TheFight Nightfranchise has seemingly faded into obscurity since that release. Recently, however, a rumor emerged thatEA was working on a newFight Nightgame. The prospect of this series making a comeback is an exciting one, especially at a time when heavyweight boxing has gained increased popularity thanks to the big personalities of fighters like Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. Gamers aren’t exactly dealing with an overabundance in boxing games these days either, so fans of the sport may be excited at the news of a possible new release.
RELATED:Dr Disrespect Responds to Harley Boxing Challenge
Going The Distance
PlayingFight Night Championin 2022, gamers will quickly realize that time has been kind to this title. Visually, the series was renowned for its incredible character models and detailing. These visuals have held up really well, and in terms of the action in the ring, things still look just as impressive today as when the game was released. The controls were also extremely intuitive and ahead of their time. The game’s developerEA Sportspromoted a new feature known as ‘full-spectrum punch control’, which allows players to throw a variation of punches by merely flicking the right analog stick. This was an intriguing concept for players who were used to using this analog stick to control the camera in 99% of 3D games, but it worked.
The single-player campaign inChampionwas tough, engaging, and varied enough to keep players on their toes for hours. Sports games can often live or die by the quality of the commentary. Titles like FIFA andWWE gameshave often fallen short in this area, with bland, uninspiring, and sometimes downright repetitive commentary completely pulling the player out of the moment. This is another area whereFight Nightusually delivered a knockout blow, with the commentary being varied, on point, and completely immersive, changing fluidly depending on the circumstances of the fight.
Rebuilding The Legend
This all bodes extremely well for EA sports. If indeed the rumors are true, and it does have a brand newFight Nightin development, the company doesn’t exactly need to go back to the drawing board and start from scratch here. It has a solid base to build from, with visual, audial, and gameplay mechanics all being stellar. Including these things in the new title, and building on them further using 10 years' worth of new technological advancements, in theory, should be an easy win for EA Sports.
The biggest problem seems to be potential licensing issues. Acquiring licenses for boxers past and present, as well as using their likenesses, is reportedly not easy, nor is it cheap. A huge part of the draw ofFight Night, aside from the things already mentioned, was the roster of playable boxers.13 new boxers debuted inFight Night Champion, joining a plethora of greats like the Klitschko brothers, Mike Tyson, and Sugar Ray Robinson. Any new game must surely include these big names, whatever the cost.
Fight fans have been starved of a new mainstream boxing title for too long now. Aside from a couple of lukewarm efforts such asBig Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions,the genre has been barren for many years and is in need of a revival. A newFight Nightgame from EA, harnessing the full power of current-gen consoles, is exactly the sort of comeback this niche genre needs.
