Fight Night Round 3 (FNR3) signals the return of the sweaty man mountain in shiny shorts x2 and the only real competitor to take to the ring in 2006. Where have all the boxing games gone? Well, pardon our pugilist parlance, but essentially, they're all here in EA's third tilt at the heavyweight title. You really wouldn't need any of the other pretenders, even if there were any. FNR3 hits the spot with some of the most visceral visuals we've seen in a one-on-one fighter. Turn up the volume and listen to that gristle and sinew crunch and grate as you land (or get suckered by) the most powerful of punches. Then get back to your stool and let your cutman administer some repairs to your bloody and battered mush. Oof! And this is just the Play Now mode. Career mode is the real meat and potatoes of FNR3, but more of that in a minute. To get acclimatised to the game, the Training mode is pretty much essential if you don't want to end up on your backside within seconds of getting in the ring for real. Sparring and punching a heavy bag as well as lifting weights all goes toward helping your fighter in his career. You can inhabit the likeness of some of the biggest names in boxing in Fight Night Round 3 - Ricky Hatton, Oscar de la Hoya etc. - or you can create your own boxer in your own image (you wish!), sign a contract, and get busy making a mess of your first opponent's face. Success brings money to upgrade your equipment, and trophies to fill that empty cabinet. ESPN Classic mode lets you relive great match-ups in boxing history, with featured bouts including Ali vs. Frazier and Gatti vs. Ward. You can even get your own fighter involved in this mode, but only if he's tough enough. FNR3 for Xbox 360 is also Live Enabled, so you can see when your fellow fighters are online and receive invitations to play games. It's true that the hits hurt, and Fight Night Round 3 will undoubtedly punch its way to the upper reaches of the 360 charts. It has the smarts to distinguish it from EA's last boxing outing, and as the only contender in the genre at the time of its release, it's a knockout blow for EA.
