Like any sequel of a sequel worth its salt, Fight Night Round 4 is a visual wonder to behold, deftly conveying the sense of controlling actual men in an actual square circle - as opposed to burly videogame charters waxing at pugilism.

Fluid, dynamically-lifelike animation, the sweat, spit and rubber facing, real-time cuts, bruises and blemishes, stumbles and slips, the grimaces, the grunts, the growls, all great. Well, the fact the punches and falling bodies can occasionally pass right though one other is a bit of a technical hitch, but that's the state of the art for you. The well-advertised inclusion of Ali and Tyson both, plus 48 other famed or faded fighters is a big bonus, of course, but even as a no-name boxing game, Round 4 stands out.

In a subtle but significant break from "simulation" conventions, Fight Night Round 4 actually lets regular gamers know when opportunity knocks; block or dodge a blow just so and the game gears down into slow-mo, which is a cue to counter as much as an opportunity to go all cinematic on thine opponent's face.

Also added are some role-playing game (RPG) elements that let you spend earned points on healing and replenishing between rounds, assets normally associated with fantasy, not boxing. But seeing as the consequential burn-out of mere flailing/thumb-twitching is certainly real, it's cool that you can now do something to correct it, but only by earning points for technical aptitude in the ring for the repair, so even button-mashers have to play smart now. Nice.

That's key, because no matter how truthful a fighting game is to real life limitations on strength, stamina and endurance, no videogame system yet can actually convey the sense of weight behind a punch, the mounting fatigue of missing. That's still a controller in your hands, after all, and no thumb in the world can actually deliver a 1,000psi haymaker, now can it? Bars and counters displaying the causes and effects on "your" body half way through a 10 round bout help, but it's the slow-motion moments, the clearly distressed guys in the center of the screen starting to slouch or breath open-mouthed, the new RPG/pit stop-like repair work that gives the sense of actual athletes looking to leave it all on the canvas.

Fight Night Round 4 is still a boxing simulation at the end of the day, not a "fighting game" in videogame sense. If you have little interest in boxing but otherwise like fighting games, this one's still not for you, even though it's probably the most sensible, understandable, and playable version of the series yet.