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Platform: Xbox Genre: Fighting Publisher: UbiSoft Developer: Venom Games ESRB: T (Teen) Released: Q4 2004
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Rocky: LegendsScore: 6.5 / 10 |
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Pros: - Made for Rocky aficionados - Relive all of the classic fights from the movies - Great player models and animations |
Cons: - 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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"Rocky: Legends is not the best boxing game out there..." |
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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 Creed. Each individual character starts off from the bottom of the boxing food chain and work their way up to become the greatest boxer. The stories of each character, surprisingly, are very weak. Aside from the Rocky story we all know and love, the other characters’ storylines don’t have any depth or useful information. Ivan Drago’s opening sequence is him 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 (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. Search for Related Topics: |
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