EA K.O.'ed the other two titles with this one

Fight Night Round 3 for the Xbox 360 is a good game for the 360 if not the best right now. You can choose a few things, ESPN Classic, which are sets of rivalry fights, ranging from Ali vs. Frazier all the way to Hopkins vs. Taylor. Rivalry fights really help its replay value. You can also Create-a-Champ. this mode is just for play now, where you can set up the fighters, the venues, etc.

But, the real draw is the Career mode. When you create your fighter, you can personalize him in this game like no other game. The amount of depth you can use is unbelievably good. you can edit everything from the bridge of your fighter's nose, all the way to the shape of his skull. After you create your fighter, including picking his weight class which include; featherwieght, light heavy, heavyweight, flyweight, welterwieght, and middleweight.

You start off as an amateur in your division, fighting with head gear. To move up, you need to look at the fights, because to go to the stage of your career, you need to build up your popularity, and then fight for an award. The award fights are sponsored by corporations like Burger King, Under Armour, Dodge, etc. If you win, your awards are stored in your trophy case, along with title belts, too.

Now, before you fight, you sign a contract, which can have rewards, unlock venues, and even unlock packages for the fight store. Another added bonus in career, you can even fight legends such as; Sugar Ray Leonard, Jermain Taylor, Oscar De La Hoya, and many more. Training after signing a contract is pretty realistic, too. You first choose a trainer, and then choose a regimen of training of either combo dummies, heavybags, weightlifting, or sparring, you can only choose one, unless you choose to spar first, but each training method has pros and cons. Weights will give you power, but take away speed, and they all range differently depending on the type of trainer and method you choose.

Now, where this game beats every other boxing game is in the actual fighting, this game relies not only on a good offense, but defense and counter punching as well. A good defense is essential because between rounds, you also have to reduce swelling, and get rid of cuts, if you had good defense, you won't have much swelling or cuts. Between rounds, you will see replays of the rounds hits and knockdowns. And stamina also plays a big role. If you throw a lot of punches, you will tire out, and that includes missing punches, too. When your opponent is almost out, he will become dazed, and the fight will go into a slow mo mode, where you need to throw one good punch to get him down. Online play is also well worth the effort of learning to play this game.

The graphics in this game are simply the best that you can buy for $55 or $60. You can see every drop of sweat coming off the fighter, the legends actually look like themselves. you can tell that this wasn't just another rushed game like Madden 06 and that EA really wanted to put out a quality title. The crowd in the venues actually have 3D models of fans, not just people that look like they got cut out of cardboard. But, the graphics could possibly be the real draw to the game for gamers who don't like boxing. The sound is good, especially with a soundtrack featuring everyone from Akon, Brasco, and other stars or up-and-comers, too. the only drawback on the sound is the commentators during the fights. they try to put some energy into their lines, but they eventually just become two guys saying cheesy one-liners like; "one more big hit and that could be all she wrote for..." or some other line that gets used many times over in the same fight. And, you'll like to hear the crowd when you take over a fight.

Overall, it's a great boxing game, and an above average sequel. There aren't any real bad drawbacks to this game, except in online play. Online play is great, but if you don't know how to play the game well, online play can spell some frustration for you. But with great graphics, and high replay value, it's well worth at least a rental, if you don't buy it.

Overall 9.5 out of 10

Graphics 10 out of 10
Sound 8 out of 10
Replay Value 9 out of 10
Gameplay 8 out of 10