When the competition comes out with something new and improved, you'd better hope that you have something up your own sleeve. And if the competition comes up with something you can't match, you'd better try to beat them at something else.
With that in mind, the recent release of both the Nintendo Game Cube and the Microsoft Xbox places Playstation 2's recent domination of the video game market in danger.
Sony's answer? New games: lots of them, highly promoted, and available to everyone everywhere. Both new systems boast unprecedented power, speed, and adaptability - meaning they can handle far more advanced games than are currently available. Sony's only advantage is in software availability. From the flurry of advertising and discounting, the company's betting quite a bit on it.
Enter Victorious Boxers:Ippo's Road to Glory, for Sony's Playstation 2. One of the many holiday releases for Sony's ever-popular platform, Victorious Boxers doesn't bode well for the newest generation of Playstation 2 software.
Victorious Boxers combines the sport of boxing with the "mystical" qualities of 44 different Asian characters, all based on the Japanese comic book Hajime no Ippo. The variety of characters might seem like an asset - each player has a detailed biography in the instruction manual - but they all look similar and fight in nearly the same way.
The game is fairly simple to play at first, with each of the four buttons on the joystick representing a different punch. Holding down combinations of buttons allows you to throw a variety of specialty punches - for example, an uppercut.
Unfortunately, movement can be a bit more complicated. The analog stick controls the characters, and oftentimes the fighters are left walking in circles. You may find the controls awkward and difficult to use. And even though the Playstation 2 controller only contains four main buttons, having only four different punches at your disposal makes the game seem too simple.
To try to keep some variety in the game, Victorious Boxers has two play modes: Vs. battle and story mode. The Vs. mode allows you to fight other players, making it the usual favorite for boxing and fighting games. After all, it allows you to knock out close friends and family members.
In this case, however, it gets rather tiresome. You only have two fighters to choose from, Ippo Makunouchi and Ichiro Miyata. While there are more than 40 characters, you're stuck with the original pair until you unlock some of them in the story mode. The matches are a bit clumsy and repetitive; you waste a lot of time swinging in the wrong direction because of the shifting point-of-view.
Also, unlike other boxing and fighting games, Victorious Boxers has no so-called life meter, making it impossible to figure out if you're winning or losing the slugfest. Still, this technical frustration is often forgotten after the satisfaction of finally knocking out your opponent.
Even though Victorious Boxers allows for two players in the Vs. battle, the one-player story mode works better, allowing you to develop your skills through a series of training exercises and sparring matches.
As your level improves, you fight stronger opponents. Even better, by beating them, you unlock them for use in the Vs. mode. In addition to improving the physical skills of your fighter, the game also lets you enhance your character's spirituality. Unfortunately, your personal spirituality will probably remain unaffected.
Victorious Boxers:Ippo's Road to Glory for Playstation 2 is an attempt to intertwine an ordinary boxing game with a popular Japanese comic book. This seems to have worked in Japan, where the game has already sold over 500,000 units, but the success likely won't be repeated stateside. Few Americans have ever heard of this comic book, leaving the characters flat and unremarkable to the US audience.
Without the advantage of the book's back-story, most people will view this title as a regular fighting game - one whose playability and graphics are far from spectacular. That said, there's no denying the inherent fun in going toe-to-toe with a friend without actually getting your nose busted. For solid boxing action on the Playstation 2, though, you're better off with the likes of EA Sports' Knockout Kings.
