PULLING ITS PUNCHES; THE REWORKED VERSION OF FIGHT NIGHT ISN'T A COMPLETE KNOCKOUT.

Byline: KEVIN LYNCH 

TFIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4

***

Xbox 360, PS3 pounds 49.99

The Fight Night boxing games are a consistently impressive package. From the ultra-realistic modelling of real-life brawlers to the bone-crunching animation and intuitive control schemes, they continue to delight gamers and boxing enthusiasts the world over.

However, Fight Night 2009's re-working of the game engine is, if not a step backwards, definitely a sideways move for the series.

As ever, there's a great roster of boxers on display. Alongside a robust create-a-boxer mode there are heavy hitters such as Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. They all look marvellously lifelike, especially in the flashbulb-filled boxing arenas of the higher ranks of the career.

Controlling your boxer is still mapped to the control sticks, one for movement and the other for throwing punches. This works as well as ever, but where once punch control was accurate and intuitive, inside boxing has perhaps given fighters too many options in the ring, leading to unnecessary complications.

Also, the fun ringside work of your corner team from past incarnations has been replaced with a bizarre and less effective trading system, where successful punches in a round translate to points with which to purchase healing items for your boxer.

With such great foundations laid by previous games, this sequel should have been a haymaker knockout. As it stands, Fight Night Round 4 is just merely another glancing blow from EA's yearly sequel factory that fails to reach its potential.

CAPTION(S):

CHAMP: Manny Pacquiao TUSSLE: Fighters go head to head