Instead victory is dependent on you constantly keeping on the move and maintaining an iron tight guard. The same logic underlines the changes to the blocking (which is now simpler to control) and the stamina system (which is a bit more complicated).This not only makes bouts seem a lot more tactical but also makes button mashing (well, technically it’s stick flicking) as useless a strategy as it would be in real life.

You can also use buttons if you wish, but the game tries to discourage them as much as possible.The new controls don’t really dumb anything down, but instead give you the confidence that you’re choosing and performing the moves you intended, while concentrating on the round’s wider tactics. They’ve been simplified a little from the original Street Fighter and Skate style contortions though, so that all you need to do is flick the stick forward at the correct angle. Not only do faces deform as fists come into contact but there’s enough claret splattering about to shame a horror film.In order to ensure your fist flies in an appropriately match-winning fashion the game still makes use of the series’ (mostly) celebrated analogue controls. Sure the tone is now all dark and gritty, but if your primary reason for buying a new boxing sim is because your fighter looks more cross than last time you’ve got some very odd priorities (or too much disposable income).The Fight Night series has long been a poster boy for next generation graphics and although this doesn’t move much beyond the last game in a technical sense, it does have some of the most wince-inducing animation we’ve ever seen. Welcome to Fight Night Champion.There’s no particularly good reason why this isn’t just called Fight Night: Round 5, but rest assured that’s exactly what it is. Since that doesn’t seem likely ever to happen (or even to be especially necessary) all you’ve got to hope for is another year of the same game but slightly tweaked. As the usual roster of yearly updates limbers up it’s very hard to imagine how games like FIFA and Tiger Woods are going to get any better without a fundamental overhaul of how they work.

The problem with sports games is that they’ve all got too good. Fight Night Champion (PS3) – not a heavyweight

Fight night champion review