Have you ever wanted to step into the ring and go head-to-head with another pugilist in front of thousands of spectators; each watching every miniscule movement you and your opponent make, all while beating the snot out of your opponent? If so, EA Sport's Fight Night 2004 is right up your alley, as it offers all of that without getting beat to a bloody pulp.

The control setup for Fight Night has a learning curve attached to it. The best results come from using a combination of the L1 button and the left stick, as well as the R1 button and the right stick. You can use the right stick for what EA is calling "Total Punch Control." This allows the player to have more freedom with how they pummel the opponent. It's a system that works very well in the demo version and not so out of reach for the casual gamer, in terms of grasping a more advanced usage of the setup.

What helps this along further is the need to use the L1 button and the R1 button in conjunction with their respective analog stick. By using the right stick with the R1 button, players can attempt to block punches. At the same time, players can be using the L1 button and left stick to lean in another direction. It makes for a very interesting an engaging game.

A really nice gameplay touch happens when one of the boxers is close to being knocked out. He suffers from what I'd call a popped ear drum, as the crowd is deafened and all that can really be heard is the heart beat of the boxer.

The music seemed a little out of place, as if it was trying to identify with a different demographic. More rap based beats added to this strange "ghetto" feel present in the game. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it doesn't really seem like it would combine well with the sport of boxing.

Fight Night 2004 should be available at your local retailer this week. This game should be able to rise to the ranks as World Champ in heavyweight contention. Stay with us as we'll have a full review soon.