Innovation.

Just think of everything that one word implies. Now think of the software developers with which that word can be applied to. Did Electronic Arts feature in that list?

The common misconception is that Electronic Arts lack innovative thought. Charged with regurgitating sequels year in – year out, the attitude towards EA by self-proclaimed hardcore gamers is one of distaste. Even though fans of their many sporting franchises return time after time, this misconception remains fully in place. The simple truth of the matter is that EA are the sporting market leader due to being said market's trendsetter. Starting with being the first publisher to get their product officially endorsed, to pushing production values through the roof, where EA treads other publishers follow. And as all successful market leaders must do, products which become stale and underperforming must be ruthlessly culled. That's what happened to EA's previous boxing franchise, Knockout Kings. After a five year run it was dropped in favour of Fight Night 2004, a new game which could change the boxing genre from this point onwards.

Fight Night 2004 features 32 licensed fighters, spread over six weight divisions. Combining both modern and classic eras, the cast list includes greats such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frasier, Lennox Lewis and Roy Jones Jr (to name just a few of the heavyweight division). The character models, in particular the face work, is very much spot-on, fans of the sport will instantly recognise each boxer from their faces alone. Making up the numbers is a group of imaginary fighters, the likes of which you will have seen in the numerous other boxing games which have come before.

The animations are fluid, with the boxer's shuffling around the ring with life-like postures. Punches flow with an efficiency that never looks manufactured, and the defence system looks just as good with the fighters switching between blocking and out-manoeuvring their opponents with animated ease. Never once is there a pause in the action due to poor animation, players can switch between offence and defence without worrying that the games engine won't be able to keep up. What this means is that a good counter-punching strategy can be successfully formulated, with fighters slipping punches or forcing their opponents to stumble by parrying their shots and then instantly switching to the offensive with devastating effect.

The thing that pushes the characters into the realm of being very special is the A.I. EA have managed to perfectly replicate the actual fighting styles of the 32 licensed boxers. Whether the brawling approach of Jake LaMotta, the pugilistic perfection of Sugar Ray Leonard or the counter-punching style of Felix Trinidad, it's all as you would expect the real life equivalent to act.

This is never more apparent than when setting up a fight between two CPU controlled fighters. Choosing Rocky Marciano and Lennox Lewis resulted in a fight between classic and modern eras, with differing styles, physicality and attitude. Marciano started quickly out of the blocks, attacking Lewis with fast combinations of body shots and powerful hooks, whereas Lewis started in his customary ‘cold' approach, taking a few rounds to get into the rhythm of the fight. Marciano won the first two rounds easily, catching Lewis with a peach of a right hook which floored him for an eight count in the first and pummelling his body throughout the second. Round three and onwards was a different proposition though, with the longer reach of Lewis taking effect, his sharp left jabs forcing Marciano onto a more defensive footing. Round five saw the first Marciano knock down, with Lewis then dismantling Marciano with power shots that he had no answer to. Marciano climbed from the canvas a further five times before Lewis finally stopped him in the eighth.

Now watching eight rounds of digitally reproduced boxing in real time might not be every body's idea of fun, but as a demonstration of the abilities and real life technicalities of the A.I. there is no better example.

A career mode, in which you take a fresh fighter through the ranks to become World Champion, is the core of Fight Night 2004. Choosing a licensed boxer, or making your own from scratch, you fight your way through the host of generic fighters before challenging the licensed names in each weight division. The create-a-boxer mode is comprehensive enough that any real-life boxers which haven't been officially endorsed are easy enough to reproduce, though it does take time and effort on the gamer's part.

As a multiplayer experience Fight Night excels. Fights flow back and forth between human combatants, and tactics prove to be the decisive factor in most matches, with button-mashing being consigned to the bin. The only real negative of the multiplayer action is that both players must be at a comparable skill level to gain maximum enjoyment, since the steep learning curve means that one-sided contests can become short-lived affairs.

Sadly, due to the Mexican standoff between EA and Microsoft regarding Xbox Live, any online functionality is glaringly obvious by its absence. Features such as World Titles, National Titles and tournaments could have pushed this game into the ranks of greatness. However, industry politics means that this is not the case, with the end result being the gamer's loss.

For some strange reason EA have decided to go with an hip-hop ‘flava' in regards to soundtrack and voice work. Whilst its true that a ‘ghetto bling-bling' mentality may have pervaded some parts of today's fight game, the essence of Fight Night is disrupted by such, especially when considering fighters from the classic era. It would have felt more authentic if the soundtracks were suited to each fighter, with entrance music to match. Imagine, if you will, LaMotta entering to Sinatra, Ray Leonard to 70's funk and Lewis to reggae. Surely this would have been in line with the real life persona that the game is aiming for.

The ring announcer, and fight commentator is especially poor. Using the vocal ‘talent' of Big Tee, a MTV presenter, the commentary sounds like something which EA Big rejected for being too tacky. The quality of the voice work itself is up to EA's usual high standards, but the script, and the image it pushes forward, means that any belief that Fight Night might have achieved up to this point is instantly suspended.

The control system breaks the mould by which we have become accustomed to in the genre. Utilising a dual analogue system, the Total Control System revolutionises the core game play mechanics in a way which makes the gamer ask why no-one has tried this before. The left analogue stick moves the fighter around the ring, as per the genre norm, but the right analogue utilises the fighters' offensive arsenal. Rather than be a case of pressing the stick in a particular direction to carry out a certain move the player has to actually perform motions which mimic the fighters' actions. For example, a jab or right cross will be a quick flick of the right analogue to a upper-left or upper-right position (11 o'clock or 1 o'clock positions respectively). The quick movement reflects the quick action on-screen and feels completely natural. Slower offensive moves are replicated by slower actions, a right hook will be carried out by performing a quarter-circle to the right (from 3 to 12 o'clock) and a left upper-cut will be a half-circle (from 6 to 12). The TCS also works on defence, hold down the R trigger and the right analogue now controls your boxer's hands for blocking purposes. Blocks can be performed in any direction, and perfect timing means that you can parry attacks causing your opponent to stumble.

Combining TCS with a stamina system that actually works, your fighter becoming more sluggish and less powerful as stamina levels fall, and the end result is a change in the dynamics of how boxing games currently play. Gone is the slugfest wars of attrition and in its place is a tactical experience which closely resembles how real boxing works. Openings need to be worked, and the difference in speed of offensive moves means that more powerful punches are only thrown when the outcome is certain.

The downside to this system is that your brain rebels against what the game is asking you to do. You want to press buttons to launch attacks, you want to throw every punch in your arsenal as quickly as possible. The way that the genre has evolved means that everything EA has tried to implement just feels so very, very wrong. However, persevere with the new method and you will find a system which feels more natural than any which has come before.

Fight Night 2004 is a new revolution in the boxing genre. EA have taken the brave step of totally disbanding twenty years of evolution and creating a control system that breathes fresh air into a genre which has stagnated for some time. Graphical and A.I. improvements (which while being special should still be viewed as natural progression to the genre), a weak soundtrack and voice work, and a learning curve steeper than Mount Blanc, means that Fight Night falls some way from being regarded as great, but with the Total Control System Electronic Arts have shown that they can do innovation.