Rocky

"Rocky still has the Eye of the Tiger"

Well Rocky fans, you're in luck. For once, a movie turned into a game for once packs some punch, compared to the usual, stick the name of the movie on the box and hope it sells type-of-game. There are plenty of people and things to unlock, and is tons of fun.

Graphics: (7.5/10) They are clear, good, standard GCN graphics. The cut cinema clips are better than during the fight, but that is to be expected. The characters look pretty close to the real life actors, and there is little glitches or punches that magically go through the person.

Sound: (6/10) The only downfall to the game. Yes, it has the original Rocky theme, and it will pump you up... the first twenty times or so. Unfortunately, it is played a lot, almost to the point of madness. Also, no ''Eye of the Tiger,'' ''Living in America,'' or many of the other great Rocky songs from the series. There are different songs for all other characters though, which are well done.

Controls: (8/10) This game is easy to learn for the most part. Some of the more difficult combos are kind of hard to pull off, but can be mastered with a little practice. The toughest part is probably the training in movie mode, which requires a lot of timing and/or button smashing. Not annoying by any means, plus if you don't want to train you can always hit ''auto-train'' and it will do it for you. It is NOT a button smasher, and if you go and hit B 4 times in a row, he'll try to throw 4 punches and well you'll get knocked into next week. Hit the buttons the number of times you want the punch thrown. Again, NOT A BUTTON-SMASHER!

Challenge: (8/10) 3 Different Difficulty modes. Novice is, well, just that. Contender the CPU has some decent talent, actually knows what combos and blocking mean. Champion... be ready for a war! The challenge seems to increase throughout movie mode, which is always a plus. Not to difficult to the point where you want to quit, but enough to make you want to get back in their for another round when you get your butt knocked to the mat.

Fun Factor/Replay Value: (10/10) WOW! This game is addicting. I bought this game about 2 weeks after purchasing Soul Caliber 2, and I find it almost as fun, though to compare any game to that is unfair. It is simple enough to grasp things quickly, but complex enough and with so many features to unlock you'll want to play for a long time at once. No, it doesn't follow the movies to the ''T'', but close enough. I love the movies hardcore and I don't mind that they had to change some things. Also, it is only 2 players obviously seeing as it is a boxing game, but knocking your friend, or that pesky younger brother's block off is always loads of fun!

Overall: (8/10) Would I pay $50 for this? No, and you don't have either now. I got it for $15, and that is definitely worth it. Anyone who loves Rocky will loves this game, and even boxing/fighting/wrestling fans in general should check this out, because it will be a sure KNOCKOUT!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/09/03