One of the coolest things about video games is the chance to take part in sports that you totally suck at or are just too scared (or sane) to try out for real. For me, boxing definitely falls into the latter category. Sure, at the gym I've done a bit of sparring but that's mostly for the aerobic benefits, there is absolutely no way you would ever get me in a real boxing ring, making myself and some other guy ugly just for the hell of it. Getting hurt, well.. it hurts! Fight Night Round 2 has arrived from the sports game masters at EA and aims to improve upon last years game, which while having a lot of hits, also had its share of misses as well.

The first thing that strikes you in Fight Night Round 2 (from now on FN2) is just how much amazing detail and accuracy has gone into the look of the boxers. Last year they looked great, this year they look absolutely amazingly real. The textures are incredibly detailed and it's possible to make out unique characteristics on each of the boxers. The models all have a nice sheen to them that makes them look like they've just had a rub down and as the fights progress you will notice loads of details such as streaks of sweat down their chest. The boxers in FN2 look real, almost eerily real there is that much detail in them.

If there's one small complaint to make it's that the facial expressions don't change during fights (except when they've taken a massive hit in the replays) and they tend to have this rather vacant stare on their faces a lot of the time. It's more noticeable in your created boxers than the real life guys though which all look great but Def Jam Fight for New York featured some excellent facial animations during fights and it's a shame we couldn't see it in FN2 as well.

The nifty Total Punch Control makes a welcome return; it was a great system last year and is still perfectly suited to the game. It gives you a control over your punches and blocking that mere button mashing could never hope to achieve. To throw jabs you tap the right analogue stick up to the left and right, to throw hooks, you move it to the side and then up and to throw uppercuts you pull the stick down on an angle and then in a half circle to the top of the controller. Making your move to the left or right controls the arm that your boxer will use to hit with and it's possible to pull of some incredible combos once you get the moves down. I never quite got the hang of last years game but this time in about 1-2 hours it came pretty naturally and within no time you'll want to try out the new Haymaker moves.

There are two kinds of Haymaker, the hook and uppercut and they involve pulling the stick back, holding it, and then pushing the stick back up to the top of the controller. It takes a little while to get used to but the damage you cause can be pretty devastating. A great touch is that to use this move you have to use the Total Punch Control system as there is no button available to do it so button mashers beware. It doesn't pay to go using this move all the time though as it can be parried fairly easily and uses a lot of your stamina. Couple this with successful parrying and you have some great moves available in both offense and defense.

Parrying involves holding the Right trigger and in conjunction with the R stick you are able to parry incoming blows aimed at your head and body. Stuff up the timing though and the opponents blow will be blocked a little bit or totally get through, but even blocking saps your strength down. Make a successful parry and if you're quick your opponent is open for a clean hit. If you can combine this with the haymaker, you're on your way to winning some serious cash and those elusive title belts. The Left trigger is used to duck and weave to help avoid the incoming blows. Other moves available to each boxer are a special move that you can use by pressing the black button and you're also able to pull off an illegal move that if used too often, sees you disqualified. Once you unlock the elbow move though it's simply too tempting and you are able to get away with a small number of illegal blows in each match.

As well as the detailed look of the boxers, the damage and injuries they suffer in the ring looks painfully real as well. No mere generic 'pain skins' this time around, each boxer will suffer bruising and cuts totally depending on where the blows land. You will see cuts form, massive bruising, bleeding and even the eyes close up should too many hits land in that area. It's not just all for show either as in between rounds the EA Sports Cutman is available to treat your wounds with a little mini game that you can use to minimise the damage. You're given 30 seconds to repair as much damage as possible (or you can opt to have it done automatically) and you can use this time to bring down swelling, stop cuts and if your boxer is bleeding, you will even see it trickling down his face. The blood isn't animated that smoothly but it still looks pretty good and it's your job to stop the flow anyway rather than just watch it.

The game modes on offer are your normal Fight Now mode for some instant action with yourself or a mate. Also on offer is a Career Mode that lets you take a boxer you create yourself and turn him into a boxing legend. Over the past couple of years we've all seen some pretty detailed 'create a player' modes in games and the one in FN2 does not disappoint. Rather than choosing between set body shape options you use the Left and Right sticks to change the fat and muscle amount on your boxer and you see the changes in real time. The players you can create end up being extremely detailed but with the extreme amount of changes that you can make to their physical appearance, the number of hair options is pretty low so making a perfect double of yourself probably wont be totally doable.

The career mode has been expanded on from last year, with the new 'Fight Prep' screen that lets you hire more experienced trainers, select music and lighting effects for your entrance as well as being able to have a bikini babe in your entourage. They aren't just for show though and selecting more expensive effects or bikini babes will increase your stamina or the number of times you can get up from knockdowns.

The other new feature in the career mode is the 'Go Train' option. After you schedule a fight you can work on certain areas of your physique such as power, speed, stamina and resistance to cuts. You can let the computer do all the work but naturally doing it manually returns greater rewards. The mini games in the gym are the combo dummy, the heavy bag and weight lifting. Each game has a different effect and as mentioned, if you cant be bothered you can select quick training which still lets you have a bit of control over which of your ratings you can work on. One thing I found is that while the career mode doesn't force you into retirement at age 40 this year, hard workouts in the gym affected my boxer in a negative manner as he got older. After winning and unifying every available belt, at around the age of 41 my boxer's stamina started to weaken and the gym workouts started to stop increasing his attributes. I'll be creating a new guy and playing through the career mode again on hard this time to see if it happens again.

During the career mode there's plenty of items to unlock such as new trunks, mouth guards, gloves, shoes, tattoos for all parts of your upper body as well as signature movies, illegal moves and taunts that can all be unlocked and purchased. As you unlock more expensive gear they will give you a small attribute bonus like extra agility, cut resistance and power but while there are plenty of items like trunks and shoes, the glove selection is pretty slim and you find yourself with a lot of the best gear early on. I retired my first career boxer at age 42 after winning every title (jumping up and down between weight divisions) and with over $37,000,000 in the bank with basically nothing to spend it on, but hey, it's not about the money right? It's about those glorious title belts!

The sound in FN2 does a great job. The hits sound nice and painful and in the slow motion replays (which you cannot save) the groans and thuds sound particularly good. The crowd does plenty of cheering and the commentary pitches in with some relevant but repetitive remarks during the matches but after a handful of fights you've just about heard it all. The music in the game is basically crud and if you turn it down you can't hear your entrance music (that you've paid for)! The icing on the cake in FN2 would have been custom soundtrack support to create some personalised entrances for your boxer but maybe next year perhaps.

Another Xbox feature to be ignored again for PAL regions is Xbox Live support so if you want to challenge your mates, it will have to be in person I'm afraid. Why online multiplayer keeps getting removed from EA's sports games we'll never know. Luckily the career mode is entertaining enough to hold your interest for a solid amount of time but with some online play and a couple of innovative ideas such as online title tournaments and title shots, Fight Night Round 2 could have just about been the perfect boxing game, online and offline.