EA throws another uppercut

Electronic Arts has discovered the popularity of wanton destruction with the success of its Burnout series of crash-based racing games. Now it's going to find out if the obliteration of a human face holds as much appeal for gamers as a pinwheeling sports car.

The publisher today announced its newest intellectual property, FaceBreaker. An arcade-style take on boxing, FaceBreaker will be developed by the same team behind its other pugilism property, the Fight Night series. Until recently, that team was based at EA Chicago.

While no real-life, licenced boxers have been revealed so far, two characters have been: Romeo, a "Latin lover known for his pelvic thrusts," and Molotov, "an oversized Russian demolitions expert with a penchant for fighting dirty."

For gamers who want to see what their deformed faces may look like without going through the effort in real life, FaceBreaker will support photo uploads. The game will be available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii sometime in 2008. More details will be available on FaceBreaker's official Web site starting February 1.