Rocky (Xbox)

Complete with all the Characters including; Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang (aka Mr T), Ivan Drago and Tommy Gunn, take control of the Italian Stallion in your pursuit to beat the rest and be the best. Like most boxing games it has the usual modes, Exhibition and Sparing, but this being a film licence you have the all important movie mode, this is where the fun starts.

Progress through the fights to unlock each new opponent, all leading up to your big movie rival. After each fight you'll need to improve you fighting prowess by training, you can choose to do this the hard way, by your own steam, or opt for the auto-train improving your precious stats for your next bout. Finish the movie mode and unlock the knockout tournament and prepare for some intense button bashing. If you want to get into the thick of the Rocky fest, then this has the lot, great graphics, great combos and the all important great game play.

With the ring full of boxing sims the question is which one packs the biggest punch. In the case of Rocky, it's the top contender. --Rob Holliday

When you first start playing, the lack of moves and dramatic combos leaves the early (easy) fights feeling alarmingly empty - but by the time you've fought your way through to the first championship fight with Apollo Creed, you'll have picked up the excellent control system and you'll have realised that the game is as much about movement and defence as it is about hitting your opponent. The ingenious stamina and punch strength meters add a tactical element to the fight, and also make it possible to pull off phenomenal movie style fight backs even when you appear down and out. Couple that with decent graphics - including excellent deforming boxer's faces and the best crowds ever seen in a sports game - and decent sounds that make it feel like your punches are really connecting, and the game would be more than good enough to make it on it's own merits.

Add in, then, the movie license - including animated copies of movie scenes, samples of boxer's voices, characters from the films, the Rocky theme, different Rockys for each of the films as playable characters - and a training mode with (albeit simple and at times frustrating) mini-games and this is definitely a) the best boxing game I've played and b) the best game released on the X-Box since MotoGP. It's also the best use of a movie license since Goldeneye - just like that game, the license adds to the quality of the package rather than just being an excuse for it.

You'll find yourself punching the air with delight when one of your killer punches floors an opponent, and singing the Rocky theme at your mates when you've left them on the canvas, and what more could you want than that? Excellent stuff.


The best Xbox boxing game...so what?   October 30, 2002
 11 out of 26 found this review helpful

I was not at all impressed with this game, I bought it after having read a very positive review in a magazine which failed to point out any of the large list of annoyances and bad points...

First off the graphics are pretty good, the characters are caricatures of their real-life counterparts, and look just like they're supposed to, the animation is fairly smooth and the framerate is solid, as you would expect as there's never much going on on the screen at any one time. Occasionally punches don't seem to make contact, or pass through an opponent, which is often highlighted in replays, but in general you do feel like you are really hitting your opponent. Backgrounds are for the most part boring, and all pretty similar.

The voice-alikes do a solid job throughout, but can get annoying. The Rocky theme is overused and I often found myself turning off the music and listening to a cd instead.

However the gameplay is where the game really falls down. Single player can choose between a knockout tournament, exhibition match or movie mode, which is the main mode of play. In movie mode you play through the five Rocky films as Rocky, fighting 3 people from each film, then the film's boss before progressing to the next film. There are three modes of difficulty, the first is too easy and the computer can be beaten by button bashing, but on higher difficulties the game becomes frequently frustrating. Between fights you have the opportunity to improve your stats with training minigames, which are mainly button bashing or rhythm affairs. These stats seem to have little relevance however, to what goes on in the fight. A boxer from one of the later films may be 'slower' than you but still able to land devastatingly quick combos which leave you stunned and open to further combos, and so on. Another annoyance is better boxers seem to take punches in their stride and are able to hit back straight away, but you always seem to be slightly stunned after every punch, regardless of your statistics, making the game seem very unfair. Higher level boxers also have an annoying habit of becoming better after you have knocked them down, it's very frustrating to knock down a guy 4 times in the first 3 rounds only to have him suddenly become lightnening quick and destroy you within a round.

