Don King Presents Prizefighter Xbox 360 Review

Don King Presents Prizefighter

Xbox 360 Review
Developer: Venom Games
Publisher: Take-Two Interactive
Released: June 9, 2008

Unfortunately, for any boxing video game released, they are going to be compared to the great EA Sports Fight Night Round 3. This is an inevitable fate simply because the franchise has been so dominant on the last generation, and this current generation of consoles. 2K Sports took the chance though to sign on with the legendary Don King for a boxing game, Don King Presents Prizefighter. So is it a knockout? Or should they just throw in the towel.

The developers behind this one were Venom Games, the same team responsible for the enjoyable Rocky Legends on the Xbox. Things were a little different this time out though as the developer now had to go from making an arcade-style boxing game, to more of a simulation.

The most important aspect of any boxing game has to be the gameplay. This has been the case ever since the days of Punch-Out so many years ago. The sport of boxing is extremely fluid in the boxers mix combinations of punches, stick and move, block, etc.

Unfortunately, the gameplay is the most disappointing aspect of Prizefighter. Instead of going with the analog punching scheme, Prizefighter uses the four face buttons along with the right trigger which acts as a body shot modifier. The combination of these buttons makes up all of your punching.

In terms of defense, you can dodge with the left trigger, while the right analog stick controls your hands to block punches.

Now, for those who have spent years playing the Fight Night series, this is going to feel like an absolute mess at first since it is completely different from what you are used to. For those who haven’t though, you will likely have a much easier time getting into the game.

The biggest problem with the gameplay in Prizefighter is the fact that there is not a whole lot of fluidity to it in how you can throw combinations of buttons. The game is just not fluid enough in the way in which the boxers move around the ring and throw punches. You end up with some very strange animations in some sports where you will see hands actually going through the body of your opponent.

Now, it has to be said that things are not completely a mess. I have played boxing games which control a lot worse than this in the past, and once you understand the mechanics behind it, there is a bit of fun to be had. This is certainly not a great effort though in terms of a gameplay experience.

Thankfully, things actually get a lot better when you look outside of the fact that the game is not all that great in the gameplay department. The developer has done a very good job in creating a deep career mode, as well as all of the big thrills of boxing.

The career mode basically sets you up as a bottom barrel boxer going through your life in professional boxing. You start out in low-level crappy arenas, encounter a variety of things such as agents, trainers, girlfriends etc.

Venom has done a tremendous job to make you feel like you are living the life of a professional boxer, as you will be going through training, watching classic fights, and using your PDA to get offers for commercials and other activities. So as you are building up your boxing skills, you can also build up how the public sees you. To be quite honest, Prizefighter surpasses the Fight Night series in this regard, great stuff.

The training activities are quite fun and include the shuffle run, heavy bag, jump rope, speed bag, and focus mitts. These build up your main attributes and for the most part are very well-done.

Beyond the career mode, the game has an exhibition mode to let you fight with 40 licensed boxers in the game. They come from all weight classes and include some big names such as Rocky Marciano, Andrew Golota, James Braddock, Ken Norton, Floyd Patterson, and others.

Beyond the offline stuff, the game does feature a versus mode for those who want to fight it out online. On top of that, a tournament mode is featured as well with Fighter Club and Tournament. Both are tournaments, with the only difference being that Fighter Club depends on points more than anything else. Online, the game felt great with virtually no slowdown or lag.

As stated, the presentation of Prizefighter is top notch. You get to fight in some famous arenas such as the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Madison Square Garden, and others. The arenas as well as the crowds are nicely detailed and the entire set-up is spot on. From the second your entrance music hits, to right before the bell rings, you really do get the feeling like you are getting set for a fight.

Going beyond the arenas and details there, the models for the boxers are fairly well done. They certainly are not near the level of Fight Night Round 3, but overall they are detailed enough that they definitely look like a next-gen experience. The animations just needed to be more fluid to sell the entire visual experience more.

The audio presentation in Prizefighter fits with the game extremely well, and yes, Eye of the Tiger is included in the mix of songs. Some quality sound effects as well. The only bad thing is that the commentary is a bit behind with the action, and does get repetitive.

Don King Presents Prizefighter is a decent first entry into the world of video game boxing, and one which I truly hope will get a sequel. Competition is always good, and there is a great foundation here to build on for future games. For the true boxing fans, the career mode and presentation definitely make this worth a rental, but the gameplay keeps it from being a must-buy.

Graphics: 6.5 The animations need a lot of work, but actual arena and character models are decent.

Audio: 7.0 The commentary is lacking, but the sound effects and music features fit well.

Gameplay: 5.5 This is where the game has major problems, it does not feel smooth or fluid in any way.

Replay Value: 6.0 If you get to enjoy the controls, the game has a lot of depth with a great career mode and some fun online stuff.

Final Score: 6.5

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Interested in picking up this release? Head over to Amazon at the link here Don King Presents: Prize Fighter