|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 A comic boxing game with plenty of characters and story, but less in-ring polish. By Matthew Gallant | Feb. 19, 2003  68Fair
The Lowdown: A decent peer to Ready 2 Rumble, but the cartoonish fun isn't quite as apparent inside the ring as outside.
Post Your Own Review How the review scores work
Platform: GameCube
 Game Type: Sports Developer: Digital Fiction Publisher: Majesco ESRB: Teen Full Game Information Advertisement
Play where you want with the Logitech® Cordless Controller for PlayStation®.
Black & Bruised includes nineteen boxers, five of which must be unlocked. With only a few exceptions, they're one-note characters like Bronto Sore, the lumpy convict, or Holly D. Vixen, the provocatively dressed Jersey girl. There are a few characters that play a tiny bit against their stereotype, like El Luchador, the scrawny masked Mexican, or Pharaoh, the wannabe actor that dresses like an ancient Egyptian. Still, each character has a "Boxer's Life" campaign, six fights that tell a story and flesh out the character. There are some honest chuckles here and there in the stories, but they come mostly from slapstick. Boxer's Life also presents a special challenge for each match, such as requiring you to win within a certain time period, taking extra damage from certain blows, or even just not moving as fast as you normally can. Combined with the cutscenes in-between matches, and the sheer number of boxers, it makes for an interesting mode of play. Apart from the Boxer's Life mode, there are also a tournament mode and a survival mode. Tournament mode has six levels, from Amateur to Intercontinental, that put you in a series of fights on your way to the championship. Survival has nine levels that challenge you to knock down consecutive opponents without getting knocked down yourself, only regaining a small amount of health in-between opponents. Finally, there are the one- and two-player exhibition matches, and a training mode that will let you familiarize yourself with each boxer. The game's boxing controls are easy to learn. A and B throw right and left jabs, while X and Y throw hooks. Holding down R simultaneously will switch the punches to body blows and uppercuts. The L button makes your boxer block high; holding R as well will make them block low. It's also possible to slip (dodge) punches altogether by quickly pushing the control stick away from an incoming punch. Combos play an important role in a match, and each boxer has a set of unique, three to nine punch combos, that are executed simply by hitting the appropriate button combination. While fighting, it's also possible to earn one of six types of power-ups by landing punches. Your opponent can get to the power-up first, though, by landing more punches than you. Landing combos will get you to the power-ups faster. Once you have a power-up, you can use it right away or build its power up to two more levels by continuing to land more punches and combos.  The Daily Bruise Next: Aesthetic issues... » Page: 1 2 |
Most Popular
Video Games
Powered By PriceGrabber
|
||||||||
