Bobblehead Boxing review - A one note arcade boxing game

Bobblehead Boxing isn't a game to play on your own. Not because it's scary, but because if you're playing it on your own you're not going to have that much fun.

The random nature of the play, which is a lot of fun if you've got three other friends poking at the screen, just tends to cause frustration and boredom when you're playing on your own. There are a lot of "oh, I've lost" moments.

Add that to the fact that the core idea of the game is one we've seen done before, and better, and you're left with an experience that falls flat unless you invite some mates around. And even then it isn't as good as it could be.

The game is essentially a fisticuffs version of Wrassling, with a lot of the charm of Colin Lane's game stripped out and replaced with podgy cartoon graphics and simpler gameplay.

You've got one button, mash it and you'll start swinging punches wildly. The aim of the game is to get your opponent out of the ring. The first person to be left alone on the screen three times wins.

And that's about it. In single player you're fighting against a single AI controlled opponent. Sometimes the arena you're scrapping in changes. Sumo-style gets rid of the ropes, ball pool adds balls, and sometimes you get bigger for reasons.

None of this really changes the beats of play. And sometimes you can just not touch anything and let your foe bounce himself out of the ring.

Add some more players to the mix and things inevitably get a little more exciting. The four player brawls are entertaining, and the extra frisson of scrapping with friends in the same room adds to the madcap bounciness of the gameplay.

But it's still a bit simple. There are no desperate scrabbles to get back in the ring, no real control over your little boxers, and the overwhelming feeling that the one note the game keeps hitting is going to get old fast.

You'll have brief moments of fun playing Bobblehead Boxing, but they won't stick around for long. And if you're playing on your own it's unlikely they'll turn up at all.

It's a decent enough game for whipping out when you're having a gaming night, but again you'll probably put it back to bed after only a few rounds.

With some new ideas and a little more complexity, this could have been a mainstay of drunken gaming evenings, as it stands it's more of a quick sip of flat cola that leaves you feeling thirsty.