Mike Tyson Heavy Weight Boxing, from Codemasters and Atomic Planet, delivers on of the most  intensely frustrating boxing experiences available.  With a choice of over 16 real life boxers, multiple modes of play, and a complex custom boxer generator it is amazing that the options seem so lacking.  When starting the game their are only a few game modes available and though you can design your boxer's looks to a T his stats are another thing all together.  The key thing to remember of course is that no matter what your boxer looks like he will probably have the piss beat out of him in your first fights.  If you care to continue playing after suffering defeat after defeat, playing becomes a war of attrition.  The more beatings you take the more money you make. The more money you make the more you can upgrade your fighter.  The more you upgrade your fighter the more likely you might actually win a fight.  So eventually you will become competitive but that will probably be after a couple hours of hitting the mat.  On the upside most fights don't last for more than a round anyway.  This is because it is pretty difficult to get back up.  Many times I didn't bother as it would take me less time to agree to a rematch than it would for me to button mash.

The upgrade system runs of the prize money you "win" by simply appearing in the ring.  If you actually drop your opponent you get a greater share.  But who wants to take the time boxing when with three elbows to the head you can get disqualified and let you take your minimum purse.  The exhibition mode is great for this kind of thing, but for the real upgrades you'll have to trudge through the medal modes and unlock advanced punches and combo moves.  This is were the game deviates most startlingly from traditional boxing games.  These special punches and special combos ad the feeling of a half finished fighting game to this title. To give you an idea, Tyson uses the Iron Mike Combo which turns his fists into you guessed it, iron.  

Graphically the game isn't that bad, but the animations are often unrealistic and the specials often come off looking hokey.  However, some of the possible character designs are hilarious.  Soundwise the game fairs a bit better.  The crowd and the sounds of fist impacting on flesh try to salvage the games already tattered sense of realism.  However, realism always falters in the face of, crazy boxer design, smoking fists of fire, the vanishing ref, or the strange green spray from three low blows (try it when sparring).

Ultimately the problem with the game boils down to lack of focus.  It is a serious game with 16 real life characters that fails to take itself seriously.  The mix of a huge selection of punches and special combos the game more towards the fighting genre than the sports genre.  However with the restrictions that boxing places on combat it falls sort of fulfilling either genre.  If the guys at Codemasters were making an effort to recreate the wacky feel of Mike Tyson's Punch Out they didn't go far enough.  If they were trying to create a realistic boxing game (like Knockout Kings) they fell far short.  

Gameplay: 3
For all the options the game comes mostly comes down to button mashing.  

Graphics: 7 
Not bad.  The facial design feature in the custom boxer area is the best part of the game.

Sound: 7
Nothing special.  Several choices as to entry music and taunts but overall pretty generic.

Difficulty: Hard
Or at least hard to guess.  One opponent may beat you down the next may be a pushover or disqualify himself.  You never know.

Concept: 1 
I don't really know what the concept was.  The games biggest problem was that it seemed caught between wackiness and realism.  If one or the other had been chosen it probably would have been a far more entertaining game.

Multiplayer: 5
For all its flash there are flashier fighting games out there, and if your looking for technique there are better boxing games as well.  I'd rather play something else with my friends like...Mr. Driller!

Overall: 3
The graphics can be amusing but mediocre graphics alone do not a good game make.  This is a mishmash of various genres and styles that does not hold up to comparison with titles that define themselves more clearly.