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FaceBreaker is the first game to fall under EA's new "Freestyle" brand, which is reserved for games that are light, goofy, and also apparently suck.  It's hard to imagine how it happened, but FaceBreaker manages to be unfun in ways that make you wonder if they even understand their target market.

It's not like EA doesn't know how to make a compelling boxing game (see: Fight Night) or do an imaginative take on an existing sport (see: SSX).  FaceBreaker however, misses the mark.

Let's get ready to bumble

The initial presentation makes it all seem promising.  Take a bunch of crazy boxing stereotypes, simplify the controls so anyone can pick it up and play it, and tie it all together with a very polished and cartoonish visual style.  It's the kind of game you're supposed to invite your buddies over to play whilst you down brewskies and brag about your imaginary sexual conquests.

It's incredibly odd to discover that the game mechanics are so utterly broken.  I'm all for simple control schemes, and FaceBreaker appears to fit that bill nicely.  Your basic moves are high punch, low punch, and the Breaker (your super attack).  String enough basic punches together and your combo meter increases resulting in more powerful Breakers.  This culminates in the dreaded "FaceBreaker," a game ending attack that leaves your opponent on the mat, bloodied and broken.

Duck and weave

In an attempt to introduce some kind of strategy to the combat, players can also counter attacks by either dodging or parrying at just the right moment using just the right button.  This is a solid idea that's completely trashed in execution.  You see, the game moves way too fast making it nearly impossible to predict what attacks are coming.  What you're left with is a very pretty version of rock, paper, scissors.

The computer AI generally has no problem countering your attacks, of course.  All that's left for the player is to figure out the built in weakness the developers put into each character.  Once you figured that out, it's just a matter of exploiting it over and over again, until you win.  Even then, there will still be plenty of times when you'll lose because the computer will opt to unleash an impossible set of combos at just the right moment.

Now if you remember, Punch Out (a game that's over 20 years old) relied on the same "figure out the trick" mechanic.  However, Punch Out was paced in such a way that players could observe what's going on and take a decent stab at the problem.  Sure there's a system to be learned in FaceBreaker, but the game doesn't do an adequate job teaching the player how to figure it all out. FaceBreaker's pace is far too hyperactive.

Raging Red Bull

Multiplayer is clearly the better way to play the game.  As long as your pal hasn't just downed 12 Red Bulls, you'll probably have a pretty good and challenging match.  But even then, there's not a lot here to hold your attention.  While the game does look nice, the fighting animations wear thin after a while.  Even the signature Breaker moves get pretty dull once you've seen them in action.  There just aren't any "wow" moments in the match.  Just a lot of rhythmic "whack" "whack" "whack" as the boxers dutifully knock each other about.

It's all kind of depressing really, because there are some neat features in FaceBreaker, most notably the ability to create a custom boxer based on a photo or a picture snapped by the Xbox Vision Camera.  It does an impressive job putting your likeness not only in the game, but modifying your mug to fit perfectly with the game's visual style.

Face Broken

Where does this leave a game like FaceBreaker then?  The controls aren't nuanced enough to please hardcore fighting or boxing fans.  The frenetic pace and cheap shots will clearly alienate the more casual gamer.  If your sole reason for getting this game is to enjoy multiplayer with your friends, it might be worth a look.  Otherwise, stay away from this stinker.

Review by: Greg Bemis