Fight Night Champion

 Xbox 360
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 132 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 90 out of 132
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 132
  3. Negative: 17 out of 132
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  1. plo76
    Oct 10, 2011
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. nice and reality cg and good story like rocky the movie but some times i missed up the passion in the game easy to beat me lol wait another squeal from ea titles
    and nice site to review the game    … Expand
  2. stevogboy
    Mar 24, 2011
    5
    Solid advancement on previous versions yet nothing spectacular. best and worst of all is the new championship mode. as a solid veteran fight nighter i started championship mode on the second easiest level (cant remember the name) prgressed through with great success and definitely enjoyed the improving opponents on the way through. BUT.....lets just say completing the finale was torture.Solid advancement on previous versions yet nothing spectacular. best and worst of all is the new championship mode. as a solid veteran fight nighter i started championship mode on the second easiest level (cant remember the name) prgressed through with great success and definitely enjoyed the improving opponents on the way through. BUT.....lets just say completing the finale was torture. not so much too hard as too time consuming to get through to checkpoints and after hours of swearing and tantrums i finally got through. all i felt was relief and i can honestly say the adventure has completley turned me off the game. i will never play it again. all those who conquer it effortlessly i salute you.… Expand
  3. TheSkunk
    Mar 16, 2011
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have never felt so ripped off by a video game purchase, and I typically enjoy even average titles. However, I want my money back for this game, and here is why: The entire game builds up to a fantastic climax, earning it 5 points. However, the final battle is TERRIBLE. It requires no skill, and is purely frustrating, and nearly impossible on any difficulty level. All of the positives building to this point are immediately erased when you fight Isaac Frost (over, and over and over...), and I have seen this same feedback across review forums. Apparently EA did not have time to QA the end of this game, or it never would have hit shelves in this format.… Expand
  4. crumbzilla
    Mar 27, 2011
    7
    It has to be said that FN Champion's gameplay is a thing of beauty - the way the boxers move, punch, block and lean is top notch and a clear improvement from Round 4. EA Sports however decided to make the terrible decision and include the random stunning and knocking out of opponents which can turn a beautiful, tactical rendition of the sport into Mike Tyson's Punchout. Aside from thatIt has to be said that FN Champion's gameplay is a thing of beauty - the way the boxers move, punch, block and lean is top notch and a clear improvement from Round 4. EA Sports however decided to make the terrible decision and include the random stunning and knocking out of opponents which can turn a beautiful, tactical rendition of the sport into Mike Tyson's Punchout. Aside from that flaw other elements could have been vastly improved from R4, including the legacy mode. Whilst legacy mode has had some of the fat trimmed it still suffers from most of the pitfalls that other EA Sports 'season modes' suffer including the now legendary 'EA inbox from hell'. Your email is the place where all your most boring colleagues inundate you with tiresome tales about rivalries and sponsorship. The legacy mode could have incorporate some kind of interactive weigh in or pre-fight interview where you could decide what to do to your opponent instead of being sent the same emails with only the fighter's name changed. This is where EA Sports need to take a look at themselves, they often produce technically sound simulations but fail when it comes to making a fun and interesting experience. FN Champion can be a hoot (especially with friends) but once the gloss wears-off the flaws do tend to niggle.… Expand
  5. ScareCrow
    May 4, 2011
    6
    As a huge fan of the series (well, specifically of Round 3 which is where the innovation leaped ahead and then subsequently died) this game was mostly a dissappointment to me. The new champsionship mode is essentially a very short but entertaining story mode, and even as a very skilled player I was frustrated with the final boss battle - essentially your ability to choose how to fight isAs a huge fan of the series (well, specifically of Round 3 which is where the innovation leaped ahead and then subsequently died) this game was mostly a dissappointment to me. The new champsionship mode is essentially a very short but entertaining story mode, and even as a very skilled player I was frustrated with the final boss battle - essentially your ability to choose how to fight is completely taken away and you must "do exactly what the game says" and not play the game as a sentient being capable of making your own decisions. Legacy Mode is what I typically purchase FN games for, and this one is just as mind numbingly difficult as FNR4's was, except there is a catch - you see, EA has graciously added purchaseable DLC to help you improve your character, because spending real life money is significantly easier than getting even a reasonable score on the absurdly difficult and blatantly designed to make you purchase DLC training games. Yes, the training games are even more ridiculously hard than they were in FNR4. Oh, and because I picked this game up at gamestop used to save a few bucks - I actually ended up having to pay EA $10 in DLC fees just to have access to Online Mode (which was entirely not worth the money). While playing Legacy Mode and failing miserably at the training games, my character was obviously falling short of where his progression should have been I started to notice that the developers had just re-used a LOT of commentary from FNR4... which makes the game feel like the cheap EA clone factory sports installment it really is.

