Fight Night Round 3

Fight Night Round 3
PlayStation 3 cover art featuring Oscar De La Hoya
Developer(s)	EA Chicago
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Platforms	PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 PlayStation Portable Xbox Xbox 360
Release date(s)	KO: February 25, 2006 (2006-02-25) (X360) KO: March 28, 2006 (2006-03-28) (PSP) PlayStation 3: AS: December 15, 2006 (2006-12-15) KO: June 15, 2007 (2007-06-15)
Genre(s)	Sports, Fighting
Mode(s)	Single-player, Ad hoc, Infrastructure

Fight Night Round 3 is a boxing video game developed by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to EA Sports' previous boxing title, Fight Night Round 2, which was released in 2005. Fight Night Round 3 was released on February 22, 2006 for the Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2. The PlayStation 3 version of the game was released on December 5, 2006.

Overview

Fight Night Round 3 was developed by EA Chicago, formerly NuFX. It is the third boxing title in the Fight Night franchise. It features the usual improvements such as better graphics and gameplay. "Impact Punches" are one of the most drastic changes, along with ESPN Classic fights and a new career mode, in which the player fights to gain popularity in order to reach sponsored fights, or to be featured on ESPN. Unlike in older versions, Round 3 defaults without a heads-up display (HUD), allowing a player to judge the status of their stamina and energy based on their stance, movements, and facial features, instead of the usual stamina meter. The roster consist of 27 licensed fighters, Fight Night Round 3 allows open weight bouts. This means everyone on the roster can fight one another in exhibitions.

Versions

The game has been released for several video game consoles and some differences exist between the versions. The cover art features Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward on the PS2 and Xbox versions. The PS3, Xbox 360, and the PSP versions have Oscar De La Hoya on the cover. Only the PS3 version can be played in a first-person view. The PS3 version omitted Evander Holyfield from the roster.

Theme song

The theme song for this game is "Never Gonna Get It" by Sean Biggs, featuring Akon and Topic.

Critical reception and awards

Reception
Review scores Publication Score IGN 8.3/10 OXM 10/10

Official Xbox Magazine awarded Fight Night: Round 3 with its first 10, the highest score given by the magazine.

G4's Reviews on the Run's Victor Lucas stated that Round 3 had the best graphics he has ever seen on a video game.

The game has been criticized for its highly intrusive product placement. While brands for athletic apparel, such as Everlast and Under Armour are expected in a sports game, sponsorship by Dodge and Burger King is regarded as excessive (The Burger King can even be used as a trainer). It won GameSpot's award as the game with "The Most Despicable Product Placement".

The game received the IGN award for Best Offline Multiplayer on PlayStation 3 in 2006.

Received the first ever BAFTA (British Academy of Film & Television Arts) for a sports video game in 2006.

External links

• Official website
• Knockout Kings and Fight Night series