Facebreaker

I have mentioned the omnipotent force EA has become in other reviews and previews, and this here is another example. It’s not a bad thing, nor is it good: it just is. So that’s nothing new. And here they are again; another little team working under another label, Freestyle, to produce sports games. Yes; a division of EA Sports. Well done.

FaceBreaker is their baby, and takes a swing at revamping the video game boxing genre. It's pretty cartoonish in look, but don’t be fooled by the caricature style of the characters' faces. They’ll soon be broken. In a control system that differs from a lot of more serious boxing titles (some of them on the major EA Sports brand, even) you’ll be coordinating attacks based on a pyramid scheme, the likes of which you tend to see in RPG titles – this beats that, this is beaten by the other, the other is vulnerable to that.

You can best a light attack with a defensive move (a combination of buttons tapped out to perform it) but watch out for heavy attacks, because they’ll bust right through. Counter with a light attack, though, and the heavy attack will prove too slow. As you run together your combos the arcade style of the game comes through in the form of a “Breaker Meter” that will build your power and allow you to unleash special moves.

The game comes packed with a number of playable characters, as well as unlockables, which of course you’ll need to fight for. There is also a character builder feature so you can work with your own creations.

Hopefully the new control style and stacks of content will amp up the replay value. This all seems to be a rather bold affair, so let’s see if Freestyle are rewarded for their risk taking.