Say what you will about his ridiculous hairdo and overconfident style, but Don King knows boxing. He's guided numerous amateur fighters to glorious careers (including Mike Tyson) and has hyped some of the greatest match-ups in the history of the sport, despite their outcomes. Now he's bringing his know-how to video games with 2K Sports' answer to EA Sports' Fight Night series, Don King Presents: Prizefighter. It's still somewhat rough around the edges, but it definitely has the potential to be a champ.
First off, Prizefighter offers plenty of fighting, as well as a number of venues to choose from. You'll start small in a training facility, sparring a few rounds with a local boxing pro. Soon enough, you'll compete in bigger venues, such as a Venetian-like Las Vegas setting. Venom Games has done a good job thus far putting together these locales, while also paying close attention to boxer movements and animations. These guys move just like their real counterparts, right down to the swaying dodges and up-close punches. So far, there are some questionable problems with collision detection, such as when some hits don't land as intended. However, Venom still has time to patch these up before the game ships, so we're not worried... yet.
What's cool about Prizefighter is that it focuses on the boxing experience as a whole, rather than the boxing itself. You start the game by building a fighter from scratch, including skin color, build, fighting stance, gloves and shorts. From there, you take him through a series of training skills, prepping him for the career that lies ahead. One cool aspect of the game is how you can control your fighter's morality. You don't take part in these events in real-time, but they have a direct effect on him. Say your fighter spends too much time at the clubs, chatting with women instead of training for the next fight. His performance in the ring will clearly show that. The game doesn't shy away from controversial drug use either. If you use too much, you'll have hell to pay. In addition, you'll have to keep a close eye on numerous aspects of your fighter, including his agility, stamina, dexterity and strength.
Prizefighter tells you about your fighter's progression in an unusual but fantastic way. Instead of playing out the events in real time, it recaps them in a documentary presentation with live actors. King provides some input on your performance, and other people, from ex-girlfriends to trainers to long-time friends have their say. It's actually done with a great deal of professionalism, although some people do better with their performances than others. This approach is nicely done thus far, and gives the game some much-needed heft.
2K Sports takes a different approach with its boxing game than EA Sports does with the Fight Night series. Rather than giving you control over your boxer's punches with the analog stick, you're instead use buttons on the pad. You have quick jabs, left hooks, right hooks and straight punches, which you can lace into combinations to throw your opponent off guard. If you manage to hit your opponent with enough combo punches, you gain access to specialty punches, such as an overpowering uppercut or a ribcage caving punch to the chest. You pull these off by holding the left bumper and hitting one of the buttons. It's easy to get into, and surprisingly fun.
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As expected, blocking plays a huge part in the game too. This is where the right analog stick comes into play. You use it to defend areas of your body, including the head, upper or lower. The game features a dynamic blocking system to assure you don't overuse it. If you block too much, you'll eventually lose it and leave yourself wide open to a vicious pounding. If you block efficiently enough and do it a certain number of times, you gain access to a specialty punch. It really works better than we could've expected, although it still needs touchups as far as collision detection goes.
Don King Presents: Prizefighter also packs a handful of extras that bring the sport to life. For boxing fans, the game features forty classic boxers (including the "Cinderella Man" James Braddock, Larry Holmes and Joe Louis), and some of them participate in the included documentary films. It also features smooth running commentary from the team of Emmanuel Steward and Jim Lampley, calling every punch as they see it. 2K has also done a splendid job with the game's soundtrack, supplying a number of great entrance tunes.
Unfortunately, the hands-on time we had with the game ended too soon. That's okay, we'll give it a shot when the final game arrives June 9. Be sure to check back with GameDaily to see if this game delivers a mighty blow, or it hits the canvas.
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