Completely new controls & feel with a lot of welcome improvements. But frustrating story moments kind of killed it.
Convinced I needed more time, I rented the game. What a great rent!
The controls are different now - the right stick still controls punches, but the directions are MAPPED to a type of punch, eliminating the need to do fancy "swoops" with the stick. The results are a MUCH faster feel to throwing punches. The only downside to this is that sometimes the game gets a little too happy and throws about 6 punches when I only intended to throw a 1-2 combo.
I really welcome the revamped "stamina" effect. Stamina drains much faster now (but it also regenerates quickly). Dodging and blocking have been brought back to realistic levels - no longer can I dance around less-experienced players avoiding or blocking their every punch.
I personally loved the story mode. It had a fun & entertaining story line, and for the most part I enjoyed the "specialty" fights (e.g. the corrupt promoter buys off the ref and you cannot throw body shots, etc.). Unfortunately, the last (and lasting) memory I have of the game is a completely undefeatable final boss. Regardless of the difficulty level, he can flatten you in 3 punches. The whole fight is a gimmick, with each round having a "special" function you have to perform. (In other words, it is not a real boxing match but more of a REALLY long & hard mini-game.)
Basically I spent the final 2 days of rental in total frustration and loss. Never did beat him - even after watching & reading up on the "secrets". Poor end to an otherwise AWESOME ride!