Metacritic Games

Fight Night Round 3 (Xbox)

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. [Electronic Arts]

Electronic Arts
Boxing, Sports
Players: 2
T (Teen)
Developer: EA Chicago
Released February 20, 2006

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

83 / 100

Critic Reviews

93 Game Over Online
Fight Night Round 3 is a fantastic boxing title that really delivers the action in a realistic way for fight fans, and those discovering the sweet science for the first time on their home console.
90 Game Informer
Round 3 certainly doesn't shirk in the gameplay department one bit, as it has everything Round 2 offered and more. [Mar 2006, p.98]
90 Stuff
The best boxing game in the business keeps getting better.
90 Play Magazine
Fight Night Round 3 takes the sweet science of boxing to bloody new levels, and he results are certainly impressive. [Mar 2006, p.40]
90 1UP
It's far more than just a really, really good-looking boxing game; it's a little glimpse into the future, and a remarkably good yardstick for ongoing reference.
90 GameSpy
The gameplay is far more balanced than the previous two games, and the graphics are excellent for current-gen and have more detail than their predecessors.
90 Official Xbox Magazine
Even though Fight Night Round 3 for Xbox isn't the jawbreaking work of staggering genius that the 360 version is, that doesn't mean it isn't a great game. [Apr 2006, p.74]
90 Games Radar
This complexity demands your total concentration, resulting in an all-consuming gaming experience. You're gonna lose hours to this game.
89 Talk Xbox
Despite the less-impressive graphics, the game holds its own with its balanced fights, new punches, and replayability.
88 DailyGame
A mostly realistic boxing simulator that's just a few sparring matches short of the title.
88 Cheat Code Central
A great contender for anyone looking for the most realistic boxing simulation currently on the market.
88 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.
87 Team Xbox
EA has proven that they still believe in the original Xbox, as Fight Night Round 3 is a solid, full-featured title that is worth the money.
87 Game Chronicles
One of the finest sports titles on the Xbox platform.
87 Official Xbox Magazine UK
For pure boxing realism, Fight Night Round 3 takes the crown. The way you can bust out little jabs and finish off with a crunching uppercut, or bat away a badly timed hook and follow through with a breath-stealing gut-punch is spot on. [April 2006, p.78]
86 eToychest
The moment when your uppercut lands squarely on the chin of your opponent and you see his lifeless body collapse to the ground feels perfect, and you feel like a champion. No other boxing game has ever recreated this so faithfully.
86 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.
86 BonusStage
One round of the next-gen version will make you realize that graphics are a major part of sports games, so I would only recommend the current-gen version if you don’t own a 360.
85 Xbox World Australia
A game to convert even the unworthy to boxing, Fight Night Round 3 will have you quite literally thumbing your way to heaven.
82 GameSpot
Admittedly, most of the improvements and updates found in Round 3 are merely incremental, but they're still enough to warrant stepping into the ring for another bout.
81 GameZone
This is a good fighter but it could have been much better. Still, the game is entertaining, challenging and looks good.
80 IGN
Round 3 Isn't the huge improvement that "Round 2" was compared to Round 1, and the lack of AI and the impoverished career mode is a disappointment. That said, Round 3 is still one hell of an addicting multiplayer game.
80 games(TM)
It may well be beautiful to look at, but the fighting engine, although improved, is so similar to that of Fight Night Round 2 that series veterans may feel somewhat aggrieved when faced with essentially the same videogame. [Apr 2006, p.112]
80 Edge Magazine
Plagued by imbalance, the Round 3 career can serve up over 50 bouts before one goes the distance. The new stun punch – a thunderclap of a haymaker – helps to ensure first to third round knockouts for the vast majority of fights. [Apr 2006, p.82]
80 Pro-G
My beef, however, isn't with the lame blood effects or the unauthentic venues in ESPN Classic mode, no no; it's with the damn product placement.
80 AceGamez
Fight Night Round 3 delivers in all the areas that are important in a boxing sim; it brings the big names to life with luscious graphics and gives them form and ability, with a well-made control system and decent game mechanics.
75 PALGN
It's a step back from Round 2, but still delivers a knockout to the competition.
75 MS Xbox World
During the career mode you can have a rivalry that becomes so fierce it actually gets added to the ESPN Classic's section.
75 Game Revolution
The sound effects are unbelievable in both versions, conveying a sense of impact completely unique to Round 3. Staggering punches don't just look painful, they sound painful.
73 Gamer 2.0
Having just paid 40 to 60 dollars for this game, you shouldn't have to be bombarded by advertisements.
70 Total Video Games
It does trip up on the lack of impact that a connect punch delivers, and the obvious inclusion of health/stamina bars, but for gamers not yet tainted by the phenomenal experience of Round 3 on Xbox 360, this won't be something that they'll worry about.
35 netjak
The graphics are dull and lifeless, the sound is awful, and the gameplay has been completely ruined, and if that's not enough to deter you from purchasing the game, EA's blatant disrespect for the great sport of boxing and its colorful history should do the trick.

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