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Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing
by Jolex Del Pilar
Wednesday, July 31, 2002
Based on the most (in)famous figure in boxing for the past 2 decades, Codemaster's arcade type boxing game is quite a bit of fun.
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Title:
Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing
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Platform:
Xbox |
Publisher:
Codemasters
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Developer:
Atomic Planet Entertainment
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#
of Players: 1-2
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Genre:
Sports/Boxing
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Origin:
Great Britain
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Expected
Release: July 2002
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Grapevine:
"Codemaster's boxing game, based on the well-known heavyweight, cannot hope to capture the character and mystique of Mike Tyson onto a simple plastic disc, but it can hope to be a good boxing game. " |
For the past 17 years, Mike Tyson has been an inescapable figure on the boxing landscape. There is something about Mike Tyson that draws people in, regardless of the fact that he is a convicted rapist with a propensity towards manic behavior. The spectacle of Mike Tyson is something that boxing fans either love or hate, but both trains of thought cannot doubt that boxing has gained a lot of exposure through this often-misunderstood figure.
Codemaster's boxing game, based on the well-known heavyweight, cannot hope to capture the character and mystique of Mike Tyson onto a simple plastic disc, but it can hope to be a good boxing game. Historically, boxing games are only the third or forth most popular sports games based on genre depending on whom you ask. Baseball, Football, and arguably Basketball, all have larger fan bases and therefore there are more games depicting those sports on the market. However there have been a few recent boxing games released on the market, most notable is the Knockout Kings series from EA Sports. The Knockout Kings series is EA's attempt at creating a boxing simulation type game, with realistic statistics, and presentation. Mike Tyson's Heavyweight Boxing from Codemaster's is taking a different approach. A mix of both realism and arcade style gameplay, it is this reviewer's guess that Codemaster's was attempting to make a boxing game that would appeal to both hardcore fanatics and average gamers who might not have seen a single boxing match in their entire lives. Codemaster's to a great degree has succeeded in this task.
The game features 16 real heavyweight boxers in its rosters, including Tyson himself. These are the only computer characters in the game. Codemaster's has included a create-a-character mode in the game that is very diverse, which we will get to later. Also featured are 20 real life arenas including Caesars Palace and England's own Wembley Arena. The game has many modes, some of which you must unlock. The basic game modes are exhibition in which you fight single matches against unlocked fighters. The career mode is another option in which you guide a boxer, either one of the 16 included or a created one, to the title. The presentation of the whole game is fairly high class with details that include walk-ins, trainers giving advice, and even busty ring card girls (one of the details cannot be mentioned here to keep everything g-rated, but it does deal with the “busty” ring card girls).
Most game players will probably head to the custom boxer mode first so we'll go through that now. There's a lot here to tell the truth and in this reviewer's opinion, the create-a-boxer mode in Mike Tyson's Heavyweight Boxing is a lot better than Knockout Kings 2002. In fact, this game puts the EA game to shame in this department. Nearly every aspect of your custom boxer is changeable. Forehead size, jaw size, arm size, leg size... you get the picture. You can practically create any boxer you want through this mode. It does have some limitations such as a 6'8" height limit, and a weight limit, however these are acceptable real-world limits. You can even pick your boxer's shorts, gloves, and boots. Initially though there are not many customization options on what your boxer can wear into the ring, not until you start defeating some boxers.
So once you have customized your boxer to your heart's content, it's time to take him into the ring. The first gaming mode open is the "Bronze Belt mode". It's the first belt and doesn't have many serious contenders on the way to the title. Supposing your are successful in at least defeating some of the contenders here, you will notice that you have earned some prize money. The amount varies on many factors including how spectacular your victory was or if you even won at all (losing doesn't pay much). Once you have your prize money, you can go back to the custom boxer mode, load up your boxer, and "pay" for improvements. These include statistics from chin, to strength, and heart. There are 11 statistical categories to make improvements in overall. You can also use your money to teach your boxer better technique. A boxer can be strong as a horse but if he doesn't have correct technique, all that strength will go to waste. At the beginning your boxer only has "basic" punches. The basic jab, cross, hook, body punches, and the like are all you have to start off. As you defeat more opponents in exhibition and title belt mode, you can earn money to "pay" for improvements to your boxer’s technique. Each punch can be improved three times going from basic to advanced to expert.
