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I guess I was destined to become a boxing fan. You see, my father was a member of the Naval boxing team during the mid-60s, and from an early age I sat in wonder of his countless stories about experiences in the ring. But Fight Night Round 3 was the first boxing videogame that made him stop and look at it, because at first glance he thought it was real. It's been 3 1/2 years since then, and although several high profile boxing titles have hit the market, none have come close to matching what the team at EA Chicago accomplished. Developed by an all-new team and re-built from the ground up Fight Night Round 4 is in good hands with the team at EA Canada; not only have they matched the quality of the original title, but in many ways they dramatically exceeded it.

Personally I think Fight Night Round 3 was overrated simply because it looked so good. The analog control was awkward, the career mode was almost non-existent, and the fighters suffered from the uncanny valley due to their occasionally goofy animations. Thankfully, these problems have been fixed in this iteration. The fighting engine is now physics-based, fighters make physical contact when they box. Glancing blows no longer cause awkward clipping, but instead deflect off bodies and cause less damage. Besides looking fantastic the game also runs at a silky smooth (and far too uncommon this generation) 60 frames per second. This has the added benefit of speeding up the pace of fights.

Arguably the area of Fight Night that needed the most work was it's career mode. The new Legacy mode has replaced the featureless single-player experience of the last game. Instead of just fighting a series of boxers to make your way up the ranks, you're now given a number of challenges (win several fights in a row, maintain a high winning percentage, or win a fight on TV) with the ultimate goal of not only becoming champion but also leaving a lasting legacy on the sport. Not only do you have to concentrate on your business in the ring, but you also act as your own manager (When's a struggling fighter supposed to sleep?) by scheduling all your training sessions on fights. Occasionally you'll receive Clubber Lang-like challenges from hungry new fighters. By accepting, you risk your ranking, but if you keep dodging fighters, your popularity will wane.
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Be careful not to move up the ranks too quickly, otherwise you won't have enough experience to level up high enough to compete against high-rated top tier fighters. In my case I had to grind on lesser opponents before I was ready to compete for the title. Despite its in-the-ring problems I still think Don King's Prizefighter has a better career mode because of it's strong narrative focus, but the Round 4's Legacy mode is far better than the offerings in the previous Fight Night.

One major exclusion from round 3 are the button punch controls. Instead of allowing you to use the face buttons to throw punches, the right analog stick's now the only way to throw your jabs, hooks and uppercuts. The analog control is more responsive and a vast improvement over Round 3, but it still doesn't allow for the speed and accuracy of digital button control.

To round out the package, if you get tired of facing the AI you can go toe to toe against a human opponent in either offline or online multiplayer. Early on in the Legacy mode you can get away with spamming a lot punches against the computer, but if you try your "flailing arms" technique against a human you will absolutely get counter-punched right out of the ring. That's one of my favorite things about this game in both single and multiplayer: It forces you to fight strategically. If you have a reach advantage against an opponent you will get punished if you settle for fighting on the inside. You can also never let your guard down because you can be knocked down at any time. And if you're fighting incorrectly the repetitive announcers will constantly remind you how much you suck.

Being a boxing fan, this game is clearly made for me. But if you're not a fan of the sweet science then this game will probably not turn you around. The team at EA Canada have completed a very difficult task: 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.