this slight disappointment, and some overly long loading screens, this is easily the finest sports title yet to hit PS3.

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Pure Magazine UK

Quite simply the best boxing game on any machine to date. [Mar 2007, p.62]

AceGamez

It's a great title for newcomers to the game, as it does a lot of easing you into the control system and the experience as a whole. However, veterans of the series will probably find themselves getting very frustrated with the create-a-champ and Career modes.

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PSM3 Magazine UK

Fundamentally no different to the PS2 game, though still worth playing if you're new to Round 3. [Feb 2007, p.56]

Cheat Code Central

Controls are easy to learn and use, but difficult to master. They easily separate the gamers from the noobs.

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DailyGame

The shiny graphics and Get In The Ring mode are nice, but the disappointing port of a year-old game and poor use of Sixaxis controller are just plain sad.

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Playstation Official Magazine UK

The only truly next-gen element is the powerhouse visuals. [May 2007, p.104]

PALGN

Fight Night Round 3 for the PS3 has the same old problems and a bunch of new ones - and a few scant extra features just aren't enough to tip the balance.

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Gamestyle

Online the whole package is backed up with statistics, lobbies and the option to take part in ranked, or unranked matches. These for the most part work efficiently, although the number of players who decide to disconnect when things are not going their way is disappointing.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Daniel F. gave it a7:
Decent boxing game, reasonable graphics, good career mode. Only thing i didnt like was the slugish controls. Still better then the old days of banging buttons.

Caleb T. gave it a10:
This is a great game! The fighting engine is superp and very fluid. I love the create a champ because you can make him look just like you, also I don't agree with the negative comments about the story mode, I think its awesome to fight anyone, anytime, because they end up being your rival. I have fought my rival 6 times and it gets more intense the more you play them! I say 10/10 get it NOW!

Nick N. gave it a7:
I have it on 360 and PS3 and the skin in the PS3 looks fake to me almost like plastic well on the boxers body anyway but the faces are improved with the added bruising affects. Gameplay I think was improved on the PS3 in the 360 one it was to easy to knock a man out.

Zift K. gave it an8:
Quite impressive. The gameplay is great, camera angle superb, and the graphics are fantastic. There are plenty of modes here to keep you busy, I reccommend it.

Ian I. gave it a10:
Wow. Just wow. I was a fan of the seccond on both the Xbox and on PS2 and I had played 3 before on the 360 (using an HDTV of course) but I was not expecting the game to be so...awsome. I had heard some complaints about the third one on the 360 compared to the seccond and let me say...there is no comparison on the PS3, the fights are noticibly shorter in multiplayer and the graphics compared to even the 360 version are VASTLY improved. The new first person mode, while a new addition to the game, is truly amazing and adds an extra level of depth the title was missing. The game is perfect and the PS3 is by far the system to get it on.

Andyman gave it a9:
Best boxing game ever made. Yep, that's just about all you need to know. The only thing keeping this from a perfect 10 is the ability to fight who you want when you want in Career mode, rather than following a pre-set progression with limited choices. Other than that, it's sublime.

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Fight Night Round 3

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