EA Sports Has Done It Again ... Both the Good and the Bad
The Good:
- The graphics ... wow ... the graphics ... wow ... the graphics ... but wait a second ... is that a ... (see the ugly section).
- Tying in with the graphics, the facial expressions in the game are some of the best ... no ... THE best facial expressions I have ever seen in a console game.
- The ability to play without a HUD is nice, and adds to the realism.
- The gameplay is familiar if you've played the previous editon.
The Bad:
- The lack of any sort of career stat management, including the lack of a ranking list. It almost feels like you aren't getting anywhere ... almost.
- Some of the career statistics seem screwy. For instance, I beat Evander Holyfield and when I later fought him again, it said he was undefeated. Also, in a rivalry it mentioned something about my guy staying undefeated ... but I wasn't undefeated.
- EA SPORTS has this idea that nobody wants to use buttons anymore and in just about every game of theirs they decide that the analog sticks should be the only two things touched ... f that ... at least they allow for alternate control schemes ... but you still have to be an analog expert to win the big fights. On the plus side, this is one game that makes better use of the stick ... (Unlike NHL).
- So like ... that whole slow-motion face punching thing is cool the first few times ... but seriously ... is that stream of spit necessary every single time somebody gets knocked down by a blow to the face? What should be random and more particular to the situation just happens way too often.
- Something about the gameplay just seems a bit slow ... like overall ... it just seems like the punches should flow more in line with how fast you move the analog stick ... since you have to use it anyway.
- Okay ... I defeated my "rival" three sequential times ... and how on earth did he get a title shot BEFORE my boxer and somehow appear as the title holder? This ties in with the lack of stat tracking and rankings.
- Select the butch haircut and your fighter may go bald randomly.
- Physical attributes don't seem to do much ... or matter much ... because the boxers you face get better with you anyway ... and since you have very limited choices for opponents, it doesn't feel like you've gotten any stronger or faster or what not.
The Downright Ugly:
- Nobody told me that the boxers did the robot in the game ... seriously ... if you just stand idle for a minute, watch the disgusting flicker of arms move around wildly ... totally unrealistic ... bad show EA.
- EA Sports is notorious (well to me at least) for implementing difficulty levels by ... well ... unsportsmanlike conduct ... as opposed to skill. After a while you will be able to tell that the computer on harder difficulty levels will respond to whatever combination of stick and block you might be using, maybe even mid-punch ... causing the CPU fighter's moves to look unrealistic just so they can get a hit. It is certainly frustrating, and might cause you to put down the controller for a day or so. It is difficult to explain how a computer might be "cheating" lol ... but think NHL where they shoot a slow-moving shot from across the halfway point and it just slides right past your goalie because you are ahead by two or three points already. EA ought to get rid of such annoying "logic" in the games and go back to the drawing boards on that for all their games.
- Okay ... amidst all the nice graphics ... what the f is that foot doing shaking wildly on the mat? Apparently it's a glitch that not even Round 3 was able to knock out *slaps knee*.
Overall: It seems I picked out more flaws than good points in this review. I think a lot of the good points are derived from the feeling you get when you play the game. Your imagination might have to play a part in the single player mode (for me it does) in order to create a fulfilling single player experience.
I guess a lot of the negative points stem from just overall disappointment with EA SPORTS. Despite the re-occurring drawbacks of the series, it is still a good game. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any boxing fan, or any fan of a good sports game. It is still able to build a sense of tension when certain fights re-occur and it has good replay value. I think the graphics are great and they give hope to the next generation of sports games for consoles.