With zero irony whatsoever, we can say that compared to Fight Night Round 4, the face-melting, next-gen-is-here uppercut that was Round 3 is merely, well...a videogame. The fourth bout in this amazing franchise takes what was an excellent game about boxing and turns it into a boxing exercise that happens to take place within a videogame. Round 4 is exponentially more realistic, nuanced, brutal, and ultimately rewarding than its predecessor ever was, and that’s high praise indeed considering the 10 out of 10 we awarded the last game.

Now, we know boxing isn’t for everyone. Round 3 managed to lure in pugilism noobs like us with its bar-raising visuals. Of course, Round 4 can’t hope to make the same graphical impact; it’s technologically impossible. Sure, this sequel is smoother, with fighters that are more realistic and less cartoony, but there isn’t a hidden fourth processing core in the Xbox 360 for the game to exploit. So while Round 3 relied on the “sweet” in the sweet science to get its point across, Round 4’s advances come from placing a heavier emphasis on the science. That means blocking, technique, strategy, and physics play a far greater role in enhancing the play experience.

Unlike in Street Fighter, for instance, where landing Ken’s little toe on someone’s head can yield a full-contact hit, every blow and block in Fight Night Round 4 is accurately modeled, resulting in glancing hits and the ability to properly slip a punch. It gives the blows an organic and convincing feel that’s unavailable in any other fighting game, and key to it all is collision detection that never fails. No joke: clipping issues are non-existent in Round 4. We looked hard for errors, but there were none.

The end result is that you never feel cheated by what happens in the ring. If you get flash-KO’d, you know it wasn’t because of any sort of flaw in the software’s code — it’s because you failed to move your head away from an oncoming fist in a reasonable amount of time. This obviously has positive implications in single-player, but it’s even more important for a fair fight in the local and online multiplayer.

Fortunately, fair doesn’t translate to boring. Everything that made sickening impacts in Fight Night Round 3 is still here, and you’ll still flinch when a punch lands square on someone’s nose. There’s something grimly satisfying about the thunderous blows that produce stuns and knockouts, and even hardened pacifists will find it difficult to resist the visceral action. The biggest impact now comes from counter punches, as the counter system has been re-emphasized due to the physics. A perfect block — also physics-fueled — will also give you a similar window of opportunity to retaliate. Counter-punching is now by far the quickest way to stun or even knock out an opponent, and fights will often stretch out to a decision if you don’t get in a few choice counters.

Add all of this up, and our unbeatable Round 3 tactic of simply planting with LT and leaning out of the way of punches with the left stick doesn’t work anymore. Blocking, weaving, and fighting to your boxer’s strengths are the keys to victory. So the adjustment for Round 3 veterans can be harsh (frustratingly so, even), and the added cerebral tactics and realism might be enough to turn off the casual gamers that Round 3 wooed — or at least spur them to lower the difficulty.

Outside of the ring, there’s an extensive career mode that sees you either building a boxer from scratch or rebuilding the career of one of the 40 boxers on offer. More tedious stuff like training can be all but ignored, and there’s a great feeling of progression as you work your way from brawling with no-name fighters to pummelling the stars of the sport (like newcomer Mike Tyson). You’ll even get called out by other boxers and challenged to matches, and with the new variety in styles, heights, and reaches, there’s a genuine feeling that every match of your lengthy career is different.

If you’re feeling really confident after conquering the career, online play lets you fight for three World Championship belts, which can be contested for bragging rights using a created boxer. Our only worry is that with such complex mathematics going on in the fights, any bit of lag is likely to be positively ruinous (we encountered none, though). The ability to save and upload your own replays is brilliant, however.

Despite the uphill difficulty curve, repetitive commentary, and long loading times, Round 4 is a force that topples its mind-blowing predecessor in every category. You will get punched in the face, and you will love it.

On Xbox 360

+ Visually stunning and smooth.

+ Ludicrously impressive physics; no clipping ever!

- Learning curve can be painful, even for veterans.

? Can't EA Trax be personified in the game so we can beat its ass once and for all?

9.0