Want to be the next Terry Lawless? You won't need a bullet-proof vest to play World Championship Boxing Manager, but you will need a shrewd mind and a fair bit of skill.

After selecting your boxers and exchanging contracts you select at the start of the game, the scene switches to the main play area, the manager's office. It's from here that most of the day-to-day decisions are made by clicking the cursor on various items such as the telephone (to keep in touch with your scouts, or to arrange fights with promoters) to the filing cabinet, in which is stored all sorts of information, from the boxers' contracts to inside info on other fighters. There are times when you need to leave the comfort of your seat, to go and check each boxer's physical fitness in the Physio room, for instance, or to advise on training schedules in the Gym. Come fight-night (which you're informed of by post), you're given the option of going down to the venue in your flash Ferrari (and who says there's no money in fighting?), where you're given a blow-by-blow account of the bout. Beat the opposition and you'll go up in the ranks - get high enough and you can go for the Area, National or World Championship!

I can't ever remember seeing a boxing management game until World Championship Boxing Manager, and any which follow are going to have to be a bit nifty to match it. Everything has been designed to make the game as playable as possible whilst making the player feel as though he is actually in that office, making tough decisions concerning the future of the boys on your payroll.

Graphics aren't exactly brilliant, but they're not terrible either, and there are some quite humorous touches, such as the tarty secretary who comes complete with short skirt and overflowing chest!

Working out contracts is crucial - promise too many fights in a year and you may find yourself struggling to keep those promises, which in turn means the loss of a fighter to a rival manager.

The fight sequence is imaginatively done and instead of seeing the two boxers slug it out on-screen, you're informed of the action by two commentators. This might sound a bit on the dull side, but it does work and is actually informative because the commentary gives you hints as to which areas your boy needs extra training in.

World Championship Boxing Manager may not have the blood, sweat and teats of the real fight game, but it more than makes up for that in terms of playability and long-term addictive qualities.

A quality purchase which makes a change from all those footy management sims coming out of the woodwork at the moment.