Knockout Kings 2003

"Best Boxing Game On Gamecube"

Let me start off by saying this is by far the Best boxing game out on GCN thus far. EA really deserves mad props for there work on this. While it does have some technical problems they aren't that big of an issue and doesn't affect the gameplay what so ever.

Presentation
The minute you load up the game your welcomed to a very user-friendly interface. The menu layout is slick and really easy to use. You also get the weird boxing feeling which is great because once you start up a match your in for a great time. The boxers included in the game are great and there's are many to choose from including fan favorites Oscar De La Hoya, Lennox Luis, Trinidad, Ali and Joe Frazier
10/10

Graphics
While the graphics in this game aren't the best on GCN they do seem real enough to make the game a wonderful thing to look at. One odd thing I noticed though is that when you hit your opponent it's like your glove goes right through his face which is really weird. The slow motion effect after a knockdown really shows how bad it looks to which is kinda weird since that's usually the part where you want the game to look as real as possible yet the developers opted to leave it alone. The rest of the game's graphics from the ring to the arena look great. The only really weak part of the games graphics is probably the crowd. It's just a bunch of 2D sprites jumping around making sounds and it looks very bad.
8/10

Sound
The sound in the game is pretty average. Nothing special but nothing that makes the game bad. All the punches sound good and all but it there not that loud. The crowd is very vivid through out the whole match and will boo you if you low blow your opponent or cheer you if you manage to knock down your opponent. There is commentary in the game but for the most part it's pretty weak. It just doesn't sound like there calling a fight but more like a baseball game(which is slow). Many will welcome the commentary while others like me will simply won't care.
7/10

Gameplay
This is where the game shines as should every game. The Gameplay. The matches are all very enjoyable and there's so many way's to knockdown your opponent's and its just really fun. The controls are layed out very well on the GCN controller and are really responsive. The career mode is very addicting and fun to go through but once you get all 3 belts there really isn't much to do except fight boxers that keep challenging you and just like in real life after you reach a certain age your skills start to decline. The tournament mode in my opinion is the best part because it's fun and short. There are other modes as well but for the most part it's the Career and Tournament Mode's that will have you coming back for more. The game also features a Create-A-Boxer but it's really weak as there aren't that much faces to pick from, not that many tattoos, not enough trunks to choose from and its just overall really weak. The worst part about this is that you HAVE to create a boxer to start a career. That's right you can't take your favorite boxer into a career you have to start from scratch.
8/10

Re playability
Playing with a friend is always fun and challenging but that's pretty much it for the game. I mean yeah you can unlock an arena and maybe 2 boxers but that's it. You will still want to play the game just that there's not much to it after beating career mode.
7/10

Rent or Buy
Definitely buy. The game can be found everywhere for the retail price of 19.99 which is a great price for a really great game. Also my review was based is based on when the game cost the full 50 bucks so it's not like I'm cutting this game any slack for being cheap. Overall very good game that every GCN owner should own.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/25/03, Updated 07/25/03