Two thumbs, two analogue sticks. What a bloody brilliant idea. How the hell did we manage without this control configuration in the past? Anyway, not to worry, it's here now. And thank goodness for that - without two little rubber sticks to wiggle passionately with both thumbs, we would still be confined to the travesty of digital face-button inputs alone. Which is fine in your usual on/off scenario where it's all about rapid-fire machine-gunning or button-bashing street fighting. But some games require a control system with a bit more finesse. Games like Fight Night Round 4. Here EA Sports provided a masterclass in how to translate movement to the dual analogue setup, taking the flicks and swooshes of our thumbs and, remarkably, turning them into face-breaking hooks, jabs and savage uppercuts. It was truly striking, especially for anyone with some experience with the sport. Obviously there is a lot lost in the translation (you get to go home with all your teeth, for example) but the heart, skill, and science of boxing were relayed beautifully through your thumbs and onto the screen. Wide, arcing half circles on the right stick lashed out with vicious hooks, the fighter bobbing and weaving fluidly along with the left thumbs dips and sweeps. Superb analogue control mapping aside, Fight Night Round 4 really had us absorbed into the fight by the way the big punches were portrayed - impeccable use of lighting, sound and gamepad vibration worked together perfectly to make it feel like you really just had your lights knocked out. Fight Night Champion kept the jaw-rattling delivery of power punches and drastically improved the singleplayer campaign, but a refined control scheme made some subtle changes for the worse, changes which took away from the stunningly immersive gameplay which Fight Night Round 4 was known for.
Game-obsessed since the moment I could twiddle both thumbs independently. Equally enthralled by all the genres of music that your parents warned you about.
