I don't consider myself much of a boxing fan, so after dipping my toes into EA Sports' Knockout Kings series, it was no surprise that I found them to be boring and lacking in the passion of the sport. Well apparently EA felt the same way, because after disappearing from boxing for quite some time, the company's back with its new boxer, Fight Night 2004, an over the top slugfest that sports a fresh coat of paint and numerous features that have me very interested.

The purpose of any boxing/fighting game is to kick the crap out of someone in the most brutal way imaginable, and Fight Night's physics engine allows for the most painful knockouts I've ever seen. When a devastating punch is delivered to an opponent his head snaps back and his body goes limp. He takes damage, so you'll see bruises all over his face, and if you're lucky, you'll score some blood flying from his mouth. It's a painful sight, made even more brutal by the multiple angle replays after each knock down. The game makes you pay for putting your guard down, and then it humiliates you, and after spending some time with the demo, I can attest that Fight Night is going to lead to a lot of trash talking between friends and those playing the game online (Via the PS2 only.). Of course, to further enrage your opponent, you can also continue to knock his/her head around well after the knock down shot, leaving their bodies a bruised and twitchy mess smeared along the canvas.

The knockouts are cool, but what about the rest of the game? EA has gone the extra mile and loaded Fight Night with tons of features and special goodies to ensure that it'll be one of, if not the greatest boxing game ever created. For starters, they packed it full of famous boxers including Roy Jones Jr., Lennox Lewis, Shane Moseley, Mohammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Joe Frazier, and each of them look exactly like their real life counterparts. The game's got some slick visuals, from the boxers to the huge arenas they battle in. The crowds could use some polish, but the in ring graphics are definitely up to snuff.

If you'd rather create your own fighter, you'll be pleased to know that the game features a deep career mode that'll let you build your boxer and bring him up through the ranks, honing your skills, acquiring sponsors and traveling to various locales. However, what I'm psyched about are the customizable ring entrances. In addition to creating a fighter, you can pick an entourage, add pyrotechnics, and select appropriate theme music. I've seen things like this in wrestling games, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it transfers to boxing.

Fight Night's controls are somewhat innovative and add a new dimension of realism to the sport. EA's obsession with making the right analog stick do something cool continues, and it's called Total Punch Control. Basically, you toss out the digital buttons for the analogs. The left stick moves your fighter while the right throws punches, which isn't anything new in the industry, but the way EA's doing this allows you to bob and weave, then throw punches as soft or hard as you want, and that my friends is a pretty cool concept because it makes fights more like chess matches, where one wrong move will leave you eating canvas. The idea is to make your opponent miss so you can explode, and for the most part it works rather well. However, I'm still not sold on using the right analog stick to punch. Just as Rise to Honor and Grabbed by the Ghoulies failed to deliver the goods using this control scheme, Fight Night makes the best attempt, but it's still a herky-jerky experience. If I continually press the stick I want my fighter to throw a series of punches, but in the demo this never happens. I applaud EA for trying to innovate, but after several fights I switched to using the face buttons on the Dual Shock 2 and had a lot more success.

I also have mixed feelings about the crowds. Although the final version is still a ways off, I wasn't thrilled with their interaction during the fight. I just don't understand why videogame companies insist on designing these enormous arenas, fill them with 20,000 people and make me think only twenty are in attendance. Haven't they ever been witness to thousands of screaming fans? In Fight Night's case, EA Sports needs to pump up the volume.

My nitpicks aside, Fight Night's gameplay is spot on and that's the most important thing. When you factor in all of the bells and whistles, the game looks like the total boxing package, a sensational smorgasbord of brutal hits and famous stars that'll redefine videogame console boxing. Definitely check it out when it releases this spring.