Boxing Fever

"Portable Boxing Bliss"

Boy the GBA has seen its share of boxing titles over the past couple of years. Including this new addition, Boxing Fever, the GBA now has 4 boxing titles availible, some good and some not so stellar. Can Boxing Fever step up to the plate? errr...Ring?

Story: 10/10
Well, OK I have said it before and I will say it again, if you are buying a sports game and expect it to have an awesome story, well...don't. Sports games are exactly that, sports games. Boxing fever is no different, its a boxing game and so the object of the game is boxing.
Boxing is awesome so therefore if the story is boxing then it is good..Following?

Graphics: 10/10
The instant you turn on this game and see the intro movie, your jaw will literally drop..The visuals for the opening movie are gorgeous, and unlike most intro movies for games, especially GBA games, the visuals included in the intro are what the game visuals look like. Now Shadowruler, you can't be serious...Those are definitely fake..Nope, happy to say they aren't, and boy are they gorgeous. Smooth animation, nice looking fighters, effects, the whole nine yards. So therefore the graphics recieve a perfect score. (though I would have liked to give them a 20/10)

Sound: 7/10
The sounds of gloves connecting, the crushing sounds of a fighter being..well crushed, the crowd cheering, the announcer calling the shots, and of course the inevitable backround music. All of these fit the atmosphere rather nicely, however my mine gripe, is the music. The developers have tried to give each fighter their own specific music...A character called Major has boot camp style music, while all the other characters have their own supposed fitting music..western, ireland, japan..all these BG songs are all well and good for about the first 5 seconds to fit the tone, then, well they get old. The announcer is enthusiastic enough and the glove sounds are well matched. The sound is probably the weakest aspect of this game, but its not dreadfully weak in anyway.

Gameplay: 10/10
So how is this boxing game different? It sounds like any other ordinary boxer, kinda sub par by the sounds of things...Well, here is what is different and unique, and as well being the games single best feature: Intuitive and original gameplay. The game is played from the first person view. You have a pair of floating gloves in front of you, and you see your opponent, who takes up alot of the screen. You notice the crowd roaring in the backround, and the ring seems to move as you fight. Now many games have attempted the first person perspective, but BF has it down pat and is the best you can find. You choose one of 8 fighters (who have 2 other alter egos and clothes) and duke it out with another fighter. Each fighter has their own different setting and music as I explained earlier. In the game, you can throw a number of punches and combos, learned through the games training mode. The seperate A and B buttons throw a left or right punch. Pushing up puts your gloves upwards for hooks and jabs, and pushing it down puts your gloves in a situation for uppercuts and body punches. Its hard to get at first but once you get used to it you'll be fighting like a pro. The L and R buttons slip left or right to dodge, and holding down either up or down blocks punches. This gameplay is seamless as well as flawless for making use of the GBAs configuration. The gameplay in one word overall is immaculate.

Replayability: 9/10
I happen to be one of the more single player oriented fans, because not alot of my friends have copies of the same games as me. When I first heard that there were only 8 fighters I was worried that I would play this game for 2 sconds and get bored. Even though the fighters really don't have any specific moves unique to them, they each have a weakness, either strength or speed, which to choose in certain fights is up to you. The reason even after telling you there are only 8 fighters (24 if you count clothes and glove color changes) that the replay value is so high is because once you play it, you become addicted. The gameplay is so fun and there are so many modes to do. Training teaches you reflex and combo skills..Survival pits you up an unlimited group of fighters to see how long you can last. Championship has five different difficulty levels to win and single fight is perfect for on the go boxing or a quick pick up and play. Boxing Fever was a wonderful surprise to me, and will have a place in my GBA for quite some time. Boxing fans get this game right now. If you don't like boxing, you will after playing. Drive, run, race, or skip to your nearest game retailer and get this game now!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/22/03, Updated 07/22/03