The fifth installment of EA Sport’s Fight Night series features changes to the analog “Full-Spectrum Punch Control,” a few tweaks to the Legacy Mode career game, and introducing a new story-driven mode called “Champion Mode.” Improvements have also been made to the engine’s physics and damage models, among other aspects of the machine.
In response to feedback on the “Total Punch” controls found in Fight Night 4, Championships with support for both face button control and “Full-Spectrum” control. The right analog stick is used to control the boxer’s punches, while the left analog stick is used to manage the boxer’s movement. Punches can now be thrown in Champion by tapping the right bar in one of eight directions. Players are no longer required to swipe the right stick in a circular motion to throw hooks or uppercuts. In addition, players can now maintain their guard while simultaneously punching their opponents. In addition, statistics play a more significant role in determining a fighter’s performance, and as a punch is leveled up, additional benefits become available. These include “flash knockouts” and “flash knockdowns,” which can instantaneously send an opponent to the canvas (or an instant KO) every time that punch connects with them. Other terms for this are “flash knockdowns” and “flash knockouts.”
The Legacy training system and the stamina gauge have both undergone significant revisions. Now, stamina may be monitored discreetly all over the body, including the head and arms. Any strain on any of these locations will ultimately affect the visible total stamina bar. If a player continues to use the same hand to throw punches or if they continue to take strikes in the exact location, their overall stamina will deplete at a faster rate. This motivates players to play defensively and change their striking combinations even further.
The Legacy Mode has retained practically all of its previous functionality. The players still construct a boxer, manage his career as a fighter, and distribute the experience points they gain to many specialized areas of development. The most significant alteration to the training system may be found in Legacy Mode. Players now have the option to pay real money to practice at illustrious gyms worldwide that focus on honing specific skills. Stamina is depleted throughout training. Thus players have to carefully schedule their activity and rest in the weeks leading up to their battle, or they will go into the action with less stamina than they started.
The new mode, Champion Mode, is the most essential addition to Champion. When playing this mode, the player assumes the role of Andre Bishop, a former Olympic middleweight champion who winds up serving time in prison. The narrative traces Andre’s ascent through the boxing ranks explains the circumstances behind his incarceration, and describes his eventual release from prison and his efforts to make a comeback. The narrative is conveyed through cutscenes that appear between the approximately 20 fights the player can direct Andre through during his career. Many of the fights not only task the player to complete the game as Andre, a defined boxer who cannot change his training, skills, or weaknesses but also provide temporary challenges reflecting the story. These include having Andre score a knockout by a particular round and continuing to play despite having a cut eye or a wounded arm. An opponent may also have glaringly obvious specific weaknesses or strengths, such as a powerful left hook, which must be avoided at all costs.
Players can still compete against people from around the world for a belt in the Online World Championships despite not much has changed in the online realm. The most significant change is the introduction of online “gyms,” which function analogously to a guild and consist of a group of people. To gain more experience and trophies, players in a gym can compete against each other or take on members of other gyms. Participation in online play necessitates purchasing an Online Pass code from EA.
