Knockout Kings 2002 - PlayStation 2

Also surprisingly absent this time around is the ability to throw body punches. While some boxers have this punch in their repertoire as a body combination, the best you can do with others is slug away to the head with a multitude of hooks, jabs, straight punches, low blows, or an illegal backhand. And slug away you must if you expect to hold your own against stiffer competition, finesse options being limited.

Where Knockout Kings 2002 truly shines is in its graphics, thanks to the combination of boxers' well-sculpted physiques and EA Sports' face-mapping technology. The eye-catching detail of the various arenas and rings further enhances the realism, right down to the excitable fans in the seats and the blood flying from fighters' mouths. Satisfying smacks of gloves to the face and thuds of bodies hitting the deck can also be heard in abundance. --Larry White