I am so ready to let Tyson break my nose again. Bring it!

Fight Night is a series built around an extremely complicated set of controls to master. Each new iteration tries to tweak the controls in such a way to make them more accessible to every new gamer, but they’re still complicated to learn, purely because there isn’t a single other game I can think of that controls like Fight Night games do. You throw punches by flicking the left thumbstick, jabbing by pressing upward, sending hooks by flicking to the side, that sort of thing. I was brought up on Round 3, but the controls have changed drastically since then. This will be an issue for me, but I’ll explain that later.

The big addition here is the story mode, a first for the series but a very welcome first. Besides just playing through a career mode as whomever you want to box as, be they real boxers or someone you made up, the game lets you play through the rise and fall of Andre Bishop. The game begins with you controlling Bishop in a boxing match in prison before tossing you around points of his career to learn how he was framed and tossed in jail and then eventually got out and climbed the ranks of professional fighters once more. This is the selling point for Champion in my book as the story is actually pretty compelling for a boxing story, mostly due to how brutal it actually is with real cursing and corruption, as you’d expect the world of boxing to be.

I was amazed to hear that EA was going to allow one of their sports titles to be rated M, but it really works here. The M rating mostly comes as a result of the language used, but hell, boxers get destroyed in the ring even more devastatingly than they ever have thanks to the graphics getting yet another major kick. Cuts can open in just about any spot on a character’s body and begin bleeding, making the damage appear graphically realistic beyond any previous entry in the Fight Night series. If you’re looking for a game’s graphics to impress you, Fight Night Champion will not disappoint.

Suddenly my desire to get into real boxing has evaporated.

Another place the M rating goes to work is the soundtrack, allowing for mostly unedited versions of the tracks played over the course of the game. The soundtrack is its usual appropriate self with a lot of hip-hop setting the tone very well, but the sound doesn’t just stop at the music. The sound effects for gloves colliding with faces and bodies taking unrelenting punishment sound as glorious and powerful as you’d hope, making every knockout satisfying from a perspective of sound.

Still, the controls have been simplified just a hair since Round 4 and play so much different from Round 3 that if you’re like me and still pop in Round 3 now and again, you’re going to have to relearn the controls all over again, something that may be a pain if all you really want to do is just hop right in and take full advantage of the better graphics and story mode. However, the biggest improvement over all previous titles is the in-between rounds damage recovery. There are no more mini games or points to spend on recovering, instead just recovering your boxer comparable to how well you did in the round, meaning you’ll recover more if you killed in the round and recover less if your face has been turned to ground beef. I couldn’t be happier with that change as it really emphasizes playing well over just learning the healing system better than your opponent.

And that’s the real draw of Fight Night Champion: You get out of it what you put in. If you take the time to learn the controls and practice getting smarter with your strategies, seeking to understand the nuances of the sport, you’re going to get a lot out of the title. Sure, place the difficulty at a lower level and you can flick the thumbstick all over the place and still enjoy yourself, but if you want to see the depth Champion has to offer, give it time and let it grow on you.

You learn the controls, not only do you enjoy the game more but you feel better about yourself, too.

When it comes right down to it, I currently still prefer Round 3 over Champion, but that all has to do with my knowledge of the controls. The addition of the story mode and not having to worry about anything between rounds goes a long way to make me really want Fight Night Champion, but in the end it’s all up to your decision. If you’ve never played a Fight Night game, this is a great one to start with, but if you have Round 3, maybe look me up and we’ll go a few rounds online.

So then, what do you guys think? Who out there is looking to pick up Fight Night Champion? And who feels like passing? Leave a comment and let me know. In the meantime, I have a lot of training to do.

Want more game reviews? Check these out:

-Today’s Forecast: Sunny With a Review of Bulletstorm

-Doing The PS3 Proud:  A Review of Killzone 3

-The Old Is Still New: A Review of Dragon Quest VI

This right here is one of the most popular education-based toy around. And it's a video game system.

