Don King’s Prizefighter

Entering the ring behind EA’s bar-raising Fight Night franchise is a tall order. Thankfully, 2K Sports has the ultimate hype man in their corner to help even the odds. Mere minutes into Prizefighter’s career mode, you’ll know you’re in for a ride as the trash-talking maestro fills your HD display — complete with cigar, bling, and, of course, Heat Meiser–like hair — describing a fight as “extreme spectaculocity.”

His appearance, and those of many other real-life and fictional characters, is part of Prizefighter’s well-produced mock documentary recounting the rags-to-riches history of your personalized pugilist. In clear response to Fight Night’s lackluster story, 2K’s crafted a narrative that gives life to your virtual fighter by having his trainers, agents, and many ex-girlfriends (guy was a playa!) tell his tale.

Despite the slick story-driving device, you’ll spend most of your time in the ring — this is a boxing game, after all. Rather than copying Fight Night’s popular thumbstick-controlled punches, Prizefighter kicks it old-school, allowing players to unleash the face-pounding action by hammering on buttons. While not nearly as polished as EA’s superior system, the controls mix satisfying button-mashing with plenty of options for a modicum of finesse and strategic depth: A and B work your left and right hooks, while X and Y handle each arm’s jabs and straight shots. Buttons, triggers, and bumpers work as modifiers for hooks and leaning or sidestep shots.

Visually, Prizefighter stumbles a bit with some questionable collision detection, which is never, ever good. And while the blood and sweat do fly, they don’t match the shield-your-face realism of Fight Night’s fluid-flinging effects. Prizefighter is definitely a contender in the guilty-pleasure category: its story mode trumps the competition’s, and though its fighting mechanics won’t dethrone the current champ, they still pack a simple, straightforward wallop.