Ready 2 Rumble

Let's get ready, let's get ready, let's get ready to rumble! Watch us wreck the mike, watch us wreck the mike, watch us wreck the mike – psyche! Phew... well, that's got that out of the way. Oh and in case you were wondering, yes, one of the most irritating pop songs of all time is included in the game, thankfully not sung by the gruesome twosome PJ and Duncan though. Instead, some annoying woman chants the mantra that will be haunting you in your sleep if you play this game too much.

Ready 2 Rumble was a stunning game on the Dreamcast, and after the rather excellent N64 boxing debut of Knockout Kings from EA our faith in this genre was all but restored. Sadly, all that changed with the arrival of the N64 incarnation of Ready 2 Rumble, which basically lives up to all the negative things we said about boxing games in the Knockout Kings review last issue. Okay, so it's not that bad... well actually it is.

Let's Fight!

It's hard to say exactly what it is that makes Ready 2 Rumble so much less impressive than its Sega-flavoured sibling, especially when you consider that the game elements themselves are more or less identical in each version. The graphics are obviously not going to be quite so good but that's only to be expected – the thing is that the game just isn't that much fun!

Part of the problem lies with the controls. To start with, there are quite frankly too many of them. In Knockout Kings all the moves are accessed via the A and B buttons and the D-pad. This means that you can respond quickly, and hence pull off lots of combos. In Ready 2 Rumble there are six buttons (A, B and all the C buttons) and the D-pad to worry about; no matter how dextrous you are, you just can't move your thumb around quick enough to be truly effective. Which brings us to the other controls problem – responsiveness. To put it simply, they're not very responsive at all. This is something of a problem in the ring where it seems like your boxer is always a second or so behind the button presses, but it's even more obvious and doubly annoying in the training sections. Body Blow

Most of the training elements require you to press buttons or combinations of buttons at specific times, such as when a ball bounces over a symbol. The problem is that when you try to do this it becomes blindingly obvious that the response time is appalling. The command must be sent to the N64 by the electronic equivalent of a dead tortoise, it takes so long to respond! This lack of responsiveness can be really frustrating and it doesn't exactly encourage you to persevere.

Graphically the game, while not up to the standard of the Dreamcast version, looks fairly nice. The boxers are all well detailed and nicely varied although they do seem to move a little jerkily at times. Another problem is that some of the characters are vastly more powerful than others, which means that sometimes matches can be a little one-sided.

Below The Belt

To be fair to Ready 2 Rumble, it doesn't claim to be a boxing simulation and so everything is more arcade-oriented – hence the rather mad boxers and the fact that there is no break between rounds, but instead you just get a bell and then carry on. This in itself can be a bit of a pain though, because it'd be nice to get a rest from button-pressing from time to time.

While Ready 2 Rumble is not trying to be like Knockout Kings, it's inevitable that it's going to be compared to that title as it's the only other N64 boxing game. And when you put them in the ring together, unfortunately Ready 2 Rumble just doesn't measure up. The gameplay is less polished, the controls too sluggish, the training sections downright annoying (as a direct result of the control problems – the training would probably be quite fun otherwise) and there's no custom boxer facility. You're stuck with the basic mutants that the game provides for you. At the end of the day you've basically got to decide whether you want a more simulation-based game which is a whole lot of fun, or an arcade title which... well, isn't really that much fun. It's hardly rocket science, is it?

A favorite of GamePro's editors, Ready 2 Rumble will surely catch on with fans, thanks to Its hyper speed and hilarious gameplay. If you're a fan of Super Punch-Out, you'll definitely want to loin this Rumble.

LET'S GET READY TO RAMBLE

Although only 60 percent done. Rumble was another strong E3 title that's sure to be one of the 10 best Dreamcast games of the year. Rumble's a boxing game that emphasizes punch and panache with graphics that are so funny, and yet so realistic, you won't know whether to say, "More, please!" or "Please stop!" You play as one of over 20 fighters, such as Butcher Brown, the overweight heavyweight with a right punch that could stop a landslide, or Selene Strike, the sleek and sexy martial artist who wouldn't think twice about putting her foot in your face...or her fist in your stomach. As a matter of fact, you'll play as boxers whose pugilistic powers are so diverse you literally won't know what hit you.

WITH THIS RING I KNOCK THEE DEAD

Rumble's camera angles are all adjustable, enabling you to watch the action so up-close that you'll actually see players' eyes, cheeks, and jaws swell as they get hit. And with uppercuts, roundhouse punches, gut shots, haymakers, and more, the range of hits is pretty good for a fantasy-sports game. You also get a hyped-up series of adrenaline-filled punches if you succeed in spelling out the word "RUMBLE" onscreen (you get a letter each time you land a blow at full power). You can then tear through the competition. There's also a lot of defense in the game with sweet ducks, bobs, and weaves that force your opponent to throw punches in vain.

