| 12 May 2009
This summer two new boxing games are hitting shelves. While boxing games are often hit or miss, it's a sport that can make for a really fun game. Some boxing games (Ring King, Facebreaker, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing) didn't fare too well, but the 2 most successful boxing franchises are each releasing their latest installments in the next month.
We all remember the world's greatest sports disaster, Mike Tyson, and his role in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out. Nintendo wiped the slate of Iron Mike and released a less successful Super Punch Out for the SNES. Since then, we haven't seen anything from this franchise. Next week, Punch-Out for the Wii comes out. It looks to take a lot from the NES version, including many of the original boxers, and Little Mac. The game is extremely cartoony, but looks great. There are two control schemes, the (potentially gimmicky) motion controlled Wii-Boxing-esque controls, and the classic style by turning the Wiimote on its side mimicking an NES controller. In the 80s, when video game standards were MUCH lower, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out thrived. However, I am concerned that the same pattern recognition gameplay will become stale really fast in today's market. There is a multiplayer mode that hasn't been elaborated on yet, but I'm sure its mainly a gimmicky add on like most Wii games. Still, this game should bring a nice nostalgic kick to the system. I will reserve my judgement until after I give it a shot.
The next boxing game, releasing at the end of June is Fight Night: Round 4. I am much more excited for this game. Fight Night Round 3 was a fantastic game, and this game looks to improve on it. The physics in the game is definitely the most impressive aspect. It makes all bouts different. It also enables the fighters to fight like they really would. Going in the opposite direction as Nintendo, EA decided to ADD Mike Tyson to the roster. Ali and Tyson grace the cover, promising some fun fantasy bouts. Just check out the videos below to see what I am talking about.
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