Fight Night Champion Review

There aren't too many boxing games for the mobile platform yet but it would take a knockout to dethrone this undisputed king so far. The game is thoroughly enjoyable on the iPhone but not without some quirks.

Choose your boxer

To begin with, this is by the far the best boxing game for the iPhone as there are not any others that can compare with EA's muscle, period. Trying to play a boxing game on this mobile device is tough already. The tiny screen does not do it justice but you will still enjoy it nonetheless. Fight Night Champion by EA Games allows to choose some of the sport's greatest fighters past and present.  Relive the glorious boxing matches with fighters like Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and today's best pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not on the roster though.  Still the selection of boxers is good enough for us. You can even have fighters from different weight classes challenge each other! Tyson versus any light heavyweight? Yes sir!

It's not a boxing game without beautiful ring girls!

Controls screen

Controls are fairly simple as you swipe up and down for uppercuts and left to right for jabs.  Block punches by pressing thumbs on the screen. In no time, you'll be able to master combinations at ease. Don't throw wild punches though as there is health meter and your fighter can get tired fast just by swinging wildly at air. The game play is quite good that it almost feels as if you're the one really in the ring throwing punches and hanging on for dear life! 

Tyson v. Tommy Morrison: the result

Statistics tell the tale

Statistics provide details of how you are doing after each round and a summary is shown at the end of the match.  Points are earned with each punch to the opponent and for surviving the rounds. You can choose the Legacy Mode or simply duke it out in a single fight.

Overall, we were impressed with the game. The controls are simple and game play is fast. Our main issue is the camera angle as it is only limited to showing the full view of the fighters or from the fighter's shoulder POV. This shoulder view limits you as to how far you have to punch. You don't get closeups of the action during the fight itself. This is problematic on a tiny iPhone screen. Additionally, holding your phone with both hands during gameplay covers up the main speaker as well. Depending on how you hold your phone, you may end up muffling the audio and sounds from the game.