The default control system is easy to get to grips with and far more responsive than Knockout Kings, but it's flawed in that moving up or down is also the hook modifier, so you can't move around the ring testing your opponent with quick, ranged jabs because they turn into unwieldly, slow, shortranged punches which leave you open to jabs from your opponent. Linking punches together into combos is also clumsy.

The gameplay is marred by not quite being an arcade game, not quite being a boxing simulation. You seemingly cannot win if you try to 'box', but you will also struggle against harder opponents if you just press buttons as quickkly as you can.

The multiplayer is pretty much the same affair, it's always more entertaining beating up friends than cpu contolled characters, and the game seems 'fairer'. However, options are very limited, moves are the same for each character and do not have the variety or visual appeal of martial arts beat 'em ups like Dead or Alive.

If you must own a boxing game for your Xbox get this because it's the best of 3 pretty bad games at the moment. If you just want to rumble with your mates, stick to Dead or Alive 3.


What a Knock-out!   October 20, 2002
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I was the first to be sceptical when I heard that a Rocky game was coming out on the X-Box. However, the game is great to play comprising of great graphics and fluid game play.

The moves you make with your boxer are excellent and look just like the real thing plus it takes time to get your combos working. The graphics are better than any other boxing game - blood splatters the floor, opponents faces swell up and sweat is thrown from their faces as you land a punch! The backgrounds are also excellent with some boxing matches set in big stadiums and others in bars. The audience also move like a real audience and even throw bottles and cans on the ring when they get bored.

There are also training games to played with Rocky's trainer Micky and lots of hidden characters.

Without a doubt the best boxing game available for any console.


Outlandish Smackfest!   October 20, 2002
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I wasn't sure about Rocky when I saw the screenshots a few months back, espeically as it was being developed by Rage, but a lot of reviews praised it highly and Ive always loved the cheesy movies so I went ahead and bought it on its release day. I have to say that Im pleased I did as this is a thoroughly entertaining game. Im not hugely into boxing but this is the first time ive really enjoyed and gotten into a computer simulation of the sport. There's loads of characters from the movies and it takes a lot of skill to get through the later stages, but is well worth the effort. I haven't yet learnt all of the myriad of combos on offer, but I can't stop cominging on back and just to enjoy pummelling my opponents in the ring and giving them some painful and very realistic looking cuts and bruises. The size of the boxers swellings will make you wince and the blood and sweat effects in this game have to be seen to be believed. This is a great film license game, one of the best Ive ever seen and well worth getting if you're a fight fan or if you loved the movies like me. Just remember to duck when the crowd start throwing bottles at you because of your poor perormances at the start of the game! Ding! Ding!


Rocky: Simply the Best !   October 14, 2002
 12 out of 12 found this review helpful

Having played the Xbox and Playstation 2 versions of the game at ECTS 2002 trade show I can tell you that Rocky is quite simply the best movie licences ever produced and one of the best games you will have played for many a long year.
Fans of the movie are going to love it because the game has a visual flair and an immense depth that recreates the sweet science of boxing perfectly and even if you have no knowledge of the Rocky films you will not believe the enjoyment this game can induce.

The boxing itself is easily the best 3D interpretation of the sport to date and makes all other contenders, such as Knockout Kings 2002, Ready 2 Rumble and Mike Tyson's Boxing, look punch-drunk has-beens surviving on past glories.
The graphics are excellent, great lighting effects, fully 3D crowds, and the atmosphere and fantastic soundtrack all use the Xbox and Playstation 2 power to full effect.

The single player mode is superb, but get together with some friends for a session in Exhibition mode and you can expect whoops and hollers to rival the best multiplayer games.
In fact this game has the only multiplayer game to rival Halo.

This brilliant arcade boxing game is based on all five films, and a worthy accompaniment to them. The beauty is that gamers unfamiliar with the series will admire Rocky for its power and simplicity, while film buffs who know little about games will appreciate how true the spirit of the celluloid version it is.

It has captured the essence of Stallone's scripts, acting and OTT fight sequence with remarkable flair.
Fan of the movie? Get Rocky! Fan of boxing games? Get Rocky? Fan of the Xbox/Playstation2? GET ROCKY