EA Community Day - Fight Night Round 4 (Vancouver, Canada) - Complex's Blog

Arena Blog Dynasty Scores Sign Up ☰

Complex's Blog

EA Community Day - Fight Night Round 4 (Vancouver, Canada) Stuck

Posted on March 4, 2009 at 11:47 PM.

(0)

I had the pleasure to visit Vancouver, Canada and get a sneak peak at EA Sports new boxing game entitled Fight Night Round 4.

Months ago, when I was first contacted to attend this event, I thought it was just a pipe dream. I mean com�n someone online contacts you with the opportunity to visit EA and out of the country is hardly an everyday occurrence. Actually months went by when I was first asked until the next time I actually heard about the trip. So the lag in time had me thinking it was not a �real� opportunity. I am glad I was wrong. I kept a journal of my trip so I wanted to tell

February 22, 2009 � 1:50pm EST
I finally boarded the plane to get to my first stop, Dallas, TX. I wasn�t looking to the 2 hour layover there before flying to Vancouver, Canada.
February 22, 2009 � 3:48pm EST
Landed in Dallas for my long layover, and finding a wall socket for my laptop and PSP was murder. Folks were camped out in the airport hogging all the outlets. I had to go down several gates to find a free one. When I found one, I hogged it too. Before I got settled I did hit up McDonalds for two apple pies. 2 for a $1, you can�t beat it in this economy.

February 22, 2009 � 4:30pm CST
Arggh. Gate change. I had to unplug everything and make a mad dash across the airport to get to the new gate. I am thinking to myself, why change the game right before takeoff? But I did get to the gate first and got to the outlets first. After getting all my devices charged up, the plane began to board.

February 22, 2009 � 6:00pm PST
So I am settling into the 4 hour plane ride into Vancouver and I pulled out my PSP to play a boxing game to pass the time. The guy across the aisle noticed I was playing and asked me was I headed to the EA community event. He was headed to the same place. We talked for a minute and agreed to share a cab to the hotel. As cheap as I am, I was definitely feeling that.

February 22, 2009 � 8:25pm PST
Finally touched down in Vancouver. I was kind of taken back by things at first. The airport was gorgeous. We quickly got our bags and made our way to a cab and on to the hotel. Next stop was the Sutton Hotel and then to the G Sports Bar. EA had a nice set up there waiting for us. Free food, free drinks, and Xbox 360s setup with Fight Night Round 3 in each. It was a nice opportunity to meet the other attendees and our host Alain �Sk88z� Quinto. After two beers I was buzzing and couldn�t beat anyone in that game.

February 23, 2009 � 6:15am PST
I didn�t really sleep well. The time difference (Eastern to Pacific) had me hurting but I wasn�t missing free breakfast or the shuttle bus to the next event. Breakfast was at the hotel instead of the Denny�s across the street. I haven�t eaten at Denny�s since its lawsuit back in the day.

February 22, 2009 � 9:30am PST
The first stop of the day was at Griffin�s Gym http://www.griffinsboxing.com/default.html). Griffins Boxing and Fitness is the only sanctioned boxing gym in North Vancouver. We began the day there doing boxing drills. We jumped rope, ran laps, worked the heavy bag, and even the punching mitts. I was thinking to myself that they were trying to kill us. After the first set of workouts in walks �Sugar� Shane Mosley and Sergio �Latin Snake� Mora. I was taken back for a minute. I did not expect this.

Several guys went for their cameras to get photos and video footage. I followed suit. Well after all the pictures, and hype lessened, Sergio Mora suited up in head gear and they chose three of us to spar with him in the ring. I was one of the chosen, video included.

February 22, 2009 � 12:30pm PST
We made our way to the Cactus Club Caf� (http://www.cactusclubcafe.com/). I really liked this place as the ladies who served the food made me forget I was hungry.

February 22, 2009 � 2:00pm PST
Finally the moment I was really in Vancouver for, we made our way to the EA Campus to see the Fight Night Round 4 game. Prior to seeing the actual game, we were treated to a Q&A with Shane Mosley and Sergio Mora. Questions came in all forms but the most eye opening answers came from Mora. We got good strategy tips from Mosley and Mora telling us he wishes he had �one-punch� power. At the end of the Q&A came more photos and autographs.

Next up we finally got to see and play the most recent build of Fight Night. First I must say I signed a NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) which prohibits me from giving away specific information about the game. I will try to say what I can without saying what I can't.
I love boxing and when I say boxing, I mean boxing (not two dudes trying to knock each other's head off). What moves do you think of when in the ring? While I cannot say exactly, a lot of what you thought just now IS in the game.

One thing I want to echo is that these producers of the game are REAL boxing fans, not guys wanting to make a 'rock'em sock'em' game. They truly understand the inner workings of a boxing match and tried to capture that in the game. As we played the game and made some suggestions the producers were on hand, went into debug mode and made adjustments on the fly. Now that really blew my mind. That should give you a flavor for the type of guys we were dealing with. They did not try to convince us that they had it perfect and were not open to feedback, rather they listened to us and the community at large and included many things 'we' asked for in the build. What really had me stoked is that this is just the 'alpha' build, so things are only going to get better.

The stable of boxers in the game were representative of the boxing world, old school and new. You WILL find a boxer that you like in this game.

February 22, 2009 � 8:30pm PST
Dinner arrived and the producers of the game came and talked with us. They were eager to hear what we liked, what we didn�t like. I recall spending a good amount of time talking to the guys about the stadium atmosphere, movements in the ring, and motion capture of certain fighters. Producer Brian "Brizzo" Haynes actually did the motion capture of one of the fighters in the game and if he had not told us, we would have never known.
All in all, I must say the Fight Night series is in great hands. It feels and plays like a totally different game and exceeds its predecessor in numerous ways. It is the best boxing game I have played, and that includes the Victorious Boxers and Boxer�s Road series out of Asia. Hats off to the staff at EA for really taking the sweet science seriously and taking feedback from the fans of the Fight Night serious and incorporate them into the game. Fans of this game will be impressed and there is enough for ****** gamers to become lifelong fans. Oh and there is this guy named Mike Tyson in the game too.