Kotaku: Boxing

Fight Night Champion DLC to Include Bare Knuckle Fighting

Owen Good — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:30:00 EDT

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Fight Night Champion notably included bare-knuckle fighting during the prison chapters of its narrative mode, but the fighters in the main roster didn't participate in such bouts. Now some will. The game's first DLC extension, due out next Tuesday, adds bare-knuckle "Old School Rules" to online and offline play. More »

Is This Fight Night Champion's First DLC Package?

Owen Good — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EDT

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Two weeks ago, a video leaked out legit-looking screenshots claiming to be an alpha build of Fight Night Champion's first downloadable content. EA Sports is announcing what's in the first pack tomorrow, but if this video is real, it's five all-time great fighters, plus Cowboys Stadium as a venue. More »

What Is Chessboxing?

Mike Fahey — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:20:00 EDT

Chessboxing is an activity that combines the physical demands of boxing with the mental discipline of chess. Competitors alternate between rounds of chess and rounds of boxing, kicking things off with a four-minute round of chess and alternating with fisticuffs until 11 rounds have passed, or one competitor jams a rook in the other's eye. More »

Could You Rewrite Fight Night?

Owen Good — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 22:00:00 EST

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The concept behind Fight Night Champion's narrative "Champion Mode" inspired me when I read of it. I looked forward to it as a breakthrough opportunity for the sports genre. But it served up a tray of disappointingly bland cookie-cut characters and conflicts, and the progression of your career was too short and too rigid. That doesn't mean it was a bad idea. More »

Fighting on New Terms, but Still a Champion

Owen Good — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 00:30:00 EST

I've taken head butts and held on through jaw-cracking, brain-rattling missiles; I've fought against runners and cowards and cheats and made them all pay. Never have I fought in a place this unfair, with these terms dictated to me. More »

No More Gimped Lyrics When You're All-In with an M

Owen Good — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST

It's an appropriate opening for a song placed in a game that begins in prison. "You know you fucked up, right?" begins "The Loser Wins," by Atmosphere. In another sports game, this would have to be blanked out, or just not used. More »

Fight Night Barely Breaks A Sweat In Multiplayer Demo

Owen Good — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST

Fight Night: Champion's demo arrives Tuesday, but apparently some in the UK have gotten their hands on it. Notably, the demo will include online multiplayer. This series of four videos gives you a look at what to expect from it. More »

Kinect Boxing Match Ends In Tactical Knock-Out

Owen Good — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST

In Sweden, a team of cops stormed a couple's home after a neighbor reported that five people were beating the crap out of a woman. Turns out they were all playing boxing on Kinect Sports. More »

Boxing Is The Past; Long Live Boxing

Owen Good — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST

Two years ago, EA Sports president Peter Moore called boxing "the past of fighting." Mixed martial arts was the future, with his company hard at work on that game. Thursday, Moore wrote, "let me be clear, boxing's not dead." More »

Stamina Is Much More Hard In Fight Night Champion

Owen Good — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:30:00 EST

"Women weaken legs," said the famous trainer Mickey Goldmill. So does a sledgehammer to the kisser. Fight Night Champion's going to bring a more sophisticated stamina system that you'll need to know to keep from being a two-punch chump. More »

Fight Night Ultra-Realistically Turns Faces Into Steak Tartare

Owen Good — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:00:00 EST

Wanna watch Cristobal Arreola's gut ripple when Mike Tyson slams him with a righthand missile the midsection? Pick up Fight Night Champion. It'll bring that, plus a lot of blood. More »

Fight Night Champion Starts Your Career With A Big Loss

Owen Good — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:20:00 EST

From what I can tell in this video, here's how Andre Bishop's fight career ended up in the crapper: Someone told him to take a dive and he didn't. When the muscle showed up, someone got shot. (NSFW language.) More »

Fight Night Champion Serves a Standing Eight in the Joint

Owen Good — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST

Anyone old enough to remember Marv Albert on NBC calling a James Scott bout live from Rahway State Prison will want to pay attention to this, the bareknuckle jailhouse fight within the "Champion Mode" of Fight Night Champion. More »

Introducing Fight Night Champion's Introductions

Owen Good — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 22:30:00 EST

Manny Pacquiao and Sugar Shane Mosley duel May 7 in one of 2011's first big fights. By then, Fight Night Champion will have been out two months, and they will have fought repeatedly. Here's what their introductions will look like. More »

Brother Against Brother In Fight Night Champion

Owen Good — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 22:00:00 EST

After watching the latest trailer Fight Night Champion's new narrative mode, Champion, four times, I'm still shaky on what's going on here. Andre Bishop, the protagonist, I recognize. His brother, I know, ends up in the ring. Who's scorpion guy? More »

Jesus Christ, Fight Night Has Guns?

Owen Good — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 22:30:00 EST

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In a cutscene, but if Fight Night Champion's gonna get an M-rating, it won't be sending Andre Bishop to the slammer for stealing cable TV. This sequence looks like something out of Mafia II, almost. With better brawling, one hopes. More »

What's It Take To Get A Boxer To Return Your Calls?

Owen Good — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST

Arturo Gatti couldn't make Fight Night Champion. It's not because he's dead - so's Sugar Ray Robinson, and he's in the game. It's just that negotiating likeness agreements with boxers is head-bangingly more frustrating than in any other sports game. More »

Butterbean Returns To The Ring In Fight Night Champion

Owen Good — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 23:30:00 EST

Yesterday we saw Eric Esch - aka Butterbean - getting his flab knocked around in Fight Night Champion. He's one of 13 new boxers on a roster of 54 licensed personalities appearing in the game when it releases next year. More »

Fight Night's New Legacy

Owen Good — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST

In case it wasn't clear, "Champion Mode," which is the role-playing career of fictional fighter Andre Bishop, is a wholly separate mode in Fight Night Champion. Legacy, the old career, will still return, with improvements. More »

Fight Night Takes The Hook Out Of Hooks?

