Boxing is a very aggressive sport. Having to do tiresome training until your about to faint is what goes for an average day for a boxer. All while worrying about ‘if your going to win’ or ‘survive’. Yes, these are the thoughts that are constantly swirling around your head,studying past fights with your opponents so you can so you can prepare for what’s ahead is nothing but a serious matter. So Nintendo chose to make this serious sport more attractive with their revamp of a classic called Punch Out!! for the Wii. Will Little Mac take the belt back to the Bronx or will this game lose in the first round?
Graphics– This is a Wii game. Knowing this we all should understand the graphics wont be outstanding. Regardless,the game looks pretty damn good. Colors are bright and vibrant. Hits are exaggerated with cartoony stars and birds and a bunch of other cartoonish signs of a fight. The more damage a character takes the more visible it is on the character model. Black eyes,welts, swollen faces, and missing teeth all become drape your opponent,or self, after sustaining a certain amount of damage. It’s the small details that just shows that even if you don’t have a V8 engine, you can still keep up with the big boys.
Controls– At this point I think Nintendo and their little gimmicks on how to play need to stop. Don’t use the balance board because it is very unresponsive. You will ‘bob’ when you mean to ‘weave’ and walk right into a punch, and you may throw a few random punches as well! Using the nunchuk attachment is stupid as well. It is clunky and you will be waving your arms everywhere until utter exhaustion sets in and never once throw the punch you originally intended. Stick to the old NES controls and flip the wiimote on the side and just play, Trust me when I tell you that’s the best way.
Gameplay– This is the easiest part of the game. Just go into each division and beat everyone in sight there into submission. There you go. There are only a handful of divisions so experienced players will be done in a weekend. With no online play this game doesn’t really have much re-play value. Sure, you can go through the main circuits again fighting familiar faces except in this go-round the boxers are stronger and actually come sporting enhancements! Lessons learned from previous fights will have you encountering a Glass Joe sporting a helmet, and a King Hippo wearing a trash pail to cover his stomach. This goes a short way to bring extended life to this horribly short game. The vs mode is stupid as well. In normal games after beating characters usually unlocks them for multiplayer affairs. Not in this game. You and another player will only be able to choose to play as Lil Mac and duke it out. Yup lackluster it is. This goes on until one person gets their meter filled so they can transform into Giga-Mac and transform the match is to a one-sided ordeal. This mode just boils down to who ever can fill up their meter faster so they can spama single attack and win.
Pros– a classic game is brought back for old fans and new, its fun to play. Sometimes funny to hear your coach shout out subliminal messages sent by Nintendo, seeing Mac running in a pink sweatsuit is STILL awesome.
Cons– Short. Waaay too short. Only 12 people to beat up, no on-line mode, VS mode is half-assed.
Bottomline- C+
It would be better if you could add a few pictures, thanks.
ask and you shall receive!