The skinny:
EA certainly didn't waste any time cobbling together a sequel to Fight Night 2004. The big question: Is this year's version really worth another $50 of your scratch? The short answer: Yes. The annoying Big Tigger is noticeably absent from the new version. The roster of real boxers is once again too limited, but the sweet, sweet control scheme is still in effect—use that right stick to throw punches with pinpoint accuracy. Another big change: You now have the ability to switch weight classes in mid-career, so you can go from heavyweight, to light heavy, and back to heavyweight again to beef up your bank account. But the most dramatic changes happen inside the ring. Throwing power punches called "haymakers"—you'll know when you've landed one because it sounds like a balloon being popped—can change the course of a fight in a hurry. And no longer can you take "Budweiser breaks" between rounds. Now you have to manage cuts and swelling on your fighter. On paper, this doesn't sound like much fun, but during fights, especially the marathon bouts when your fighter really starts to swell up, picking a part of his face to work on can mean the difference between sweet victory and agonizing defeat. As if you needed another reason to love Round 2, the ring girls are hotter than ever.

Tantalizing tidbit:
Further evidence that hell has frozen over: EA and Nintendo joined forces to provide extra content for the 'Cube version. (No doubt to compensate for the fact that you can't take the 'Cube online, like you can with the other versions.) The entire SNES-era Super Punch-Out!!, one of the greatest boxing games of all times, is hidden on the disc. All hail the mighty Bald Bull!

Buy, rent or run away screaming?
Buy, you punch-drunk fool.