Game Review: Don King's Prizefighter
Monday - June 30, 2008By: Tim Boswell
Don King has been one of most recognized faces of the sport of boxing for as long as we can remember. With all his know-how in promoting some of the sport's biggest fights, the sometimes infamous promoter teamed up with 2K Sports of his first foray in the video game world with "Prizefighter." Can his promotional influence sell video games? Or better yet, capture the gamers' hearts who love the sport? We break it down for you.
So far, EA Sports "Fight Night" has been the draw when it comes to boxing simulations, and compared "Prizefighter" ... well there is no comparison. The game doesn't lack in the effort department, in their attempt at making a complete boxing sim. However, they didn't come anywhere close to taking "Fight Night's" spot at the top.
Don King's game comes complete with training modes that are useful as well as fun mini-games, a deeply developed storyline told through videos featuring actors, models, etc, and video highlights of classic boxing matches. From a boxing fan's perspective, it seems like a must. But, overall, "Prizefighter" leaves you a little disappointed.
The game's Career Mode is the main attraction of the game. You create a character (which is pretty robust with several options) and guide him through his beginnings to the limelight through the course of his career. You'll book your own fights, build your attributes, and run into a few surprises and twists, as you try to become the next "prizefighter." The concept sounds good, but the way things work, mainly the controls, from what might have been a great game.
While "Fight Night" has KO'ed most other boxing attempts thanks to the way you control punching, dodging, and blocking -- by the use of the thumbstick, and a simple combination of sticks and triggers -- "Prizefighter" tried a different approach. You hit buttons for your punches, taking it back to the old school ways of arcade games. The result is just that, an old school gaming feel.
Using your right thumb on the stick to block, and then having to switch over to the buttons for punching makes for an uncomfortable game experience, not too mention a little difficult at first. The flow between defense and offense should be key, but the flow is all wrong here.
Another gripe we had during our review of the game is the realism of the boxer's damage. While a boxer's face definitely shows how much damage they've taken (in addition to their health bar), he seems pretty energetic at coming back at you full force after being knocked down. No matter how beaten, bloodied, or swollen your opponent's face is, or how slow he takes to pull himself off the canvas, he comes back at you as if it was the beginning of the first round, which is just a little much. This should have been thought out a little more.
The overall fighting experience just wasn't nailed to sum it all up, and as mentioned the controls are a problem. A combination of button presses throw 1 of 31 different punches -- a jab, straight punch, a hook, etc. However, getting these all down become a challenge, and are unresponsive at times. During gameplay, you'll find yourself just mashing buttons, hoping for the best, with no real control while the AI goes to work on you.
Despite the missteps, there is some good in the game. The aforementioned training modes, in which you prepare for a fight and up your attributes, are fun at times, but also get tedious. There are five ways to train: heavy bag, speed bag, jump rope, focus mitts, and shuttle run. Basically, you hit specific buttons as fast as possible, and your attributes will improve. And if you don't feel like doing the mini-games yourself, you can auto train and skip the workouts, but if you select this option, you won't get much of a boost.
Graphic-wise, they are not bad, but they don't hold their weight against "Fight Night Round 3." The arenas, fighters, and everything overall is just slightly less than the previous "Fight Night."
"Prizefighter" had big potential at being a worthy adversary to EA's boxing sim, but the poorly created control mechanism puts a damper on things from the beginning and you really never get over them. It does a job at passing the time, but the next version of "Fight Night" might be your best bet. But hey, don't take our word for it, try it for yourself.
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