Patrick Elliot
Shaun InguanzoREVIEW: Don King Presents Prizefighter
July 24th 2008 04:53
Let's get ready for a very different rumble
FRIDAY night comes around and instead of seeing what's on tele I decide to fire up Don King Presents: Prizefighter on the Xbox 360.
Fifteen minutes later, the only damage I've managed to logically dish out is throwing the controller across the room out of sheer frustration.
No, this is not Fight Night Round 3, or even 3.5 as I'm sure boxing fans had hoped. It's a totally different game altogether.
I felt compelled, as I'm sure most reviewers do, to bash the game to hell, give it nothing more than a measly 5 out of 10. It looked great, sounded great, offered a fun career mode, but the fighting system played like a three legged dog.
That was until I figured out how to fight. If Don King Presents: Prizefighter has taught yours truly one thing, it is how to box, and how to do it tactically.
Bear in mind you'll want to change the controller setup as the default option is appalling.
But once you find one you can work with, stick to the game and you'll be rewarded.
Whereas Fight Night followed the protocols of boxing but gave you the right analogue stick to perform punches in a novel manner, Prizefighter sticks to the face buttons in return for a more tactical boxing style.
Who here remembers playing Fight Night against another player, only to have them use Muhammed Ali and his deadly, one-shot-kill signature move every five seconds? I do.
Who here remembers how stick mashers could put up a fight against the best by twirling the crap out of the controller? I do.
I love Fight Night, think it's the right direction for boxing games and am in no way suggesting that Prizefighter is the better of the two games.
But I've grown to love Prizefighter in a way that I now understand the boxing industry just that little bit better than I did before.
Who'd have thought, if Fight Night was your only boxing experience, that by using the least powerful shots in the game - jab and straight - you could score a technical win on points? In Prizefighter it's indeed possible, just as it is in real boxing.
Let your opponent strike first, move back to dodge while guarding your face, then move in with a massive hook to the exposed side.
Watch them retaliate as they are stunned - move out of the way then move back in and give them an uppercut. It's rewarding boxing that takes time to learn, otherwise Prizefighter punishes you in ways that only terrorists at Guantanamo Bay know about.
I've seen the reviews - and one would be led to assume that this game stinks. It does not. Although I'm drooling with anticipation for the next Fight Night game, Prizefighter's career mode is fantastic.
Essentially, it allows you to build a boxer, take him through a series of fights, earn credibility and respect, and then move on to higher levels within the industry.
Eventually, Don King will promote you, and you must take on more familiar boxing names.
Along the way you'll be tempted, given your newfound fame, to hook up with Penthouse Pets, go clubbing, have your name plastered on cereal boxes and milk cartons - all at the expense of losing skill points for missing training. It's up to you what you choose to do.
It may seem superfluous to offer skill reductions, because the majority of players, like myself, will be too frightened to explore the 'fun' side of fame in a bid to keep their boxer on track.
That's because the competition at higher levels is fierce.
I have gone a full 12 rounds in the middle tier oif my career with several boxers, and as I now explore the top end, I can expect to go as many as 16 rounds - a good 40 minutes of real time.
Signature punches are included, but must be earned and then used at the right moment. Apart from the health meter, your boxer has a stamina meter and then an adrenaline meter.
The more knocks your fighter takes, the more health he'll lose. AS rounds progress, this bar shortens to reflect the amount of fight left in your boxer.
The stamina bar decreases with every punch you make, but regenerates almost immediately. This stops button mashers, as an empty stamina bar produces slow, harmless punches.
Adrenaline builds with every hit you make, and after each third of the bar is filled, you can trigger a signature move. If you let the entire bar fill up, you can trigger an adrenaline boost, which sends your boxer into a powerful frenzy and can turn the tide in a match.
Signature moves must be used at the right time, as they can be blocked. Given they come round only once every round on average, you'll want to beat your opponent up a little so he loses his guard before using these moves, otherwise they could be wasted.
Prizefighter has online multiplayer, but you will be owned if you think this is a mash-fest. It's not Street Fighter, children, and a few direct hits from heavyweight stars will have you on the canvas in a matter of seconds.
This is where defense is crucial. The right analogue stick is used to cover your entire upper body. Push it up and you cover your face, down to cover your torso. Add a left or right modifier to focus on protecting a side.
The left trigger allows you to lean, and the right trigger is used with the face buttons to punch to the body.
Once your career boxer is complete, you can match him toe to toe with boxing greats in exhibition or multiplayer modes. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing yourself walk out to the ring against the likes of Joe Louis.
Prizefighter will frustrate gamers who do not want to commit to a rewarding boxing simulation. What is on offer is vastly different to Fight Night Round 3, and although the comparisons are inevitable, it's clear that Prizefighter is targeting a niche, cluey audience with Prizefighter.
Criticism is limited to the animation, which is not a fluid as Fight Night, player faces, which at times fail to really show the damage that has been dealt, and the underwhelming catalogue of boxing greats. Not to say that those on offer aren't legends, but people who have not a clue about boxing will be left to scratch their heads as to who they are.
I'm loving Prizefighter, but if you're hoping for an alternative to Fight Night, I'd highly recommend renting this title before buying.
Depending on how you approach it, Prizefighter will either reward you, or appear to be using dirty tactics. It's a hard game to play, folks.
