Ready2Rumble Review by Chris Martin 21.3.00

What was thought unachievable has finally been achieved. A boxing game has been made that is worth buying. In the past there have been some mediocre boxing games but nothing anywhere near as good as this. Before launch it was this game that turned heads when running on the Demo CD's in every games shop and is a firm favourite with many Dreamcast owners.

The aim of the Ready2Rumble is clear and simple. Punch the other guy in the ring till he falls over 3 times. Like other boxing games this may sound boring and a bit brainless but trust me, it's not. There are 4 basic punches you can do: Left to face, Right to face, Left to body, Right to body. You can also block your face, block your body and dodge. While this system requires a lot of skill to perfect there are also a range of special moves and combos which you can pull off. With the basic fighting system reminiscent of a fighting game rather than sport and the fact that this is arcadey and definitely not a sim, you won't tire of it very soon.

On the left, Boris Knockimov is on Rumble flurry as he beats down Selena Strike. On the right is Michael Buffer announcing the match.

Every time you hit the other guy with a good punch at full stamina, you get a letter out of the word 'RUMBLE' at the bottom of the screen. Once you get all 6 letters you get something called Rumble. This is similar to in NBA Jam/ShowTime where after 3 consecutive baskets your on fire. When your on Rumble your gloves glow white and you have unlimited stamina letting you get in loads of hard punches, you can also press A+B for a massive combo known as 'Rumble Flurry'. 'RUMBLE' only lasts for a few seconds but will last for longer if you have high stamina. You can also lose your Rumble letters if you get knocked out or if the round finishes.

There are two main modes in Ready2Rumble, Championship and Arcade. Arcade being plainly single fights with either the CPU or a mate but Championship mode is where the game really begins, let me explain. You are given the job of manager, trainer and boxer and you have to bring your boxers from amateurs in small town games to world champions. To start off with you can go into some prize fights to get more money and spend that money on building your boxers' stats up, helping them win more fights. Once they win 10 title fights, they'll move up a league and you as the manager, will get another boxer to look after. It carries on from there and your never really finished till you've got all 20 boxers and put them through Bronze, Silver and Gold classes (leagues). I don't know anyone who's done this but it would take a LONG time. I've only brought about 5 boxers to Champ class and that took me about a week of hard work.

To train your boxer there is a different little mini-game with every thing you can do to help him get better. They have somehow turned working out in the gym into playing out in the gym. For example, when punching the bag, combinations of punches and button pressing will be said by your trainer and you must follow those instructions exactly. As you go on getting fitter and stronger these get harder and harder.

The graphics in R2R are spectacular. The boxers move with perfect fluidity and full facial expressions and wouldn't look too out of place in Toy Story2. Everything from Angel Rivera's hair to the jiggle in Salua Tua's breasts is moving and looking great. There is also real-time bruising and teeth losing, the better the punches, the more messed up their face is at the end of the fight, funny stuff I assure you.The lighting and shadows on the rings are very, VERY realistic and what they've done with the crowd is really smart. Each person in the crowd is made of a little repeating animation, where they might be standing up and cheering or clapping their hands. When everyone in the crowd (or at least the first 5-10 rows) are all moving it's very impressive and definitely does the job. The only problem is that Michael Buffer and the Ref are noticeably lower quality than any boxers which is a bit of a let down.

On the left is the Championship mode section. On the right - 'Tonight's fight'

The sound is easily on par with the graphics and puts most other games to shame. When you first load up the game you hear the authentic voice of Michael Buffer with "Let's Get Ready 2 Ruummbleeeeee" which leads into the catchy let's get ready to rumble song which is far, far better than the Robson and Jerome song we all know and hate. When you start a fight it is just like real life with Michael Buffer presenting it with the well known catch phrase. Although there's no commentary (if there was it would be far too distracting) You can hear Mr Buffer shouting "RUMBLEEE", "Round 2" and many other things.

If someone asked what one thing I liked the most about this game I'd think for a few seconds and then say the presentation. The menus before you fight are simple, look good and easy enough that a toddler could start a fight on it's own. Once you get into a fight it's like watching the TV. Michael Buffer does his thing, both of the the fighters are introduced and make a few threats before they battle it out. After a few rounds, one of them wins and is declared victorious. The camera angles are superb and Mr Buffer's voice throughout the game adds perfectly to the atmosphere.

I know i've been talking none stop about how brilliant this game is but there are very few things wrong with the game. No bugs and there's nothing really wrong with what's done. There is a lot that can be added to though, more modes, more moves, practice sessions with your trainer, etc. The other thing is that even though this is an amazing boxing game, punching doesn't compare to the all out killing of Soul Calibur.

Overall, a fun game that will impress your mates and you can play with people who never usually play games but also has longevity and good gameplay.