Game Review: ‘Don King Presents: Prizefighter’ (Xbox 360)
July 4, 2008 by Will Snizek
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Title: Don King Presents: Prizefighter
Don King is certainly one of those characters in this world that you love to hate. His odd hairdo, weird personality and use of his own slang words certainly is enough to excite most people, whether they like him or not. When Don promised us that ‘Prizefighter’ would be the “most realistic boxing video game in history”, I got excited even though I didn’t really believe him. With that said, ‘Don King Presents: Prizefighter’ doesn’t quite make it into the same league as the Fight Night series from EA.
Gameplay
Unfortunately, quality gameplay is well below standard with this title. The controls are extremely clunky and the players do not move as fluidly as I would have expected with a next-gen title. Winning any match has less to do with actual boxing strategy and more to do with quick timing and occasional button mashing. Going from punching to blocking in Prizefighter becomes a difficult task with the way the controls are set up. I’m not sure why this title devolved to using face buttons for punching. Another thing to note about this title is how unrealistic the damage is. You can knock your opponent to the mat and he’ll get back up with practically a full energy bar, unless you are into the deeper rounds. There’s really no such thing as permanently bringing down an enemy’s damage bar. To take out an opponent at a crucial moment, you need to either button mash when you have him on the ropes, or charge your adrenaline meter (which is really awkward) and land a well timed power punch. Bringing your personalized character online is perhaps the only real exciting aspect of gameplay. If they make another Prizefighter, I’d also like to see faster load times. You will spend more time loading than fighting in the ring…
Graphics
The graphics aren’t terrible, yet they aren’t as good as they should be. The boxer models are severely lacking and the boxing environment isn’t very impressive. This game certainly gets a failing grade from me in this category.
Audio
The sountrack and available entrance songs are fairly decent in this title. Unfortunately, the fighting sounds are really “last generation”. Unfortunately, the audio quality really isn’t there with this one. I never really felt hyped up the way you should be with boxing titles.
Replay Value
Despite the problems, I found that one full play-through in career mode is still fun and rewarding. Multiplayer isn’t bad, but the fun doesn’t last long. I’m certain that you are not going to get $60 worth of entertainment out of this title. It’s still retailing for $59.99 plus tax, so unless you are a boxing junkie, you may want to wait for the price to drop. If I had to place an actual value on the game, I’d price it around $20-$25 at this point.
Uniqueness
While there aren’t many redeeming factors to this game, there are some unique qualities. Training in the game may be better than I’ve seen in other titles. The game also has a neat simulation feel to it where you sometimes have to choose between pleasing the media, pleasing the ladies or preparing physically for the next fight. You will also learn a little about boxing history throughout the game. There are some video clips throughout the game that add to the simulation, but they failed to really grasp my attention.
How It Matches Up…
If you are looking for a great boxing title, it’s still best to go with one of the Fight Night games. Prizefighter simply doesn’t have the smooth controls required for the experience. Perhaps 2K Sports should take some notes from EA’s “total control” punching mechanics if they plan to make a Prizefighter 2. The game simply isn’t fluid and fluidity is precisely what any great boxing game needs to achieve. Fight Night gets you anxious at the edge of your seat when you are in the heat of a match. This kind of emotion simply never gets to you with Prizefighter. While 2K’s attempt wasn’t quite an epic fail, they certainly missed the mark by a long shot.
Closing Comments
‘Don King Presents: Prizefighter’ had tons of potential, but it all seemed to fizzle out once I actually played the game. I can see where they were going with some things, but the game simply isn’t polished enough to compete with the Fight Night series. Hopefully, the Don King series does not die, because I can still see a little potential for the future. We’re expecting Fight Night 4 some time in 2009, so perhaps by 2010, the 2K Sports team can get their act together and finally give us a real challenger.
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I’m not trying to say it’s not going to be a fun game…it could be…but I don’t want to trust Don King’s definition of realism.
he’s a good marketer. I’m sure he didn’t think it was the most realistic, but anyone who follows him knows he doesn’t exactly say what he thinks.
It’s not the worst game either. If Fight Night didn’t exist, it would have been a good option. I just expected a lot more, especially considering Fight Night R3 came out so long ago.
Best hair in the business. Carrot Top is a close 2nd.
[...] Game Review: ‘Don King Presents: Prizefighter’ (Xbox 360)Fight Night gets you anxious at the edge of your seat when you are in the heat of a match. This kind of emotion simply never gets to you with Prizefighter. While 2K’s attempt wasn’t quite an epic fail, they certainly missed the mark by … - [...]