Owen Good — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST

This Official Xbox Magazine preview of Fight Night Champion offers a look at the boxing franchise's gameplay. More importantly, they're fooling with the analog controls again. Sounds like hooks and uppercuts won't need the winding motions to execute anymore. More »

Pre-Order Fight Night, Get George Foreman As A Lean Mean Machine

Owen Good — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 16:00:00 EST

Pre-order bonuses are circulating for Fight Night Champion, due March 1. Get it through Amazon and you'll be given a code that unlocks young George Foreman, back when he had a bigger afro and smaller moobs. He also fights better. More »

Fight Night's Card Carries Real Champions, Too

Owen Good — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:20:00 EST

Though the star of its cover, and of the darker, rawer story told through its singleplayer mode, is fictitious boxer Andre Bishop, Fight Night Champion will still deliver real-life boxing legends in their prime, as fans expect of the series. More »

A Champion In The Making

Owen Good — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:30:00 EST

Fight Night Champion will offer players the story of fictitious boxer Andre Bishop, whose career arc will involve - as the HBO guide used to say - adult situations, adult language, profanity (maybe nudity?) in EA Sports' first M-rated game. More »

Pacquiao On King Hippo: "What A Fat Ass"

Owen Good — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST

Last night, Manny Pacquiao solidified his claim as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, dominating Antonio Margarito for his eighth title. One year ago to the day, Fox Sports told the unknown story of how far he's really come. More »

The Original Violent Spectacle Gets Its First Mature Rating

Owen Good — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:00:00 EST

Growing up, I only saw boxing on HBO. With Mike Tyson the premier fighter, it was usually over fast. Anything that wasn't seems sanitized in low-definition hindsight. That changed the first time I saw a bout fought live. In headgear. More »

Predict The Mature Content In Fight Night Champion

Owen Good — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 14:00:00 EST

Yesterday, EA Sports confirmed that Fight Night Champion will be its first M-rated sports game ever. The sweet science is a dirty business - how far will the game go in presenting that? More »

Fight Night Champion Goes Mano A Mano With Baseball?

Owen Good — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 20:30:00 EST

The debut trailer for Fight Night Champion, published an hour ago on IGN, lists March 1 as the game's release date. If that's the case, it will take on MLB 2K11 and MLB The Show 11. More »

Fight Night Champion Is EA Sports' First M-Rated Game

Owen Good — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 19:20:00 EST

Not yet officially rated by the ESRB, promotional copy on the game's official page bills EA Sports' next boxer as the publisher's first ever M-rated game. More »

Mike Tyson Gets Another Shot At The Video Game Title

Mike Fahey — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:40:00 EDT

Like an out-of-control boxer tearing off an opponent's ear, Rock Software rips off Nintendo's Punch-Out!! series to give Mike Tyson his own boxing video game for the iPhone. More »

Checking Out The Xbox 360's Take on Wii Bowling

Brian Crecente — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Kinect Sports comes packed with more than half-a-dozen ways to play, but my limited time with the game only gave me a chance to check out one of them: Bowling. More »

Fight Night Has a Message for You Spammers

Owen Good — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST

Fight Night Round 4's next DLC delivers four fighters, rivalry matchups, and "old-school rules," which I assume means a brain-pulping 15 rounds. Its next patch release will tire the hell out of your boxer if you don't fight smart. More »

Fight Night Gets Three New Fighters, Price Cut

Owen Good — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:00:00 EST

Three new fighters will be offered in the latest round of downloadable content to be offered for Fight Night Round 4, Electronic Arts announced on Monday. Bernard Hopkins, Sonny Liston and Evander Holyfield will join the game. More »

EA Announces Fight Night Round 4 DLC, Button Controls Slated For September

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:00:58 EDT

Following calls from fans critical of Fight Night Round 4's current control options, EA is bringing a free alternative — and some other new content before that. More »

Fight Night Round 4 Review: Boxing Beautiful

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:30:02 EDT

A graphical showpiece and a boxing game just a tad more authentic than the ones featuring King Hippo, Fight Night Round 4 apologizes for its sport and chases that unlikeliest of pugilistic goals: subtlety. More »

Win Real Boxing From Fight Night 4 And Pizza Hut

Mike Fahey — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:20:00 EDT

EA and Pizza Hut have teamed up for the Rumble in the Ring Ultimate Fight Sweepstakes, in which entrants can win a custom Xbox 360 or a trip to watch men punching each other. More »

Punch-Out Balance Board Controls Work Like This

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:00:29 EDT

We knew Punch-Out Wii supports the Wii Fit Balance Board, but until opening the game's instruction manual today, we didn't know how. More »

Fight Night Round 4 Preview: No More Rocky

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:00:00 EDT

Fight Night Round 4 brings boxing back to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with the promise from EA Sports of more realistic pugilism. More »

New Boxers Enter The Fight Night Round 4 Ring

Mike Fahey — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:20:00 EDT

Manchester England's own Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton headlines the latest batch of screenshots featuring sweaty men hitting each other in EA's Fight Night Round 4. More »

Fight Night Round 4 Is Stylin'

Mike Fahey — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:00:00 EDT

EA shows off some of the different fighting styles represented in Fight Night Round Four. More »

It's Tyson Vs. Ali On The Fight Night 4 Cover

Mike Fahey — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:40:00 EDT

The Mohammad Ali versus Mike Tyson battle ends in a draw, with both legendary fighters chosen as cover athletes for EA's Fight Night Round 4. More »