Fight Night Round 4 IGN game play info impressions
* Gone is the insane emphasis on landing ridiculously devastating haymakers. In fact, the way haymakers are thrown is no longer done with the right stick alone. Hooks, jabs, straights and uppercuts are all thrown the same way, but to land a haymaker you'll need to toss a hook while holding the right bumper. Hooks to the body are thrown by flicking the right stick to the left or right and straight and jabs to the body are done by holding the left trigger,
* Blocking has also been retooled. Since punches are no longer confined to four strict quadrants, blocking has been simplified to an option of high or low. The AI will then adapt the high or low block to hopefully deflect the incoming punch as needed. Another switch is the elimination of parrying. There's no more parrying a drained opponent which would then leave him wide open for attack. Now you'll only be able to deflect a certain number of blows until the hits start getting through. If the force of your punch is greater than the amount of blocking power left in the fighter's tank, then the punch is going to cause some hurt.
* Given the fact that the parry system has been thrown out, fighters are going to need to watch for open spots and land devastating punches whenever they can. There are noticeable instances that happen when you dodge a punch where a section of the body will be open. Say a fighter launches a right hook at your face. Duck out of the way and his lower right side will be exposed. Toss a low hook at just the right moment and the screen will flash, letting you know that you've just brought the pain
* If you're lucky enough to land a truly concussive blow then your opponent will go into a stun state. This can happen at any time in a fight, regardless of their overall health. While this doesn't necessarily mean they're about to be knocked down; they'll move slower, punches will hurt them more and their health will cease to recharge until they recuperate for a time
* Once you've taken enough punishment, enough shots to the head, enough of your blood is on the mat (yes, it really does get on the mat; gloves too), and you've been knocked right on your ass, you'll need to know how to get up. In FNR4 that means playing a mini-game that calls for you to align an avatar in the middle of the screen. This is essentially your fighter picking his head up off the ground. Go too far to the left or right and the camera's viewpoint comes crashing down. Once your fighter is upright, you'll use the right stick to pick his wobbly body up
* Should you actually survive a round, you'll need to make some tough decisions as to how you're going to heal your boxer. It's totally unlike what was Fight Night Round 3. Instead of rubbing your boxer's face, you'll be assigning points, one of three tiers, to three different sections. There's damage reduction, stamina replenishment and health recovery. How well you did in the previous round determines how many points you'll get when you're in your corner. It seems a little less hands-on, with a slight nod to the arcade crowd.
* The tall guy's (who we'll reveal at a later date) special punch was actually the old hold-his-head-and-watch-him-swing routine. See, special punches can now be held as a taunt. One fighter's was him leaning back and waving his hands. Anyways, the little fella, while not literally held back by the tall dude's hand, couldn't come close to landing a punch if he tried to fight from that distance. The tall dude was landing concussive blows as the little guy swung and swung. It'll be important for gamers to use their boxer's physical traits, unlike in Round 3. Likewise if you're a little guy like Tyson, it's going to be extremely important to take advantage of the new inside fighting in FNR4, thus making it difficult for a tall boxer to extend his arm and land a stiff blow. Thankfully there are moves built into Round 4 that allow players to dodge a punch while still keeping their forward momentum going to make getting inside a bit easier
what can you guys make out of this info? I don't fully understand...
* Blocking has also been retooled. Since punches are no longer confined to four strict quadrants, blocking has been simplified to an option of high or low. The AI will then adapt the high or low block to hopefully deflect the incoming punch as needed. Another switch is the elimination of parrying. There's no more parrying a drained opponent which would then leave him wide open for attack. Now you'll only be able to deflect a certain number of blows until the hits start getting through. If the force of your punch is greater than the amount of blocking power left in the fighter's tank, then the punch is going to cause some hurt.
* Given the fact that the parry system has been thrown out, fighters are going to need to watch for open spots and land devastating punches whenever they can. There are noticeable instances that happen when you dodge a punch where a section of the body will be open. Say a fighter launches a right hook at your face. Duck out of the way and his lower right side will be exposed. Toss a low hook at just the right moment and the screen will flash, letting you know that you've just brought the pain
* If you're lucky enough to land a truly concussive blow then your opponent will go into a stun state. This can happen at any time in a fight, regardless of their overall health. While this doesn't necessarily mean they're about to be knocked down; they'll move slower, punches will hurt them more and their health will cease to recharge until they recuperate for a time
* Once you've taken enough punishment, enough shots to the head, enough of your blood is on the mat (yes, it really does get on the mat; gloves too), and you've been knocked right on your ass, you'll need to know how to get up. In FNR4 that means playing a mini-game that calls for you to align an avatar in the middle of the screen. This is essentially your fighter picking his head up off the ground. Go too far to the left or right and the camera's viewpoint comes crashing down. Once your fighter is upright, you'll use the right stick to pick his wobbly body up
* Should you actually survive a round, you'll need to make some tough decisions as to how you're going to heal your boxer. It's totally unlike what was Fight Night Round 3. Instead of rubbing your boxer's face, you'll be assigning points, one of three tiers, to three different sections. There's damage reduction, stamina replenishment and health recovery. How well you did in the previous round determines how many points you'll get when you're in your corner. It seems a little less hands-on, with a slight nod to the arcade crowd.
* The tall guy's (who we'll reveal at a later date) special punch was actually the old hold-his-head-and-watch-him-swing routine. See, special punches can now be held as a taunt. One fighter's was him leaning back and waving his hands. Anyways, the little fella, while not literally held back by the tall dude's hand, couldn't come close to landing a punch if he tried to fight from that distance. The tall dude was landing concussive blows as the little guy swung and swung. It'll be important for gamers to use their boxer's physical traits, unlike in Round 3. Likewise if you're a little guy like Tyson, it's going to be extremely important to take advantage of the new inside fighting in FNR4, thus making it difficult for a tall boxer to extend his arm and land a stiff blow. Thankfully there are moves built into Round 4 that allow players to dodge a punch while still keeping their forward momentum going to make getting inside a bit easier
what can you guys make out of this info? I don't fully understand...