Rocky

"Getting strong now ..."

Ever have a day where you are horribly bored and will do anything to pass the time? I know I have. With hours to go in the day. I decided that I would turn on my boring radio, and listen to the local country station. Oh, how I dislike country music. Anyway, for whatever reason, they had a contest for three free movie rentals. The question was easy, and I won. I went to the video place, and checked out their selection. Horrible stuff, I tell you. Nothing I wanted. Determined to find a movie, I grab the first movie I find. 'Rocky'. I thought I heard these were good. I picked up 2 and 3 also, and went home. Little did I know that these movies would change my life. After hours of watching all three, I went back the following morning and rented 4 and 5. I was now officially hooked on the series.

Fast forward to at Christmas time two years ago. After searching on the Internet, trying to find at least one good Rocky site with information about a possible Rocky VI, I had discovered a new Rocky game for the GameCube, and boy, did I need it. Christmas was about 2 months away, and I hadn't been this impatient for a game since Pokémon a few years earlier. I begged for it, as well as the actual 5 movies, and lo and behold, I received all 6 gems. Would the game live up to the movies? Or would it be like almost every other game based on a movie ever created. It wasn't the latter. I've heard people say they don't like this game because they aren't boxing fans. Let me put it this way. Unlike any other boxing game I've had the pleasure to play, this game is awesome. This is by far the best boxing game I've ever played, and it follows the movie greatly. It's so easy to addicted to, and once you put it into your GameCube, it won't come out for a while.

First off, you have many modes to choose from. Movie Mode, Exhibition, et cetera. Movie mode is the best, as you play through each movie. You play as Rocky Balboa I in the first movie, followed by Rocky II in the second movie, and so forth. You have to fight a few fighters before you get to each 'boss' and after every fight, you get to train to build up your strength, speed, stamina, determination and movement. There are many fights, and many things to do in this game. They also have an interesting tournament mode where you fight for medals. There are also a lot of unlockable characters. This game is a great multiplayer game that is fun for the whole family. My mother, who doesn't play video games loves it, and my little sister will gladly lace up the gloves. Days after I received this, I had my mother beating up my brother-in-law. Now if that isn't Family Feud, I don't know what is!

Rocky is a very fun game to play, as there are so many things you can do. The fights can take a while, and you really get into them. You want to knockout your opponent so badly, but you also don't want to overwork yourself, and tire yourself out. You strategize while fighting, and plan every move. You await every bell, so you can receive advice from your manager. In this game, you can do everything you would want to do in the ring, except watch two fighters in exhibition mode. I would've loved that option. You can fight anyone you wish, as any fighter you wish, and you can create tournaments to see who is the best fighter. You can take Apollo Creed II and get revenge on Drago, or take Balboa V and destroy Tommy Gunn over and over. It's really up to you.

There are three modes, Novice, Contender and Champ, and they are Easy, Medium and Difficult respectively. The first mode feels like ''Medium'' when you first start playing. Until you can find some combos, you'll have a tough time. Special punches are a good skill to learn also. The game isn't too terribly difficult, and a little on the easy side, but it's certainly a fun game to play anyway. It's not TOO easy, and you'll have fun trying to learn new combos. The boxers are also very easy to control, and you rarely press the wrong button if you have a good memorization of the controller. If you wish to move your boxer, he'll move. You also have a wide range of punches to throw, and you'll rarely do the wrong one. Punches are easy to throw, combos are easy to learn, and I have no trouble trying to pull off what I want to.

The storyline of this game is one that has never been duplicated in a sports based video game. Why? It has one! This game is completely based on the movie in that you are a down on your luck boxer who gets the opportunity of a lifetime. To take on the heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed! Rocky is determined to prove that he isn't a bum, and trains for the fight of a lifetime. Can you take it to the champ? Rocky II, III, IV and V all have different storylines, but in case you have never seen those four movies, I won't mention them here. Let me just say that they follow the movie pretty well, and I was really impressed. I got revenge in some places where Rocky wasn't able to in the movie, and I became addicted to the point that I wanted to get to Clubber. I wanted Clubber bad, because of the storyline, and that just shows how into the game you can become. It's great!

Everything in this game is highly detailed, and I love everything in the game, minus the black fighters. I'm not racist, but they are so dark that I have to turn the brightness, and such up on my television. There are multiple arenas that look so sweet, and the announcers look realistic too. Everything in the arena looks like it appeared in the movie, and everything just looks so perfect. You can fight in Moscow, or Philly, or outside Mickey's gym. Everything looks so fantastic, and it's really a wonderous job done by the designers. Every fighter looks like their movie version, and when they hurt, it looks as if they hurt. Blood looks realistic, and the way the boxers take the pain looks painfully realistic. Shadows are done well in this game also. Before each fight, the boxers make an appearance down the aisle, and they all look great. Drago's walk down the aisle is absolutely amazing. Everything about the graphics seems too good to be true. I just can't get over it. Even the outfits look great. (Each character has two!) In other words, they really outdid themselves, and it compares with the top graphics used in any prior Nintendo GameCube game.

The sounds in this game are superb. When a boxer is hit, it sounds as if he is hurt. When the crowd gets angry with a boxer, they sound legitimately mad. Even the boxer's feet shuffling on the ground can be heard. The sound effects in this game are fun to listen to, and certainly don't get annoying. The bell sounds real, the voices are great, and the music is good. Going back to the voices, some clips are taken right from the movie. Rocky sounds like Rocky, Creed like Creed, Drago like Drago and so forth. The trainer's speak, and have a respectable amount of phrases. The announcers announce everybody differently, and I really enjoyed it.

Going to the music side of things, every boxer has a different theme. Like the WWE, every character comes to their own tune, matching their personality. Apollo Creed enters to ''Yankee Doodle'', while Rocky enters to the now infamous ''Gonna Fly Now'' tune by Bill Conti. None of the songs drag on too long, and they are great to listen to. Why, there should be a Rocky soundtrack so we can listen to these hits. Well, maybe hits is the wrong word. Regardless, they are wonderful to listen to.

It takes a while to get far into this game, but it's certainly worth it. The cut scenes between each movie are really neat, and are almost worth the time you took to get that far in game. The relief you feel when Apollo Creed doesn't get up, or the relief you feel when you barely survive a round make this game really special. I've beaten this game many times, but I still enjoy battling it out with my favourite characters. For as long as it actually takes to beat the game, in all three modes, whilst unlocking everybody is well worth it. All good things take time, and this certainly fits that ruling.

In conclusion, I think it's pretty obvious that I love this game with a passion. I received this game for Christmas, but would most certainly buy it, should the opportunity have come up. This game will bring you hours upon hours of fun per day, and any hardcore Rocky or boxing fan will not be able to put it down. If you're anything like I am, you'll fall in love with this classic based on the Oxcar's Best Picture of 1976. If you're looking for a fun boxing game, that's based on the movie, and doesn't let it down, this title is absolutely perfect for you. It was for me, and I can get picky with sports based games. Can you go the distance? Let's hope so. It's worth every minute. Just make sure that when you do start playing, that you don't have anywhere to go for the next few days. You won't be able to put it down.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/07/04