Living up to the hype - I have to be honest, I wasn't sure quite what to expect when I cracked open Prizefighter. EA's Fight Night series seems to be handling the boxing genre quite well. But just like every other sports franchise, 2K isn't afraid to get in EA's face and throw some punches, an appropriate response considering 2K Sports first boxing title lands plenty of them. I'm not quite finished with the game yet, my work on GamePro Arcade is keeping me pretty busy (What!?! You haven't been to GamePro Arcade yet?!?! What are you waiting for?) but here are my first impressions on Prizefighter, a title I'm enjoying quite a bit so far.
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The Good
Plot -The most pleasant surprise in Prizefighter so far has been its storyline. Its filled with live-actions clips that show your rise ("The Kid") rise to the top. Actors portray some of the people who help you on your way up but there are plenty of cameos by real boxing insiders. You'd think a storyline in a boxing title would be completely unnecessary but it really works.
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Choices -Most people are well aware that many fighters end up leading lives of excess. Prizefighter gives you these same temptations. Do you skip training to - play in a celebrity poker tournament? Go to a magazine photo shoot? Head out on a quick vacation with your girlfriend? The more successful you get, the more people want to take up your time. If you do these things your media profile rises but your skills decrease.
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Controls - Some people will struggle with the controls in Prizefighter, especially if you're used to the Fight Night series pick-up-and-play style, but with a little time they're not hard to master and add some realism.
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Fight Strategy - There's a surprising amount of technicality involved in boxing and gamers get a feel for that in Prizefighter. Opponents come at you in different ways, so you can't always beat someone the same way. Make sure to listen to your trainers advice, its actually useful.
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Random Stuff - I enjoyed the commentary by Jim Lampley and Emmanuel Stewart, which you don't get until you've made a bit of a name for yourself...The sepia tone classic fights are a nice touch, kind of like a boxing history lesson...the soundtrack (which includes "Eye of the Tiger") is pretty good
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The Not So Good
Unresponsive controls - Sometimes in fights, particularly when you're going up against a tougher opponent, there's a short delay between hitting the button and your character throwing the punch. It leaves you awfully vulnerable to counter punching and is pretty annoying.
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The graphics - While the character models look fine and the damage they take is reflected over time, the graphics overall are pretty average. Some collision detection issues (punches going through parts of an opponent) are also disappointing.
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Online play - I fought a couple of online matches and found the above problems to be even more noticeable. A lot of lag and clipping issues.
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The controls - Yeah, yeah I know. I listed this as a positive but with 30+ controls, the learning curve is pretty high. If you don't have the patience, the controls will frustrate you.
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So does Prizefighter have what it takes to knockout the Fight Night franchise? No, not yet. But it certainly is a step in the right direction. I can't really give a grade to a game I haven't yet finished but as of right now, Prizfighter is a solid B-.
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