    Despite being a huge fan of the franchise, I have to give this installment a 6/10 for the complete lack of innovation, the short "story mode", and the annoying DLC requirements. Hopefully this will be the last time EA fools me out of my money on any sports title ever again.    … Expand
  6. greekaussie
    May 20, 2011
    5
    the graphics are pretty good and the sound is top notch (whats with the swearing in games these days?) but the controls for this game still feel a little sluggish, the fighters take forever to just move around the ring and using the analogue to punch just feels very random and you dont always feel in control of your fighters punches/moves. overall for me an average game.
  7. aryanrule
    Mar 14, 2011
    7
    Nice game. I started to play it then i was just bored. Then i watched The Fighter with Christian Bale and gained wish for playing again...so...nice cinematic experience of intro campaign, hard AI.
  8. DWlubu1998
    Apr 13, 2011
    7
    I want to say i love this game and that i hate it. I love it because it has a story for the first time that is acually good, it allows you to use the controls however you want and the graphics are very good. BUT there are also reasons to pass this by, The story is good but not long enough it can be easily beaten within 3 - 6 hours. And when your done with the story you can try onlineI want to say i love this game and that i hate it. I love it because it has a story for the first time that is acually good, it allows you to use the controls however you want and the graphics are very good. BUT there are also reasons to pass this by, The story is good but not long enough it can be easily beaten within 3 - 6 hours. And when your done with the story you can try online leagues or you can try to make your own destiny where you can either make your own boxer or pick one that is already premade and that gets repetitive and boring and the appeal wares off easily. This game is one of those games that you should either pass by or wait for a prise drop.… Expand
  9. BeautifulMinds
    Oct 6, 2013
    7
    Fight Night Champion is a decent game. It simply doesn't deserve anything less than 6/10 or anything more than 8/10. I'll explain why. Unlike many of the previous reviewers of this game, I have actually played it sufficiently to fully understand it's depths and what it has to offer (I have probably sunk some 600+ hours into this game). Don't let the nostalgia fool you. This is easily theFight Night Champion is a decent game. It simply doesn't deserve anything less than 6/10 or anything more than 8/10. I'll explain why. Unlike many of the previous reviewers of this game, I have actually played it sufficiently to fully understand it's depths and what it has to offer (I have probably sunk some 600+ hours into this game). Don't let the nostalgia fool you. This is easily the greatest boxing game ever created. Unfortunately, there hasn't really been much competition in the past, has there?

    Let's start off by evaluating just how well this game does boxing justice. Fairly well. It does do a very good job of simulating the sweet science. Controls are fluid and responsive for the most part and punches are crisp. You will find no problem coming up with varied combinations and fight plans. One thing I will mention; if your console is aging, you could run into performance problems with this game. I have noticed delayed movement frame rate problems which constantly plague the game on my 3 year old console. I never experienced this a year or two ago.

    Let's talk about offline play. This game has a lot to offer in this department (and it's probably where you will find the most fun). The story mode only lasts a good 2-3 hours, however while incredibly cliche, it is fairly well paced and fun. The only tripes I have with the story mode is the incredibly annoying fights in which you are handicapped (only one arm or no body shots ect) and the final boss fight with Isaac Frost. Compared to the rest of the game, the Isaac Frost fight is needlessly difficult. I happen to be ranked 28th on the world leader boards for this game (1400 wins, 110 losses) and I still find this fight aggravatingly difficult. Regardless, it shouldn't take you more than 10 attempts to complete it. The next offline mode is legacy mode. Basically you create your own fighter and train him up while taking fights until you become champion. It's fairly boring as you'll be spending the majority of your time engaged in annoying sluggish training mini-games. The final offline mode is straight now quick match mode. I spend most of my time here fighting the CPU with various match ups. You can either use legitimate fighters or create your own.

    Now I have mixed feelings about the online portion of fight night. On one hand, it's incredibly addictive, but that's probably only because I am so good at it. Other than that, the game is just extremely exploitable and it shows when fighting real opponents. The first online mode called head to head allows you and your opponent to fight each other with the licensed boxers found in the original game (and the fictional story mode boxers). The problem with this is that mostly everyone will flock to the most powerful fighters for the weight class they are fighting it. Prepare to fight Tyson, Frost, Robinson, Duran and Whitaker over and over again. The second online mode called OWC (online world championship) allows you to create your own boxers and slowly improve them over time via the experience points gained from winning matches (or paying EA This mode is simply a disgrace. Why you ask? It's easily exploitable. You won't find a single person that isn't spamming the sidestep uppercut or the backstep straight or running the whole fight. Not only that, people always create boxers with the maximum allowed reach+height in order to gain an advantage over the opponent. Just steer clear of OWC. It's exploit central.

