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Platform
Xbox
Genre
Fighting
Publisher
Ubisoft
Developer
Venom Games
ESRB
T (Teen)
Released
Q4 2004
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- Made for Rocky aficionados
- Relive all of the classic fights from the movies
- Great player models and animations
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- Relentless AI that makes all of
the right punches at the right times
- Repetitive training exercises
- Unbalanced combo system
- Frustrating gameplay
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Review: Dead or Alive 3 (XB)
Review: Soul Calibur II (XB)
Review: Guilty Gear X2 #Reload (XB)
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Rocky:
Legends
Score: 6.5 / 10
Rocky is one of the few fictional
characters that most people believe was (or is) an actual person. In
Philadelphia, right outside the Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field, a Rocky
statue stands with his arms raised. Now I’m sure that they know he isn’t
real, but for some reason Rocky is held in high regard. Anyone who has
seen the movies remembers those memorable fight scenes and can almost
hum the entire Rocky anthem. Now, with Rocky: Legends, fans of the
classic series can relive those very moments, although it won’t be easy.
Rocky: Legends doesn’t revolve solely on Rocky Balboa and his rise to
greatness, but the story of other primary characters that he has fought
in the past. You can choose Rocky, Ivan Drago (the big Russian guy),
Clubber Lang (Mr.T), or Apollo
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dressed in a Soviet Army uniform and than
fighting a fellow soldier. Although in a boxing game story is of little
importance, popular characters should receive special attention.
On the graphics side, Rocky: Legends doesn’t beak any barriers. The
character models are some of the most impressive models I’ve seen in a
boxing game. All of the main characters are rendered very well, with
exception to Apollo who looks like crap for some reason. As the fight
goes on, you’ll notice cuts along the faces of the boxers and bruises
across their bodies. The animations that go along with the action is
well placed and consistent. The heavy punches will look like heavy
punches, and it’s pretty easy to tell when you’re about to get knocked
out. While most animations are in place, during the replays you’ll
notice that some of the punches don’t even land on the bodies. I’m
guessing that this was done in order to reduce clipping issues, but it
looks a lot more silly watching the punches fall short of a boxers face
and then watching him fly onto the canvas.
In most boxing games button mashing is the popular way to develop a
decent fighting system. It was EA Sports’ Fight Night 2004, which tread
away from the traditional style, that implemented strategy and precision
into boxing games. Rocky: Legends’ style fall somewhere in between the
mix. On one hand you’ll be doing lots of button mashing because of the
unbalanced combo system. To perform a combo a series of buttons must be
hit before the combo even begins. If you land a punch and then try to
keep it going by hitting the button again and again, little damage will
be done. Instead, the buttons must be hit extremely quickly before the
first punch is landed in order to perform a decent combo. This system
quickly becomes a problem and turns into one of the most frustrating
gaming experiences you will ever have. Learning how to perform strong
combos will help you get by, but it can become very tedious. In order to
win a fight, even against a lower ranked boxer, you have to learn the
effective combos. Once you get the hand of certain combos the gameplay
does get a little bit better, but when you notice that after six rounds
of pounding your opponent they still manage to kick your ass, it can
become a bit annoying.
Before every fight, excluding the initial fight, you have the option to
train your boxer by performing various exercises. Much like the fighting
system, the control schemes for each exercise are very shallow and
illogical. Some require little effort, while others will drag your
controller to the point of exploding. If you want to really feel what
it’s like to break your thumbs, than these exercises will be perfect for
you. Although it’s cool to see how boxers train and feel the hardship, a
Rocky based game should be more about reliving the boxing sequences, not
jumping rope.
If Rocky: Legends had left out one of the most popular movie themes
ever, than there would have been a problem. Fortunately, the theme runs
throughout the menus and during some of the fights. If your boxer is on
the brink of getting knocked out or in a steady groove, the theme music
will subtlety play in the background, motivating you to keep fighting.
The sound of the crowd is barely noticed in the midst of all of the
grunting and punching noises. During the fights you can try and win over
the crowd, resulting in more cheering on your behalf and in return will
give your boxer some more energy.
Rocky: Legends is not the best boxing game out there, Fight Night 2004
is better on all levels, but if you are a Rocky fan or just want to go
head up versus a buddy, Legends will give you the action. Just make sure
that you time your combos right and know how to block and maneuver,
because all it takes is one punch to throw you down. Oh, and sorry guys,
Adrian was (once again) left out of the game.
- Eric Lahiji
element@armchairempire.com
(October 27, 2004)
POINTLESS FACT: Sylvester Stallone not only starred in Rocky, but was
also the writer of the first film and the director of Rocky II, III, and
IV.
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