Mar. 10, 2003

GW Nintendo > Nintendo Reviews > Review Page

We put Majesco's silly, cartoony boxer through the wringer. No pun intended!

There have been a lot of boxing games released over the years. Well, let me rephrase that. There have been a lot of dull boxing games released over the years. It seems that nearly without exception, they're the very definition of button mashers. Sure, Punch Out and Super Punch Out may have made for interesting pugilistic experiences, but how many other standouts have their been in the genre? Majesco's Black & Bruised seeks to correct the problems of boxing titles past with toon shaded characters, lots of combos, lots of power-ups and even some silly character stories.

Black & Bruised is easy on the eyes. The characters all look great and the exaggerated cartoon style fits the irreverent atmosphere of the game like a glove (whoops, punned again). Each of the many characters is unique, large and very detailed. They also have a variety of facial expressions to go along with whatever wacky situation they find themselves in. The arenas, you can't exactly call most of them rings, are a little too sparse but don't look bad. The game never dips below its constant 60 fps framerate for even an instant. Some of the character animation is a bit on the jerky side though and ends up looking unintentionally hysterical. A nice touch that's been becoming more common over the years is that you get to see bumps and bruises show up on the fighters in real time. Black & Bruised isn't at the top of the heap when it comes to great graphics, but it's way above average.

The sound and music are generally a notch below average. There are plenty of tunes but they are all very short and just sort of linger in the background. The sound effects consist of the thuds and thumps typical of the genre but are a little less forceful than most arcade style boxers. Each character has voice-overs and some of them are pretty funny. While each boxer says different things in different situations, you'll notice that they repeat themselves pretty quickly. For some reason, I personally found the announcer's voice really, really grating but I won't hold that against the game.

Black & Bruised makes a genuine effort to offer more play modes and moves than is typical of boxing games. It doesn't quite reach it's gameplay goals, though. It stands out from other boxing titles with a variety of game modes and several unique combos for each character. As for the game modes, there is a single player match, a two player match, a tournament mode, two training modes including one that will teach you all of a character's combos, the unique and usually very funny Boxer's Life mode and Survival mode, which like you probably guessed pits you against opponents one after the other until you're KO'd. Spicing up the gameplay are several power-ups that become available only as you land successful blows against your opponent. But in practice, there are a few flaws in this otherwise well put together game.

Each fighter has a lot of combos, many of which are too long to a) memorize and b) be useful in a fight. You'll probably find yourself picking one or two combos to memorize and using them over and over throughout the game. But the thing is, you can be successful without using combos at all. This game is a button masher's dream. Pick a fast character with decent reach and you won't need to use any techniques or any of the power-up items to find your way to victory. Also, the power-up items are a little limited in variety. There are six basic power-ups with three levels of strength. Most of them are indeed useful should you decide to activate them and will help you win more quickly, but you really can get by without using them most of the time.

The standard modes feature typical arcade boxing action with the addition of the power-ups. Much more interesting is the Boxer's Life mode, which tells a short story about each character (except one secret character) through various cutscenes and six special fights. In this mode, the fights have extra rules. You might need to knock down one opponent seven times instead of four to win or you might need to defeat an enemy using only power-up items. Each boxer gets six fights to play through along with about eight cut-scenes and the humor factor is pretty high as you'll see boxers dressed in their boxing gear (gloves included) while doing things like working in a garage fixing cars. This mode really adds something to Black & Bruised and helps elevate slightly above similar fare.

What would a modern fighting or boxing game be without unlockable extras? Er... probably a modern fighting or boxing game without unlockable extras! But, the developers of Black & Bruised decided to go the extra mile and add in some goodies for you to unlock including alternate costumes for every character and a few hidden characters. The roster of fighters available from the start is already adequate and since each character is very unique, the more the merrier, right? Some of them are a just a wee bit stereotypical, but unless you have VERY thin skin, it's nothing to be offended by. Although I am a tad puzzled by the fact that the Japanese fighter Maiagaru has an insult where she calls her opponent a "capitalist dog." There is also the obligatory Cheat Code menu in case you want to make things a little more interesting in one way or another.

So here's Black & Bruised in a nutshell: It looks good, but has below average sound. The voice acting is decent but there isn't quite enough of it and lines are repeated frequently. The gameplay can be fairly deep if you want to devote time to master each fighter's list of combos but the thing is, you really don't need to. You can get by knowing one or two combos or even none at all if you'd rather just button mash. There is plenty of game thanks to the multitude of available modes and the Boxer's Life mode in particular makes this game more valuable than it would have otherwise been. If you've got a buddy or two who you'll constantly play with you might enjoy it a little more, but it's hard to say since the fighting system is shallow. Black & Bruised isn't a bad game but I suggest you try it before you buy it.

Larry McCormick
Capitalist dog.

Black & Bruised: The Scores

Graphics Sound Gameplay Depth Presentation Overall 8.0 4.5 6.0 6.0 7.0 6.0

The Final Word:  Black & Bruised is a decent diversion but it lacks the chops to be a full blown contender. The cartoony characters add some personality to the game and the graphics are good, despite arenas that are a little bare. The sound and music aren't awful but are definitely below average. There are plenty of combos to learn for reach character, but really, the average button masher will be able to get by without them. You can squeeze a little more depth out of the game by taking the time to learn and perfect the combos, though. The real attraction here is the Boxer's Life mode where you get to play out the ridiculous (and funny) stories of each of the characters. Still, I recommend renting this one before you take the plunge on it. gamerweb reviews policy

Black & Bruised: Screenshots