If I were pressed to defend the educational value of video games, I probably couldn’t do much other than say they can teach reading, math, problem solving, community interaction, cause and effect, and hand-eye coordination skills, so really I’d have an uphill battle talking about their benefits (wink). However, there are a handful of very popular toys being sold this very second to parents wishing to give their kids a little boost in the learning aspect of playing while still making sure the toy is fun (gotta love parents). But just what are some of the most popular educational and learning toys right now?

Yay! A noise-maker for kids!

Heard of LeapFrog? You probably have since they’re selling tons upon tons of electronic toys aimed at teaching kids. It just so happens one of their best-selling products is a video game system called the Leapster. It looks like a mutant Game Boy but plays like something with the explicit purpose of learning in the foreground. However, you can easily fool a kid into forgetting he’s learning something when the character in the game is Batman. LeapFrog also has a wide variety of other electronic-type toys with the Learn & Groove Musical Table for kids (a thing that makes noise), the Spin and Sing Alphabet Zoo (a thing that makes noise), or the Scribble and Write (I’m sure it makes some sort of noise, it is a child’s toy after all).

Responsibilities! Exciting!

If, perhaps, you’d rather not futz with noise or electronics in general, our good friends Melissa & Doug have more than enough toys made of wood and magnets. Sometimes simple can be best, and Melissa & Doug tends to make very high-quality toys that last and last. It’s hard to beat a magnetic alphabet set or a magnetic responsibility chart. Sure, kids hate responsibility, but disguise it with magnets and they’re sold.

Dang that kid looks happy. I want some of those blocks!

Fisher-Price is still around and doing just fine, by the way. Do you remember them from your childhood? I sure do. I had all sorts of plastic blocks and shapes and steering wheels and things of that nature from Fisher-Price, and I’m happy to say they still make all those things with their Brilliant Basics Baby’s First Blocks staying as a bestseller. Their Sesame Street Silly Sounds Remote may not really be in the same category though. It may say “Sesame Street: on it, but it also says “Silly Sounds” which is code for “Lots o’ Noise.” Just get the blocks.

Hooray for bugs! What, you don't like bugs? That's science!

It’s also cool to see that the Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden is up near the top in sales. Why is that? Bugs, while super gross, are also super cool. Plus, it’s impossible for kids to find bugs in the house, so they have to go outside. If they can find tons of bugs inside, you’re teaching your kids something wrong. I was always happy as a kid with a bug net and a jar to keep my findings in. I assume kids haven’t changed too much since my childhood.

This is an incomplete list of the bestselling Education and Learning toys, but it’s a good start for sure. If all else fails, I can’t think of a single kid that’d say no to “Imagination Time” with their loving parents. In fact, I might just call my dad and see if he’s up for a game of it right now.

Tuskarr the Scaly

World of Warcraft continues to surprise even veteran game analysts with its increasing popularity, nay, its world dominance. (And for a good guide to improving your W.O.W. skills, Click Here!)

These new collectible figurines are inspired from the latest expansion pack – Wrath of Lich King – and are designed to richly illustrate game characters new to the WOW franchise.

While World of Warcraft is not an educational video game in the classic sense, it does facilitate community-building and cooperation with its unique online playing interface. And personally, I’ve always been impressed how WOW designs many of their characters from historical and anthropological sources, such as historic battle scenes and traditional dress.

World of Warcraft collectibles have proven to be so popular than many have sold out… and some have sold out in a few weeks’ time. Now, reported by Toy News International, DC Unlimited has released images of the 4th generation WOW figures which will go on sale in April 2009.

Atari has always been committed to educational video games, so we hope Infogrames shores up Atari’s stock quickly.  Today’s video game industry caters to sensationalism – for instance, the highest earning game launch in history is now Grand Theft Auto IV – but we still hold out hope that Wii and other video games companies remember their roots in education and learning.