I recently had a chance to speak with two video game executives. One conversation was with a video game agent whose job it is to find and sign new projects with the biggest game publishers in the world.

The other conversation was with Simon Sherr, the lead animation director for EA Sports' current-generation titles. Simon previously worked on animations for major motion pictures like The Matrix and Transformers.

During both of these fascinating conversations, we discussed the direction of the sports games industry and came to the same conclusion: The video game business has many parallels to Hollywood.

The top ten development studios in the world now dominate the bulk of the market share in console gaming, following the same way major movie studios dominate the big screen.

In addition, Hollywood is now intertwined with gaming. The influence is ever so present in Fight Night Champion, whose script was written by Academy Award nominated writer Will Rokos.

Champion Mode

I plan to review this title differently than other sports titles because it’s not solely a sports simulation. Fight Night Champion’s Champion mode deserves its own unique segment of my review.

I feel that way because it is a story-based mode. And the entire time playing through this segment of the game, I could not help but compare and view it as a short story film -- that’s how well it was arranged.

Whether it’s a true story or fiction, every tale has the most basic Shakespearean themes of love, hate, good and evil. Fight Night Champion’s script features these great literary elements: a story of redemption, family, heart and tragedy turned into triumph.

In Champion mode, you assume the role of Andre Bishop. Andre is an EABA World Amateur champion boxer whose life turns into a major motion picture that plays out in prison yards and boxing rings around the world. As the story unfolds, the game does an excellent job of seamlessly going from cinematic scenes to the middle of emotionally heightened moments.

Andre Bishop is a very morally centered character -- his last name is symbolic of his character’s moral righteousness. I found myself rooting for him and sympathizing for him as the drama unfolded.

In the ring, the drama is elevated even further. I was immersed into this interactive film, and I assumed control of the lead role, which meant I got to play out the boxing scenes against Andre’s foes.

Cameras zoom in on your character as you struggle to cope with the dilemmas you are are placed in within these fights. The crowd will become faint, and the voice acting will deliver a tone of urgency at the right moments. The sound design even gets kicked up another notch during fights because certain music will play if you are on the brink of an important moment in the fight. This music mixed in with the match-specific commentary really ties everything together.

It is amazing to see this all come together while still blending in pure boxing strategy with a boxer’s tale. Fundamental boxing principles come to fruition -- in a story mode of all places.

Each battle will have your corner coaching you through new techniques, which is one reason why I am so high on this mode. You will learn how to carry your weight and deal with a new obstacle in every fight.

Gameplay

The new controls allow for many more punches to be thrown, but this balances out with the new fighter stamina. These two factors transform matches into chess games. The more you throw, the less your stamina recovers.

Late in fights, I have found my left to be considerably weaker than my right, as I like to throw the quick jab all night and follow with the left hook. Even planting your feet and abusing the weaving will slow down your torso and your fighter’s ability to swing his hips and gain momentum behind the punches. These are all factors to consider when playing through a bout.

As for the actual functionality of the new controls, it’s interesting to me to see if they were designed exactly how they operate. You can pre-load combinations very easily now to throw one-twos. As your first animation is completing, just add the second gesture and it executes beautifully.

One control design element I recognized occurs when I rotate from two to 10 on the right stick; this initiates a one-two as well. I am not sure if this is a flaw in the design, or if it was meant to be built this way. Either way, I find it happening to my detriment more than anything -- I throw the second punch by accident and end up missing or staying inside too long. However, I think in time this gesture could be used as a formidable strategy.

Fight Night Champion’s throw gestures are very particular. All your flicks on the stick have to be as precise as possible to throw the correct punches. This creates a very calculated method to fighting on the player’s part. I believe this adds depth to the game, rewarding stick skills with precise shots.

With that said, the game speed out the box feels natural to me, but there are plenty of sliders here to work with if you feel it’s too fast.

Simply put, this is a beautiful game, and I am enjoying it so far.


Look for the official Fight Night Champion review when it hits the site in the near future.