The majority of modes in the game are fairly standard affairs such as quick fight, multiplayer etc but the main new inclusion is the all new legacy mode which sees you creating a fighter using the excellent creation tool or selecting a professional fighter and taking them through their entire career to become champion.

 

 

In this mode you manage every aspect of your fighter from checking e-mails, scheduling fights, competing in training games and competing in televised contests. Undoubtedly this adds so much depth to the game and will certainly add a massive amount of replayability and this can only be a good thing.

 

 

I will admit to a certain amount of scepticism when I heard that the controls where having a make over for the latest game to include the all new total punch control which is aimed at giving the player more control over each punch thrown.

 

At first this does take some getting used to especially for those whom have played previous instalments of the game and I will admit to feeling a little disappointed with the changes. Admittedly once you get used to them the action does have a natural flow however it can also be met with a certain amount of frustration as you can find yourself throwing an un-intended punch when looking for the knockout blow.

 

In addition the defensive aspect to the game is now far more difficult as it is now much harder to block opponents punches and counter punch. Personally this is the area where I feel that the franchise has yet to strike the perfect balance as Round 3 was far to easy where as in Round 4 you will undoubtedly lose a fair amount of quick matches particularly early in your fighters career.