Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
Score: 100% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Midway Developer: Midway Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Sports (Boxing)/ Fighting
Graphics & Sound: O.K., any game that has a fully animated, digitized Michael Buffer has got to be damned good (and it is). Ready 2 Rumble is a rendering marvel. The flesh tones that are accomplished by the programmers are downright scary. Fully animated faces from simple eye and eyebrow movements to breathing and pectoral muscle flexing. This game is designed to insult all creeds and colors by creating characters that fill all stereotypes, and pits them in the squared circle to duke out their differences. As far as sound is concerned, you can almost feel the bone crunching blows with the well-designed sound effects. Nice voiceovers of your trainers shouting profanities at you from the corner, letting you know how much of a sissy you really are.
Gameplay: Ready 2 Rumble features incredibly fast-action boxing. Massive arrays of combos are at your disposal, and a neat little super combo system which is known as ‘Rumble’ mode. This is achieved by pounding your opponent until you spell out the magic word. Then your fists of fury can be released and you may then send your opponent to the land of the toothless (and yes, you can knock your opponents’ teeth out of their facial orifices). With the power of the Dreamcast, you have a full range of motion in all directions within the ring, along with high blocks, low blocks, as well as the ability to control waist swiveling in order to avoid being K.O.’d. The button setup is very simplistic and allows individuals of all ages to enjoy it, so go knock out dad with this one.
Difficulty: The difficulty level in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing may be tweaked to your personal preference. A nice aspect of R2R is the stamina meter. You can only throw punches in quick combination if, and only if, your boxer is not too tired. You can also increase the difficulty by looking at the punching reach of the characters and choosing a boxer with less range. Ready 2 Rumble also has a Create Boxer mode which allows you to create a boxer, raise funds with him or her, and introduce them into the main circuit once they have the proper experience. In order to survive in Ready 2 Rumble, you must master all aspects of the ring. You must become proficient at correct blocking as well as good ring movement (if you find yourself cornered against a ring post, you might find yourself eating canvas).
Game Mechanics: Two life meters, two stamina meters, two boxers, and a whole lot of pain. You must link together combos of jabs, crosses, and hooks in order to put your opponent away for the ten count. You use the two upper buttons for high punches, two lower buttons for low punches, and the triggers are your guards. Pressing the D-pad in a direction while punching changes the strength and the type of punch thrown. You use your analog pad for full 3D ring motion, and to keep your feet moving. In Ready 2 Rumble, it’s always good to remember that a still duck is a dead duck. Warning: A few copies of Ready 2 Rumble Boxing are known to have been shipped with defects. If you come across one of these copies, simply return it to your local vender and they can swap it out with a good copy for you.
-Sabumnim, GameVortex Communications AKA Larry Callier
Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion Shenmue