Manny Pacquaio is an international boxing superstar, with some naming him the best in the world. It would only make sense then that he should appear in video games, but Pound for Pound is indeed an odd use of him. Taking the guise of an action based revenge film, this game has the titular Manny battling henchmen and street fighters in order to rescue his childhood friend who has been kidnapped.

Upon starting, the game throws you right into the action. Each fight has a similar strategy. The screen will indicate which side you need to dodge to to avoid an enemy's attacks, and then when they run out of stamina, you swipe in one of four directions to unleash the furry of your punches and kicks upon them. This dance of dodge and attack will do you well throughout your play. While it starts off a little too easy, soon enough the game only gives you a second or so to dodge an attack, and that's when this system kicks into gear and pays off in how fun it can be. What adds to the enjoyment are the special moves. A combination of three directions will unleash devastating attacks such as the dragon uppercut and whirlwind kick, which are satisfying to pull off and will usually make quick work of your opponent.

In between fights, you gain experience to level up Manny's health, power, and stamina. You can also use your fight winnings to upgrade Manny's gear which will add bonuses to your stats. This seems a little tacked on however and with the same strategy working for each fight, it doesn't seem to make that much of a difference. Presentation wise the game is ok. The animation of the fights stand out, but soon you notice the same kickboxer and street thug being recycled, and as cool as they are, Manny only has four special moves and their ability to impress can't last forever.

Despite feeling a little unpolished and low on variation, this game gets a recommendation. Once the fights speed up, you can see how this method of fighting has a really nice flow to it. It's a shame this concept wasn't expanded upon and explored a little more thoroughly.