Facebreaker
Publisher: EA Sports Freestyle
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Rating: T — Teen
Game type: Sports
Rating: *** (out of five)

What’s the premise?
Go toe-to-toe in the squared circle as one of about a dozen pugilists in this no-holds-barred arcade-style fighting extravaganza.

This game is most similar to…?
I’d like to say Fight Night 3, but actually it feels more like Tekken.

Is it suitable for younger gamers?
No blood, but non-stop bludgeoning with realistic results should make most parents want to keep this one out from little hands.

One player or more?
As with most fighting games, Facebreaker is better when played against a friend.

The (not-so) secret to success is…?
Blocks are for kids. Unlike most fighting games, you won’t find yourself leaning on the block button as much as you’ll be relying on the ability to parry blows and counterpunch.

What’s missing?
Facebreaker is much more of a button masher than boxing sims like Fight Night and the thing you’ll be wishing you had more of is time to think as the fists fly fast and furious.

And in the end?
Facebreaker lacks a bit of the sweet science that elevates boxing from street fighting to sport and while the cartoony graphics are fun and the action is can be fast paced, it just doesn’t have enough to rise up and take the belt from Fight Night in the battle for boxing game supremacy.