Rocky
Score: 65% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Ubisoft Entertainment Developer: Rage Media: GCD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Fighting
Graphics & Sound: Considering that Rocky has been around since 1976, I'm surprised that he has never been featured in a game (well, unless you're like me and make him in a create-a-boxer mode). When you look at how many licenses have been picked up and made into games, it's amazing that it took this long for such a good license to find its way to the consoles. But does Rocky meet the same fate as other movie-based games? Read on. When it comes to presentation, Rocky treads the line between good and great. The overall graphical look is good, but doesn't quite match up to other boxing games. The characters seem a bit stiff and don't move the way you'd expect to see a boxer move. Bobs and weaves are a tad exaggerated and punches lack variety and move like they are on some strange, non-human joint. Another extremely noticeable aspect is that just about every movement is reused three or four times. Even some of the 'star' fighters like Clubber Lang and Apollo Creed feature the same animations as the 'scrub' fighters. It's not a game breaking issue, but I personally would liked to have seen a little more done, especially when you consider the source material. Your like or dislike of the sound will completely hinge on your tolerance of the 'Gotta Fly Now' theme. Whether it's the intro screen, the ring entrance, or Rocky winning the match, the song is constantly playing. By the time you've finished the game you'll have heard it at least 100 times, so be prepared. Like the graphics, the overall sound ebbs in quality. The in-game effects are good, but once the cut scenes begin to play, the sound quality takes a slight nosedive. In an attempt to recreate key parts of the movie, it sounds like the developers ripped the actual sound clips from the movie, giving them a muffled sound.
Gameplay: Rocky features several play modes, but the main event is the Movie mode. Just like the movies, Rocky begins the game as a struggling, unknown fighter waiting for his big break. From here the game follows the plot of the movie. After fighting a few unknown guys you are treated to recreated scene from the movie that sets up a showdown with that movie's big fighter. Like most fighting games, that's about all there is to Rocky. Other than the two-player Exhibition mode, which can become addictive once you beat the game and are able to use all the fighters, there isn't much depth to the game. While you can always go back and replay the game, the lack of more unlockable features really hurts the game. A more robust Career mode (like the one found in Knockout Kings) or at least a create-a-fighter mode would have gone a long way.
Difficulty: Rocky is a very inconsistent game. For whatever reason, the unknown fighters you face are tougher than the big name fighters are. I found it hard to believe that I could knock Ivan Drago out in three rounds with very few problems, yet it took me four or five matches to beat the guys who are there as filler. Most of this problem can be contributed to the less-than-useful Training mode. In order to improve Rocky's stats, you are given the ability to train him between matches. Unfortunately, the training is so hard that you're not likely to gain many improvement points. You can skip the training and take a five point upgrade to a stat, but even this puts you at a disadvantage against later opponents since most have ability rankings in the upper eighties and nineties while Rocky is likely to have ratings in the fifties and sixties. This translates to fighters who can lay Rocky out in a few punches and seem to have a nearly infinite health bar.
Game Mechanics: When it comes to controls, Rocky leaves a lot to be desired. The button configuration does a good job of taking advantage of the GameCube's unique layout, but still doesn't feel right. It's clear that Rocky was built for speed and combos, but this is unfortunately something that doesn't work. The combos are overly complex and require speed that few people possess, which will degenerate most fights to the point where you're only using one punch. Overall, Rocky does a fairly good job of recreating the movies and looking at other movie based games it could have been worse. However, the combination of faulty controls and unbalanced difficulty make Rocky a rental, even for fans of the movie.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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