FRIDAY night comes around and instead of seeing what's on tele I decide to fire up Don King Presents: Prizefighter on the Xbox 360.
Fifteen minutes later, the only damage I've managed to logically dish out is throwing the controller across the room out of sheer frustration.
No, this is not Fight Night Round 3, or even 3.5 as I'm sure boxing fans had hoped. It's a totally different game altogether.
I felt compelled, as I'm sure most reviewers do, to bash the game to hell, give it nothing more than a measly 5 out of 10. It looked great, sounded great, offered a fun career mode, but the fighting system played like a three legged dog.
That was until I figured out how to fight. If Don King Presents: Prizefighter has taught yours truly one thing, it is how to box, and how to do it tactically.
Bear in mind you'll want to change the controller setup as the default option is appalling.
Whereas Fight Night followed the protocols of boxing but gave you the right analogue stick to perform punches in a novel manner, Prizefighter sticks to the face buttons in return for a more tactical boxing style.
Who here remembers playing Fight Night against another player, only to have them use Muhammed Ali and his deadly, one-shot-kill signature move every five seconds? I do.
Who here remembers how stick mashers could put up a fight against the best by twirling the crap out of the controller? I do.
I love Fight Night, think it's the right direction for boxing games and am in no way suggesting that Prizefighter is the better of the two games.
But I've grown to love Prizefighter in a way that I now understand the boxing industry just that little bit better than I did before.
Who'd have thought, if Fight Night was your only boxing experience, that by using the least powerful shots in the game - jab and straight - you could score a technical win on points? In Prizefighter it's indeed possible, just as it is in real boxing.
Let your opponent strike first, move back to dodge while guarding your face, then move in with a massive hook to the exposed side.
Watch them retaliate as they are stunned - move out of the way then move back in and give them an uppercut. It's rewarding boxing that takes time to learn, otherwise Prizefighter punishes you in ways that only terrorists at Guantanamo Bay know about.
I've seen the reviews - and one would be led to assume that this game stinks. It does not. Although I'm drooling with anticipation for the next Fight Night game, Prizefighter's career mode is fantastic.
Essentially, it allows you to build a boxer, take him through a series of fights, earn credibility and respect, and then move on to higher levels within the industry.
Eventually, Don King will promote you, and you must take on more familiar boxing names.
Along the way you'll be tempted, given your newfound fame, to hook up with Penthouse Pets, go clubbing, have your name plastered on cereal boxes and milk cartons - all at the expense of losing skill points for missing training. It's up to you what you choose to do.
It may seem superfluous to offer skill reductions, because the majority of players, like myself, will be too frightened to explore the 'fun' side of fame in a bid to keep their boxer on track.
That's because the competition at higher levels is fierce.
I have gone a full 12 rounds in the middle tier oif my career with several boxers, and as I now explore the top end, I can expect to go as many as 16 rounds - a good 40 minutes of real time.
Signature punches are included, but must be earned and then used at the right moment. Apart from the health meter, your boxer has a stamina meter and then an adrenaline meter.
The more knocks your fighter takes, the more health he'll lose. AS rounds progress, this bar shortens to reflect the amount of fight left in your boxer.
The stamina bar decreases with every punch you make, but regenerates almost immediately. This stops button mashers, as an empty stamina bar produces slow, harmless punches.
Adrenaline builds with every hit you make, and after each third of the bar is filled, you can trigger a signature move. If you let the entire bar fill up, you can trigger an adrenaline boost, which sends your boxer into a powerful frenzy and can turn the tide in a match.
Signature moves must be used at the right time, as they can be blocked. Given they come round only once every round on average, you'll want to beat your opponent up a little so he loses his guard before using these moves, otherwise they could be wasted.
Prizefighter has online multiplayer, but you will be owned if you think this is a mash-fest. It's not Street Fighter, children, and a few direct hits from heavyweight stars will have you on the canvas in a matter of seconds.
This is where defense is crucial. The right analogue stick is used to cover your entire upper body. Push it up and you cover your face, down to cover your torso. Add a left or right modifier to focus on protecting a side.
The left trigger allows you to lean, and the right trigger is used with the face buttons to punch to the body.
Once your career boxer is complete, you can match him toe to toe with boxing greats in exhibition or multiplayer modes. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing yourself walk out to the ring against the likes of Joe Louis.
Prizefighter will frustrate gamers who do not want to commit to a rewarding boxing simulation. What is on offer is vastly different to Fight Night Round 3, and although the comparisons are inevitable, it's clear that Prizefighter is targeting a niche, cluey audience with Prizefighter.
Criticism is limited to the animation, which is not a fluid as Fight Night, player faces, which at times fail to really show the damage that has been dealt, and the underwhelming catalogue of boxing greats. Not to say that those on offer aren't legends, but people who have not a clue about boxing will be left to scratch their heads as to who they are.
I'm loving Prizefighter, but if you're hoping for an alternative to Fight Night, I'd highly recommend renting this title before buying.
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Comment by TimmyH
Tech News
Can you HACK it?
Genyration
Comment by Glen Atwell
Computer Game
Sounds great!! Missing training and appearing on milk cartons. sounds like kieran perkins in the late stages of his glittering career.
great review.