The characters are portrayed rather well, and the story pacing never feels too rushed or too slow. The archetypal characters and plot points are all here, so there aren't any real surprises. There's a rival boxer, a promoter who will do anything to drag you down, and the promoter's sympathetic daughter. Your trainer happens to be the guardian who stepped in and raised you when your parents passed away.

There's an up-and-coming fighter who happens to be the son of a deceased boxer, and his obnoxious brother is trying to follow in those same footsteps. The cast of characters is similar to those in Hollywood boxing tales. The presentation of the story, however, is more in line with movies like 'Rocky' and 'The Fighter' than the competition's documentary style. Having a story in sports games isn't a new thing, especially since 2K Games had done it in a boxing game with Don King presents Prizefighter. The story then chronicles your path from boxing champ to convicted chump. As you recover, the clock rewinds to four years earlier, when you won your gold medal in boxing. The celebration doesn't last long, though, as you are beaten within an inch of your life by your opponent and his crew. Despite receiving a headbutt from your opponent, you recover and win the fight. You play Andre Bishop, a fighter in a prison bare-knuckle brawl. Rather than start off with a menu of gameplay modes, Fight Night Champion takes a cue from NBA 2K11 and immediately throws you into the Story mode. Another two years have passed, and we now have Fight Night Champion, the first professional boxing title with an ESRB rating of 'M.' Fans just want to know whether it lives up to the example set by its predecessors.

Breaking from the established tradition at EA Sports, it took close to two years before there was a sequel, and while it brought some improvement to the mechanics, it was overshadowed by the return of Mike Tyson to the roster. The ripples of the skin as the gloved fist made contact was - and still is - impressive.

Although the series had a solid boxing foundation with the previous entries on the PS2/Xbox/GameCube era, the visuals in Fight Night: Round 3 stunned people, especially the slow-motion knockdown punch.

Fight Night: Round 3 made most people believe in the next generation of gaming consoles.

Fight night champion review