Fight Night Champion Info

[Jason]

Downloaded the demo this morning. Here are some quick impressions after one 3-round fight with Pacquiao and Cotto:

   
• Wow!!! Graphics and movements are incredible. The fighter's don't have the "cartoony" look that they've had in the past.
• Analog punching is much more responsive. It's also much easier to throw combos.
• Dynamic camera does a nice job of focusing on the action.
• There's a referee in the ring!!!

I can't wait to play some more tonight.

[Jason]

Gameplay Controls (Xbox 360):

[Ted]

I got the demo let me know if you want to spar a little online.

[Jason]

Ted, what do you think of the demo? I played Round 4 tonight to see how it compares and I decided to cancel my pre-order for FNC and here's why:

   
• The game seems to be too fast. Punches come in so quickly that it's hard to see who is hitting who. What's strange is that the hyper-speed punches are matched with sluggish foot controls. I realize that the developers wanted to make punching more responsive, but they went a little too far. I've heard people refer to FNC as "Rock'em Sock'em Robots" and I don't completely disagree. Round 4 had a slower pace and a more tactical element to it.
• I mentioned my concern about "Full Spectrum Punch Control" when it was first announced (link) and I was correct in worrying about it being a glorified button system. The old analog controls mimicked the punch motion they represented and just felt more realistic to me. I also think the new punching system is the main reason for the slug-fest-type gameplay.
• There's no improvements to the presentation or commentary.

The game definitely has potential and I'll be curious to see what changes are made to it before it's released. One of the reasons EA put the demo out so early was to get feedback from the community before the finished product was released. There's a very good possibility I may still buy the game, but EA's going to have to fix some things first.

[Ted]

I agree with all your points.  I never played 4 so I can't compare to that though.

[Jason]

Fight Night Champion 360 Demo Receives Tuner Update

One of the features making its way into Fight Night Champion is the ability to put out “tuner” sets that allow for the gameplay and settings to be adjusted without going through the lengthy patch process. Mixed response to the FNC demo and the opportunity to test out the feature brings about the first tuner update going live for the Xbox 360 today. The original plan never included releasing a tuner for the demo so this should be seen as an added bonus though unfortunate that those on the PS3 won’t get the same chance to try it out.

There are three areas being tinkered with in the tuner in response to direct feedback provided by the community. The stamina regeneration rate is being slightly reduced, the stamina loss for missed/blocked punches is being slightly increased, and the overall punch power and health loss from each punch is being increased.
Despite the issues experienced again this shows the potential of an early demo almost acting as a quasi-beta and one made even more significant due to the inclusion of online head-to-head. If the FNC team can get the game more properly balanced for release then it will have proven quite valuable.

Source: PastaPadre.com

[Ted]

I think those are positive changes.

[GB_Simo]

I hope that makes a difference to my experience.  My pre-tuner thoughts are that it looks fabulous, I don't hate the game by any means but everything happens very quickly and I never know quite why I'm losing.  I haven't won a fight yet, only salvaging a single draw in a Tyson-Ali fight because I had The Greatest on the floor in the 2nd.

He didn't catch me with anything big, our landing percentages were as near as makes no difference the same and I felt well in control of proceedings, but the 1st and 3rd were scored 10-9 Ali.  In Fight Night Round 4 I could always tell I was losing and I always knew why, even if I didn't always have the first idea of how to stop it, so I'm a bit perturbed to find that I don't get the same feeling with Champion at the moment.  Perhaps it'll come.

[BDSooner72]

http://www.pastapadre.com/2011/02/19/fight-night-champions-story-mode-is-short

ESPN’s Jon Robinson has offered some independent perspective on what to expect however by tweeting that the mode will last just 4-8 hours depending on individual skill level.


The actual tweet

Fight Night's new Champion mode only lasts 4-8 hours depending on skill. Most people will blow through in one night. Cool but short.
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Still have not even touched the demo.  Looks like I may never touch this game.  That is pretty weak when you consider the time length of fights, training and cut scenes.

[Jason]

This video convinced me to order the game...again:

Fight Night Champion Sim Settings pt1

[Ted]

I'm really on the fence with this one.

[Jason]

My copy just shipped, so there's no backing out for me now. I think EA will fix many of the gameplay issues via tuning updates and patches.

[Jason]

Some more simulation gameplay footage:

Fight Night Champion: Sim Settings Mora vs Manfredo

[Jason]

My copy is waiting at home for me. Between this and the MLB 2K11 demo, my 360 should be pretty busy tonight.

[Ted]

There is something about those punching sounds that I hate.  Especially that big boom.