The fighting mechanics of Mike Tyson's boxing are simple enough but it will take a little time to get used to. Your basic buttons throw punches such as a cross, hook, or jab. However defense in this game is a little different. Here you don't push a button to block but instead you utilize the right analog stick on the Xbox controller. Pulling up on the stick will bring your gloves close to your face to block head punches. Pulling down protects your body. Pulling up and to the left helps you "deflect" punches from the left, which in turn puts your opponent off balance for a split second. Pulling up and to the right does the same thing except for right-handed punches. The way defense is controlled is pretty intuitive and is a better system than the one EA Sports came up with. In addition to blocking punches you can sway and duck. By swaying or ducking punches you can avoid the impact of a punch all together and not take any damage (blocking causes a small amount of damage if the opponents gloves make contact). The L and R triggers control swaying. Swaying to the left is performed by pressing the L trigger and to the right by the pressing the R trigger. To duck punches, press down on the right analog stick. Personally I found that I did little blocking except to the head because head punches can potentially knock you out, and instead opted to duck and sway. You'll find that a lot of the boxers in the more advanced stages can beat you down even if you are blocking, so learning how to sway and duck in the early stages is crucial if you wish to go far in the game.
Mike Tyson lands a crushing right hand to David Tua's jaw. This fight might bring in double digit millions in revenue if it were staged in real life.
The gameplay mechanics themselves are fairly balanced, but take into mind that this game isn't a sim, but more of an arcade type game so some realism will be sacrificed. An example is when your fighter attempts to throw a power punch (performed by holding down on the appropriate button for a second or two), little flames start to surround your fighters fist indicating he will throw a power punch whether it be a jab, hook, or cross. Whether by design or accident, you can “fake” throwing power punches (just hold onto the button until the flames die down), and use that as a feint. This is very useful into tricking the computer or a human opponent into thinking you will throw a certain punch when you are really setting up another punch. All fights in the game (except two player versus mode) are 3 rounds, and only 2 minutes. Now this may seem short to many of you but 95% of the fights I played through in this game rarely went to the cards. As your boxer grows in power, you will learn to unleash devastating shots and combos that can leave an opponent prone on the ground for the ten count. It's actually strangely exciting and satisfying to demolish and opponent with four well placed punches. The slow motion replays only intensify that feeling. Codemaster's wanted to entertain with this game and never marketed the game as a simulation so it would be unfair to judge it as such. The game is entertaining so mission accomplished there.
Visually the game isn't ground breaking but it is good. The Xbox version of the game is vastly superior to the PS2 version in visuals. That seems to be the case now days with any cross platform ports between the PS2 and Xbox. The boxers’ faces are modeled very well but some of the likenesses aren't perfect. While Mike Tyson, and Chris Byrd look spot on, David Tua, and Paolo Vidoz don't quite look like their real life counterparts. This is a minor detail though as many gamers don't watch enough boxing to even know the difference. The arenas though are very well done with active crowds that cheer and clap if the fight is exciting and throw cat calls when the fight is boring. Although not Dead or Alive 3, Mike Tyson's Heavyweight Boxing has clean visuals.
There aren't many boxing games on the market right now, and even fewer that are worthy of your hard earned dollar. For the Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube, there is the Knockout Kings Series (which has slowly been losing it's overall quality with each successive return), Ready 2 Rumble Boxing which is very cartoonish, and HBO Boxing, a very horrible boxing game by all accounts. Mike Tyson's Heavyweight Boxing isn't the best boxing game ever created for the next-gen systems (that title would go to "Victorious Boxers" from Empire Interactive) but arguably it's one of the best out on the market right now, certainly better than EA’s offering. Mike Tyson's Heavyweight Boxing will be a fun experience for any gamer and at the very least entertaining to those who buy it.
--- Jolex Del Pilar, #1 ranked Contender
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