Let's get ready 2 rumble! Step into the ring with the rowdiest
characters in the gym and battle it out! Every one of these guys
(and gals) packs enough verbal and pugilistic power to make you
fall down laughing! Featuring world-renowned boxing announcer,
Michael "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" Buffer, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
gives players the rtunity to compete as one of 16 boxers,
each with his own fighting style. Each boxer is hyper realistic
with an unlimited number of punch combinations for both realistic
and over-the top boxing styles. Featuring world-renowned boxing
announcer, Michael "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" Buffer, Ready 2
Rumble Boxing gives players the rtunity to compete as one of
16 boxers, each with his own fighting style. Each boxer is hyper
realistic with an unlimited number of punch combinations for both
realistic and over-the top boxing styles.
Review
------
Most of you will remember Ready 2 Rumble Boxing as one of the
Dreamcast's premiere launch titles - one of the great games that
helped the system get off the ground. Now, R2R is available for
the PlayStation. While the graphics may not be as pretty, and the
game may not run as quickly as the original version, it still has
the fast, combo-driven gameplay that made the Dreamcast version
such a hit. The gameplay comes in two different flavors. Arcade
mode lets you jump right in and play against either the computer
or a friend. Against the computer, you'll see a fighting
game-like progression through the ranks, culminating in a battle
with a boss boxer. Which boss you get is determined by the game's
difficulty setting. While the two-player mode may be the main
draw, the meat of the single-player game is contained in the
game's championship mode. Here, you'll select a boxer whose stats
will be extremely low. You'll have to work the boxer through the
ranks, through three classes. You can fight for cash prizes and
then spend the cash on the training of your boxer. The training
takes form in a series of little minigames. Do extremely well in
the minigames, and you'll get an even higher bonus to your stats.
You only have a certain number of fights in class, so you must
strike a balance between fighting for cash and fighting for
higher rankings. As you move through the ranks, you'll unlock
more boxers in the championship mode, and you'll eventually
unlock the bosses for play in the arcade mode. Getting each
boxer's stats raised and completing the championship mode take a
lot of time, but not nearly as much as it should since the game's
AI is quite weak. The computer-controlled boxers simply can't
combat stick-and-move tactics. So you really don't even need to
pump up most of your boxers' stats. As long as they can get
inside, get off a hit or two, and get away before the nent
can counter, they'll win with ease. Each version of Ready 2
Rumble Boxing contains one exclusive boxer. The PlayStation
version has Gino Stiletto, a decent fighter, but he doesn't seem
to fit into the R2R universe as well as the rest of the fighters
do. OK, it's pretty much a given that the game isn't going to
look as good as the Dreamcast version. But when compared with
other PlayStation games, it still looks good. The game runs at a
smooth speed that enables you to get into a groove and really
excel at the game's combos. The boxers' faces get banged up
nicely after a few rounds, and they still have some of their
facial expressions. The boxers' personalities still shine through
in the ring introductions, and the animation is quite good. The
sound of the crowd, including shouts of encouragement from the
corner men, brings a lot to the game's atmosphere. The cool thing
about the crowd is that they sound different depending on how
high your rank is. When you start out as a lowly unranked
bronze-class fighter, no one will show up to watch you fight. But
by the time you're ready to win the gold championship, you'll be
duking it out in a sold-out arena. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing is a
good arcade-style boxing game. If you're a fan of fighting games,
you'll enjoy the game's special moves, combo system, and varied
characters. Boxing fans will be happy with the game as well,
because, although it isn't very realistic, the ability it gives
you to throw your own combos surpasses the combo system used in
Knockout Kings 2000. While it's not as good as the Dreamcast
version, Ready 2 Rumble on the PlayStation is still a fun,
good-looking game.--Jeff Gerstmann--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot
Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any
form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is
prohibited. -- GameSpot Review
- Ready 2 Rumble- Playstation.