Mocap Boxing

"I lost 170 lbs. with the Mocap Boxing program!"

Gather 'round and hear a tale kids. A tale of yours truly and a little (or rather very large) arcade game called ''Mocap Boxing.'' Often times I can be found 200 miles away from my ancestral home of New Jersey at Lake George, NY. In the town of Lake George there is a small arcade open 24 hours a day called Fun Palace. One day I walk in there to see Mocap Boxing. I took it as another poor Konami game that was just designed to make you move around a lot (like Police-911). How wrong I was. This is the best boxing game...ever. Here is my tale. None of the names have been changed. In the words of Crank Yankers...screw the innocent. This is a story of pain. Of love. Of triumph. Of defeat. THIS IS MOCAP. You will laugh. You will cry. YOU WILL BOX. Round one...begin.

Mocap is short for ''motion capture.'' It is named as such because the game requires you to put on these slightly heavy plastic boxing gloves. Instead of controls, you must physically act out the part of the boxer. Punch. Duck. Block. All the moves must be generated by you. If you take 3 hits, you lose a life. You can always continue the game by throwing in a few quarters here and there. If you're good, it is a relatively easy game.

I gave it a whirl, and it was pretty fun. You face off against increasingly difficult boxers from around the world (the first two opponents being from my area). Wait until the surprise I got the next morning.

I awoke sore all over. My back and arms hurt like crazy and I was unable to go water-skiing. A rather unfortunate chain of events. It took me a while to trace the pain back to Mocap, but when I did I was sure that was what had happened.

Two days later I headed back to Fun Palace. I put on gloves and a headband and began stretching. I knew that everyone in the arcade was staring at me, but I did not care. I was determined. I equipped the boxing gloves, and with one mighty blow after another, I conquered the game. MAX was now ranked #1 in the store.

This game isn't a game. It is a darn fun experience in boxing simulation and would make a great training program for the pros. Just be sure to stretch first...ouch.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/15/02, Updated 12/15/02