Super Political Boxing

There are certain sentences and phrases you never expect you'll say. "My, that was a deep episode of Hollyoaks," is probably one, along with, "That was a very balanced and liberal report in the Daily Mail". I certainly never expected to be uttering the phrase "Super Political Boxing" in my lifetime, and the funny thing is, it's not even a mistranslation.

Yes, not only is Glu's second entry into the boxing arena a fitting tribute to the sport itself, it's also political. Highly political. Being able to knock George W Bush out or punch Gordon Brown's apparently flabby belly rank amongst my personal political achievements.

Perhaps more importantly than being both a boxing title, and being politically charged, Super Political Boxing lives up to its full title by also being fairly 'super' as well. If being plain old fun is one of your requirements when choosing your next mobile game to download, then Glu has the goods. Though it's not as if it hasn't done it before.

In truth, while there's no doubt Super Political Boxing would bring a smile to almost anyone's face, there's an argument to suggest that this is a simple rebranding exercise, redressing the engine behind Super KO Boxing in new clothes. Indeed, the star of this bout in the ring is KO Boxing's very own 'KO Kid' – the vision of an American high school stud, as ripped as they come and blonde to boot.

The Kid's competitors aren't always so toned, however, being made up of some of the world's most powerful leaders – and needless to say, there's little to suggest that's there's a gym hidden away at the UN's headquarters. That's not to say that Glu hasn't provided stiff opposition here – far from it.

While the game's early rounds – which see the Kid going up against the likes of Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi and UK PM Gordon Brown, the latter with a mini Tony Blair sat taunting on his shoulders – aren't much of a challenge, round by round the muscle (so to speak) increases, with George W Bush in the third round providing the game's first stiff test.

The game involves drawing opponents out of their defensive mode. That's certainly easy to do with the likes of Brown, who leaves himself wide open frequently, but further on taking risks becomes almost essential, making play a case of chicken. Some opponents will take repeated attempts before their weak spots become evident, though Super Political Boxing handily allows you to pick up from your last round should you be defeated.

Actual combat is fairly straightforward. You can either choose to use the thumbstick – pressing Up will swing a high punch, Down a low blow, with Left and Right dodging to either side – or keys on the number pad. Either way feels entirely intuitive from the off, allowing play to focus on dealing with those political punches, rather than dealing with any dodgy controls.

You can also build up a gauge that enables you to let loose with a supposed 'super move'. The gauge itself builds everytime you throw a punch, again encouraging aggressive play rather than holding your defence for an entire round – no-one gets anywhere in the ring without throwing a few punches.

If all that sounds a little serious, then rest assured, Super Political Boxing makes no attempt to replicate the sport sincerely. This is cartoon boxing, complete with comedy taunts and caricatures of some of the world's most famous political figures. If the simulation of dealing a knockout blow to a world leader isn't evidence enough of Glu's less-than-serious approach, then I don't know what is.

But realism has no place here. While this is essentially Glu's Super KO Boxing with added satire, no one can say that it isn't a whole heap of fun as a result. You can quote me on that.