“Ladies and gentlemen! Introducing 248 lbs. of mean fighting machine, hailing from parts unknown, The Hammer.

“His opponent, standing 5-foot-8 and weighing 135 lbs. with a record of 18 wins, 1 loss and 15 draws, from the United States, Knuckles Nadine!”

The bell rings and your opponent dances before you. Two rights to the jaw follow a left. The arms come up, so you work to the body. The arms drop, an uppercut lands square on the chin and down Knuckles goes.

Majesco, and Digital Fiction, has released Boxing Fever for the Game Boy Advance, and the action is placed squarely in your lap. This game offers a first-player perspective that is wonderful. You see the fight from behind your gloves. As the bell rings, the ring seems to turn around in front of you and your opponent appears. They just aren’t standing there to get hit; they are actually firing shots at you. If you are tagged the world is likely to wobble.

Control-wise, the game is a little on the tough side, especially when it comes to delivering roundhouse or hooks. You have to hold down the D-pad directors in the up and whatever side you wish to punch from. First it is press up, and then to the side, and hold, while throwing the punch. It doesn’t always work as well or quickly as you would like. That aside, the other control elements are kept simple. A button is for a punch with the right glove, the B button is for a punch with the left, and the R and L buttons allows your fighter to lean to avoid punches.

The game features a number of different fighting options, including a single fight, a run at the championship, a survival tournament (beat as many fighters as possible without getting knocked down), and training. There are eight fighters to choose from, including two women. You can power up your gloves for a devastating blow, and you can set the number of rounds and time of the rounds.

The graphics of this game are excellent. The fighters move quickly, and you have to be on your toes in order to avoid getting tagged, and to take advantage of your opponents openings.

Sound-wise, this game is merely average. The sound effects are not too bad, but the sound of the punches landing is less than realistic, and the announcer has an insincere enthusiasm that borders on monotone.

You can play a two-player game if you have the GBA hooked up to another controller.

Boxing Fever is very well animated, and an excellent perspective on the boxing game. The action is well delivered and puts the game player right into the ring.

This program is rated for Everyone, though it does contain violence.

Install: N/A

Gameplay: 8.5
The setup menus are easy to navigate, and the fights are intense and seamless. If you get hit hard, the game world wobbles, and simulates you closing your eyes if you go down.

Graphics: 8.7
This isn’t exactly three-dimensional, but the world gives some appearance of that, and the animation is great.

Sound: 6
This is the weakest portion of the game.

Difficulty: 7
The controls can be a little hard to handle – initially – but once you have had some solid in-game time, this program gets easier to handle.

Concept: 9
Boxing games are definitely not a new genre in the console market, but this game is definitely a new perspective that works well.

Multiplayer: N/A
Though this is a feature of the game, you need another system to connect with in order to experience it.

Overall: 8.4
The perspective in immediately attractive and provides a great impetus to play the game. The graphics are very good, and the action is intense. This is a wonderful boxing game.