RUMBLE IN THE BOX

If Super Punch-Out knocked the wind out of you way back when, then you'll definitely thrill to the power of Ready 2 Rumble. The simple control interface, awesome graphics, and fast-and-funny gameplay of the preview version laid out enough of this title to make Rumble a leading contender for the Dreamcast belt.

Midway is set to throw its gloves into the fight-night mix with Ready 2 Rumble, an arcade-style boxing game featuring the smoothest voice in the business, Michael "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" Buffer. Rumble will be released simultaneously on the PlayStation and Nintendo 64, and is expected to be available in conjunction with the Dreamcast's launch this fall.

Rumble will feature 20 boxers, each with their own fighting styles and unlimited number of punch combinations, to compete in Blitz-style, over-the-top matches in Arcade and Championship modes. The latter mode enables players to assume the role of boxer and manager, making fight deals as well as buying equipment for the gym. All three versions will feature head-to-head action, and, if you own a Dream-cast, you'll be able to use its modem to go toe-to-toe with your buds over the Internet Be sure to check back in the "Sports Pages" for further updates on this hot prospect Q Note: All screens shown are from the Dreamcast version.

Currently causing commotion on Sega's new console, Ready 2 Rumble looks to bring its brand of pugilistic mayhem to the PlayStation. Developed by Point of View, R2R will feature the same fast-paced action as its other incarnations. Midway is currently planning on releasing the game around September which is when other versions are scheduled to hit stores.

What's the deal?

We figure the gang at Midway has been watching too many Love Boat reruns lately, 'cause they've turned to a tried-and-true trick to spruce up this sequel-celebrity guest stars. In addition to the fighters who return from the previous game, Round 2 offers Shaquille O'Neal and Michael Jackson as your very special extra opponents.

Whazzat? You're not drawn by the game's star power? Then keep in mind that the visuals here have been jazzed up a bit (in fact, the Dreamcast version looks nearly as good as the upcoming PS2 one). And Midway's cranking up each fighter's already overblown personality with new animation and speech. The gameplay, meanwhile, will offer more depth than last year's model.

So why is it a must-get game?

You get new boxers, better graphics and a deeper fighting engine. But ultimately, you get to wale on Michael Jackson. Do we really need to say anything else?

Midway's first announced Dreamcast game, Ready 2 Rumble isn't ready just yet, although we did get a chance to check out an early version of the game. Right now, in its current stage of development, the game features only two playable boxers. In the final version of the game there will be 20, each with his and her own attributes and style.

Each fighter has two bars at the top of the screen; one represents the fighter's health and the other his or her stamina. The health bar decreases when hit with a punch, and the stamina bar goes down every time you toss a punch. You can regain your fighter's stamina by holding down the guard buttons for a brief moment (you want to try to keep your stamina up so your punches will do more damage). If you land a hard punch when your stamina bar is completely full, your fighter will earn a letter. If you do this six times before getting knocked down, you will spell out the word "RUMBLE," your fighter's gloves will begin to glow, and you will have unlimited stamina for a brief period of time.

The control of the game is both amazing and simple. You use the analog stick to freely move your fighter around the ring. The trigger buttons block high and low, but when held and used with the analog stick, they also allow you to bob and weave and evade. The four buttons on the face of the controller are left punch high, left punch low, right punch high and right punch low. It's a very simple, straightforward setup that allows you to instantly jump into the game and start landing halfway realistic combos, like the old one-two. There are different punches like hooks, uppercuts and lunging jabs that you can perform simply by pressing a direction on the analog stick along with the appropriate punch button.

Visually, Ready 2 Rumble is amazing. Each of the fighters has 120 facial expressions ranging from an ecstatic "I just became heavyweight champion of the world" smile to a "I am so hurt I am about to lose consciousness" frown. And usually when they have that expression on their faces it's accompanied by some pretty harsh bruises. In the final version of the game, blood will fly from mouths and noses to give the game that totally authentic look. However, even at 50 percent completion, it's truly amazing how great the fighters look, move and react to the punches.

Although the game is still incredibly early, it is by far and away one of the most impressive games we've seen for the Dreamcast. If Ready 2 Rumble is any indication of what we will see for the Dreamcast, we're in luck. From early impressions, Midway's boxing game already looks like it'll have what it takes to make gamers forget about EA's Knockout Kings or SCEA's Contender.