Ready 2 Rumble Boxing

"Sadly, not nearly as good as its Dreamcast cousin."

When I first played Ready 2 Rumble Boxing for the Dreamcast, I was in awe of the game's visuals and the game's speed. So when I saw it out for N64, I immediately bought it.

Oops.

GRAPHICS: 7/10
Understandably, this game has worse graphics than the Dreamcast version, but amazingly, it has even worse graphics than the PlayStation version! Still, the graphics are more than passable, and the fighters' looks alone made me laugh out loud. COuld definitely be better though.

SOUND: 8/10
LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET'S GET READY TO RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!!
Michael Buffer contributes his voice talents (and his trademark phrase) to R2R. The announcers are spot on with their comments also. Great category for this game.

GAMEPLAY: 6/10
This is where the game's flaws show. The game often denigrates into no more than a button-masher. Punch, retreat, block, block, punch, retreat, block, etc., etc.
How fun....
The special punches are a detriment to your play, because if you try to pull them off against the computer, theyll use theirs even faster. If you try them against another human, they'll smack you with a normal punch before you finish entering your special punch.
The Championship Mode, while original, is rather weak. You start with 3 boxers and try to bring them up to be the Champion, and along the way, you gain more boxers. While this sounds fun, it's really not. The training sessions are boring and not too easy. Plus, you have to be constantly fighting prize fights to keep your money up so you can purchase the aforementioned training. Ugh. And fighting a computer opponent...talk about boring!! The computer blocks 80% of your punches, and right after pulls off one of their boxer's moves that no human could possibly do.

REPLAY: 7/10
The allure of earning all of the secret boxers will have you constantly playing the Championship Mode. Which isn't necessarily a good thing.

RENT/BUY
In my opinion, definitely a rental. If you think it's great, then buy it. Just don't make the mistake I did, thinking it would be as good as the Dreamcast version, and buying it because of that. You'll thank me.

OVERALL (NOT AN AVERAGE): 6/10
Still kind of fun, but sometimes very boring. There are many better games you can buy for your Nintendo 64. And if you have a Dreamcast, buy it for Dreamcast, NOT N64!!

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/07/00, Updated 01/07/02