Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing

Mike Tyson is a boxing figure that will definitely be remembered for the controversy surrounding him and for the powerhouse he once was in the ring when he was heavyweight champion of the world.  Back in his day “Iron” Mike was even worthy of a NES title such as Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, but how relevant is he today?

Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing offers a number of challenging modes to play through in this game. There are also sixteen fighters in total to choose from, but you start the game with only five.  The list of fighters, however, will make boxing fans groan.  There are a large number of fighters that have passed their prime such as Larry Holmes or Frans Botha.

At first the game’s short list of game modes will throw gamers off a bit. This isn’t something to worry about since there are hundreds of new features to unlock in this game.  You start with three one-player modes such as Bronze Title Belt (fight to win the bronze belt) and Exhibition Fight (enter a bout to earn purse money).  There is also a mode known as Speed Boxing (attempt a knock down before the timer runs out). However you can unlock new game modes such as Mike Tyson’s Challenge (you play as Mike taking on the entire list of fighters) and Undisputed Champ (a survival mode made for the boxer you get to create in Custom Boxer Mode).

The fighting controls are actually not as complex as it looks.  Codemasters took advantage of all of the buttons on the Xbox controller.  You can duck and throw uppercuts just as easily.  In this game you can throw intentional low blows (points will be deducted, though) and you can even taunt a fighter.  There are also arcade-styled power punches that occur when you hold down a specific button. Your glove will light up, blur or start smoking and your punch will leave a bright flashing trail of light. 

The game also suffers from a number of faults such as the occasional freeze when you throw a power punch and there are times when your opponent throws in a good punch--while your health meter is still quite full--that results in a knock out . . . something you can never do yourself.  There are also a number of camera angles that will surely leave question marks; for instance, during fighter entrances the camera will repeatedly shift to a shot of the arena‘s roof.

Codemasters, however, did not take advantage of the accelerated graphics capabilities of the Xbox . . . which is an unfortunate thing considering the visuals in the game are not bad at all.  Each boxer is nicely detailed and in certain angles or during close-ups, they do resemble their real life counterparts.  Yet you can’t help but to think that the game’s graphics could have been so much better than this, although compared to the PS2 version the rough spots have been smoothed out nicely.

There are details to be found in the sound as well and gamers will immediately notice them.  Each boxer has his own entrance theme music like in the real deal and if you listen carefully during the fight you will hear your trainer call out words of encouragement and the constant chattering of the audience feels straight out of a televised event.  These details give the game its authentic feel, however the downside is that the commentary--done by real sportscasters Ian Darke and Bobby Czyz--have been reduced to almost non-existent coverage.  It would have been nice if they made some comments during the fight itself rather than simply commenting on the knock out at the end of a fight.

Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing goes for the TKO and comes up short.  Its shortcomings are numerous but it’s an effort worthy of taking up if only as a rental.  Boxing fans looking for a simulator will be greatly disappointed.

Gameplay: 7.0
It is a rare pleasure to find a boxing title with controls that are smooth and easy to handle that gamers could very well simply pick it up and immediately start playing without much trouble.  In fact, many of the different combos (and there are numerous amount) could be found by accident and it’s always a treat when you discover yet another.  This is arcade-style fighting that is actually quite fun.

Still, while the title attempts to capture a sense of realism in many other aspects, the arcade-quality can be found in the fact that when combos are unleashed the boxers gloves light up as if they were light bulbs.  Throwing power punches means you have to hold a button until the glove either smokes or shakes intensely.  These are the punches that make the most damage and gamers will quickly find themselves simply forgetting the less damaging punches and just throwing power punches.

Graphics: 7.5
The graphics have a slight advantage over the PS2 version in its smoothness that makes the details in the visuals stands out rather nicely.  The details on the fighters are decent enough. You can see the sweat glistening off boxer’s bodies yet it sometimes makes them look plastic in nature.  There are several wonderful fighting arenas throughout the world, all with their own design and construct. And the game’s PAIN engine allows for specific bruising of the face that is wonderfully detailed.  On another note, the blood does fly in this game yet concerned parents can switch it off in the Options Menu.

My biggest complaint is that the referee magically disappears and magically reappears to do a countdown or to stop a fight.  This is something that draws away from the realism, smashing all hope of this game being a semi-realistic boxing sim.  The special seen in the power punches don’t help things out either, although they do look great.

Sound: 7.0
On the one hand the sound has a wide assortment of wonderful detail.  The atmospheric sounds of the crowds cheering or showing their disappointment are surreally authentic.  You’ll hear the referee make quick calls or bark “Below the belt, take away a point!” if you give your opponent a low blow.  You could also hear the wolf calls and whistles when the buxom ring girls show up during the beginning of each round.  The highlight is the individual verbal taunts each fighter can easily spout.

Yet on the other hand the sound lacks a running commentary since the game does boast the presence of both Darke and Czyz.  Their commentary only seems to come up between rounds and at the end of the fight, yet they offer very little to say and don’t even offer any insight or help.  

Difficulty: Medium
Once gamers become accustomed to the game’s controls--and this is not a difficult task to accomplish--the challenge comes during any of the game mode matches.  The title belt matches get more difficult, for example, after defeating the first fighter.  Your opponent somehow becomes more swift and is able to land more punches than you do.  This would have been fine considering that getting knocked down to the canvas means you’ll have to deal with the most challenging part of the game: the Get-Up Game.

Basically after getting knocked down a meter pops up and you have to repeatedly press the buttons it demands you to press.  Many times gamers will be looking down at their controls to find the blue button only to find out the button changed to the red one again.  By the time you figure out the combination, the countdown reaches ten and the winner is declared.

Concept: 7.5
Aside from being able to play as “Iron” Mike Tyson or fight against him, the game features a number of fighters that also reached a low point of their careers.  Unlike this year’s boxing title Knockout Kings, the game fails to bring forth today’s finest boxers (such as Lennox Lewis) or those of yesteryear such as Mohammad Ali or George Foreman.  The game doesn’t even include outrageous characters such as the ones seen in Punch Out or Ready 2 Rumble.

Yet the game wins big points for adding dozens of extras such as the Mike Tyson Challenge and new belt division fights. The game also includes an excellent Custom Boxers mode that allows gamers to create their own boxers down to every detail from the size of their eyebrows to the form of their bodies.  

Multiplayer: 7.0
Nothing is more refreshing than taking on your friends in a fighting game and Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing is certainly no exception.  Thanks to dozens of extras that can be unlocked, gamers will have fun choosing from the sixteen available fighters or the customizable fighters players can design and use in a fight plus many of the extras that come with it.

Overall: 6.9
Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing has a slew of faults that inevitably bring the title down but that’s not to say that you won’t have a good time in the ring.  This game is definitely worthy of a rental and should keep a boxing fan busy until a worthy boxing title steps up to the ring.