    This game could have been so much more, but the developers were too lazy to listen to their community. We asked time and time again for these exploits to be fixed, but no one ever listened. While the most skilled person will still usually win the fight; bums can easily fight on an even playing field just by learning a few game breaking exploits (like the backstep straight, sidestep uppercut while constantly running the whole fight).

    So essentially, I guess this games real problem is a combination of lazy developers and a childish exploitive community. It is possible to have perfectly functional fun boxing matches in this game, just make sure you pick your opponents wisely.

    graphics: 9.5/10
    offline gameplay: 9/10
    online gameplay: 6/10 (exploitable)
    sound: 7/10
    story: 6/10
    lasting appeal: 8/10    … Expand
  10. TroyF3
    Jul 29, 2013
    6
    Firstly, I enjoyed this game, particularly the customisation available and the ability to create a character that can face off against your friends or strangers and develop. However, this game has several flaws, that take it away from being a solid game. Firstly, the Champion mode is far too short. It took me a few hours of gameplay to complete. For a game's main storyline, this is far tooFirstly, I enjoyed this game, particularly the customisation available and the ability to create a character that can face off against your friends or strangers and develop. However, this game has several flaws, that take it away from being a solid game. Firstly, the Champion mode is far too short. It took me a few hours of gameplay to complete. For a game's main storyline, this is far too short. Secondly, EA made several mistakes with this game, the most frustrating for me was the boxer that you encounter in Champion mode that drains your energy when he clinches with you. He is incredibly difficult to defeat because at any point during the game he can clinch you, completely drain your stamina and then hit you with a single hook that will nearly completely knock you down due to the fact that when you have low stamina on this game, you turn into Gretchen Grundler from Recess. My final issue with this game is the online play. On the face of it, it appears to be good, and indeed in my first match I won with a knockout and I was feeling good about it, as it appeared to put fighters on a level playing field. However from then on, I constantly played fighters who were at least 10 skill levels above me (due to lack of online players) and got beaten 7 times in a row, with my blocks appearing to be useless. I thought that I had just come up against some better players until I did some research online and found that this is a common problem, it is essentially a pay to win online mode. However, this game is best played by creating interesting characters and taking them through legacy modes (which can become boring) and playing against friends. If you see this game for under £10 I would recommend it, I wouldn't be too keen on paying much more though.… Expand
  11. Voodoo123
    Jul 10, 2023
    6
    Had some cheap thrills blasting through the campaign in amateur difficulty. There's something quite satisfying about flattening opponent after opponent with the power sliders tuned up.
  12. Hugeonpluto
    Aug 19, 2021
    7
    The boxing in this game is great. The controls are simple, as opposed to the over-complicated control scheme that plagued previous releases. However, the game comes to a screeching halt when it comes to the game modes. There's Champion Mode, which is good, but you can pretty much only play it once as it's a story mode. There's Legacy Mode, which is a career mode where you box...and that'sThe boxing in this game is great. The controls are simple, as opposed to the over-complicated control scheme that plagued previous releases. However, the game comes to a screeching halt when it comes to the game modes. There's Champion Mode, which is good, but you can pretty much only play it once as it's a story mode. There's Legacy Mode, which is a career mode where you box...and that's it. You don't get to pick your trainer, you don't get to pick venues, you don't even get to pick sponsorships. Legacy Mode gets boring VERY fast as a result. There's another mode called Bare Knuckles Mode, which is exactly what it sounds like, but you have to buy it. Overall, a decent game if all you want to do is box, but if you're looking for a boxing game with an in-depth career mode, don't bother.… Expand
  13. Klakiero
    Jul 31, 2022
    7
    A fun game but she's gotten old terribly. Interesting idea with punches on the analog.

Awards & Rankings

22
#22 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2011
39
#39 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2011
32
#32 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 59 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 58 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 59
  3. Negative: 0 out of 59
  1. Videogameszone.de
    May 24, 2011
    90
    Stunning visuals and a great champion mode make Fight Night Champion the best game in the series.
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  2. Game Chronicles
    May 2, 2011
    83
    If you are a hardcore boxing fan and love grinding for stats and money and slowly rising up huge leaderboards then Fight Night Champion is probably the game for you, although from what I can tell, it doesn't really add anything to what you already had in Fight Night 4 other than the whole money thing. Sure, you can square off against 50+ licensed boxers, but for me, the big attraction was the cool story mode with enough blood and F-bombs to force a Mature rating. But even this gritty and realistic boxing story is only good for a few hours of violent fun, making Fight Night Champion a rental for casual boxers and a wait-for-budget-price upgrade for everyone else.
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  3. Armchair Empire
    Apr 28, 2011
    90
    With a great new single-player mode, the addictive and engrossing Legacy gameplay, online Xbox Live matches, the usual collection of boxing's best fighters in history and the further enhancement of great gameplay and boxing physics, Fight Night Champion packs a punch of excellence as an undisputed champion of gaming greatness.
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