![]() While the majority of the licensed boxers included come from today's era, the game also features a handful of fighters from the past, such as legends Roberto Duran, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ray Robinson, Ray Leonard, and Rocky Marciano. The impressive lineup of fighters mostly consists of recent champions, such as Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Felix Trinidad, Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, and Arturo Gatti. The roster of 32 licensed boxers included in the game spans six weight divisions that range from featherweight to heavyweight. It'll keep you busy long after you've grown bored of fighting the game's computer-controlled opponents. The online play works well, supports USB headsets for voice chat, and gives the game the replay value you'd expect from a competitive online offering. The game's online mode is straightforward and offers you the ability to choose from different divisions based on weight classes. On the PlayStation 2, you also have the ability to play online to box against others to see who the real world champion is. Ultimately, it's only a little bit more than just a string of fights with a running total of your wins and losses. While the career mode has some nice touches to it, the abrupt ending robs it of attaining the level of strategy that, say, a great franchise mode in a football game might have. This, along with the fact that the training becomes a moot point once you've maxed out you're fighter's abilities, seems to be a bit of a waste, since it would have been interesting to see how long you could remain a contender with a fighter whose abilities faltered with time. The only real negative aspect of Fight Night 2004's career mode is that it forces you to retire at the age of 40, which is really quite anticlimactic. ![]() Making the right choice when choosing an opponent can honestly mean the difference between a win and a loss. Once you've scouted your options, the decision usually comes down to whether you're willing to risk a loss against a more skilled fighter for a shot at his higher rank versus whether or not you're willing to fight an easier opponent to build up your fighter's attribute points before trying to climb the ranks any further. ![]() Second, you'll want to check out their stats to see what they're ranked and how their attributes stack up against your fighter's attributes. First, you'll want to figure out who you have to choose from, which typically ranges from two to six fighters. While picking your next opponent may sound like a trivial menu selection, there is a bit of strategy involved. Furthermore, it teaches you how to play the game properly, thus making the actual boxing more enjoyable.Īside from training and fighting, the career mode also includes other duties, like picking your next opponent, checking out the awards your fighter has earned, and purchasing goods, like new trunks. While forcing you to do anything doesn't necessarily sound like a good way to design a game, in this case, the repetition brought on by constantly training ensures that you're making the most of the opportunity. Since each training session is tied to two specific categories, the game forces you to become proficient at each one to build a fighter who has good ratings in each performance category. Whatever you earn can be applied to two specific performance categories. Doing well in the minigames earns you 15 attribute points, while doing poorly results in fewer attribute points. The minigames test your memory, timing, and reflexes, but more importantly, they teach you how to play the game. The training sessions are represented by four different minigames that are based on actual boxing exercises, like punching hand mitts, working the heavy bag, punching a combo dummy, and sparring with a computer-controlled opponent. ![]() To increase your fighter's ability, you're given an opportunity before every bout to train your fighter. As you might expect, each of the attribute categories directly corresponds to your boxer's performance in the ring. To get started, you're given a set amount of physical attribute points to distribute across eight categories, such as punching power and agility. Your fighter's physical attributes in career mode are set to zero, whether he's a boxer you created by using the game's create-a-boxer utility or he's one of the licensed boxers included in the game. Therefore, he has no wins, no losses, and no talent. Career mode starts you out with a fighter at the beginning of his career. Exhibition allows you to quickly pick a fighter to go up against a computer-controlled opponent or a second player. Fight Night 2004 comes in three different flavors: exhibition, career, and (exclusively on the PlayStation 2) online.
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