System: Sony PlayStation 3

Also available for: Microsoft Xbox 360 (Nintendo Wii version coming soon)

Publisher: EA Sports

Reviewer’s rating: **

ESRB rating: Teen

Game type: Fighting

Kind of like: “Ready 2 Rumble”

Best feature: Seeing boxers’ faces get comically distorted as they take a pounding is actually kind of hilarious.

Worst feature: The difference between winning and losing often seems to be little more than dumb luck.

The bottom line: If you’ve seen the commercial with Snoop Dogg, you pretty much know what to expect. This is over-the-top, arcade-style boxing in the vein of “Ready 2 Rumble,” complete with cartoonish characters (though none is as memorable as Afro Thunder), ridiculous “super” punches and simplistic controls that practically encourage mindless button-mashing.

That’s not to say it can’t be fun, at least for a while. (We recommend a weekend rental.) Playing against friends is worth a few laughs, especially if you rule out using the characters whose special moves make them virtually unbeatable (see Kiriko). Otherwise, you may see a real fight break out in your living room.

The ability to create your own boxer — at least superficially — is a cool bonus, especially if you make him or her look like someone whose face you wouldn’t mind seeing mangled in real life. Even so, we’d have rather seen EA devote its efforts to another round of the excellent “Fight Night.” We’ll take solid gameplay over funny-looking boxers any day.