Fight Night Round 3 review

It's all about working to your chosen boxer's advantages, and that's what keeps Fight Night Round 3 varied and playable - and this is also reflected in the modified career mode. Unlike the previous round of Fight Night, your created fighter now works his way up the contenders ladder by gaining respect.

Don't worry, it's not a classic EA 'Yo - Facebuster KO! +100 Respect!' kind of thing. It's based on which fights you take on. The opponent contracts you sign can range from money-spinners with a large fight purse up for grabs to tougher but less well-known boxers who you'll gain respect for whooping, but will earn less cash in doing so.

This approach allows you to choose which route you want to follow. There's a handy bar on the career menu to indicate how much respect you've gained and once it's full you can then challenge for a belt or take on a cash-cow opponent so you can buy new gloves, gum shields and the like.

You can even form bitter rivalries with some fighters. They'll then want to challenge you at any given moment and are more suspect to chucking in a cheeky elbow or head-butt during the bout. While we're on the subject, showboating boxers can bait illegal attacks as they automatically wind up their arms or cockily beckon opponents.

While Fight Night Round 3 serves up hammer blows by the shedload, it also adds the glitz and presentation of a world title fight. The commentators not only deliver accurate accounts of the ring action, they also give you little facts about each of the well-known fighters. For example, did you know that middleweight champion Jermain Taylor lost his first amateur fight and was subsequently whooped by his own mother? You do now.

There's even a selection of multi-angled replays to give you the best view of a crucial knockdown, shamelessly known as the 'Burger King replay-cam'. In fact, barely a fight passes by without some advertising cropping up from the likes of Chrysler. It's just a shame EA didn't use the cash generated from it to purchase more licensed boxers...