First there was "Boxing" on the 2600. Then came "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!," followed by "Super Punch-Out!!" on the NES and SNES respectively. The "Ready 2 Rumble" games followed on the PS1, Dreamcast and PS2. And finally, the "next-generation" of consoles have their own arcade-style boxing game. EA's recently announced "FaceBreaker" is the next game to step in the ring.
I never really consciously made the choice to like boxing games. Sports games in general have never really been near the top of my list of games that I feel I need to play. But for some reason there is a special place in this gamer's heart for boxing games -- particularly the arcadey ones. That's why, when I had the opportunity to sit down and check out a pre-Alpha demo for the game last night at an EA press event, I was more than a little more excited.
After being shown a quick trailer for the game I got to jump in and actually see some action in the ring. The demo was running on an Xbox 360 development kit. The two boxers from the trailer, the bald Russian Molotov and the flamboyant Spaniard Romeo, were duking it out in a standard-looking gym. Their fighting styles were distinct: Molotov was a big bruiser, while Romeo was quick and on his toes. As you might expect, they each had their own special attacks that emphasized their strengths. For example, Molotov would come at you with both fists, and throw you in the corner, and have his way with you. The character animation looked smooth and fluid, even thought it was an early build of the game.
When asked about how many characters would make the final cut of the game, EA was a bit tight-lipped, but I was told that each character would be unique and have a great background story, which, in my mind, is one of the most important elements of an arcade boxing game. They also said that the game would offer a variety of different environments to fight in as well, something that would be a step up from "Fight Night."
Most of the stuff in the ring is what you'd expect. It's a boxing game. However, the game gets it's name from the fact that, as the fight goes on, the characters' faces start to show quite a bit of wear and tear, hence the "Facebreaking." Some of these moments are wrapped in quick, in-game, cinematic cuts scenes with quirky animation akin to a Looney Tunes wild take -- with punching. The cut scenes did make it feel a little familiar to "Fight Night Round 3" when you're boxer was tired and about to go down, but not to the extent where the titles could ever be confused.
I was told that even though a core group of the team that worked on "Fight Night Round 3" started this new project, they were trying not to emulate that more realistic fighting series. One of the most significant ways they are trying to distinguish the series is through the controls. I didn't go hands-on with the game myself, but I was told that the controls are designed to be accessible. You won't be throwing punches by tilting the control sticks in this one. You'll do it the old-fashioned way: pressing buttons.
After being in development for about a year and a half "FaceBreaker" is looking pretty good, and should hopefully please the arcade boxing audience later this year. In the meantime I'm going to cross my fingers and hope Nintendo gets around to releasing "Super Punch-Out!!" on the Virtual Console to get me ready.
Comments