From the ‘no pain, no gain’ training mini-games to the upgradable boxer who forges a career by slowly skilling-up in various attributes, the influence of early boxing simulations can be seen all over Vivid Games’ Real Boxing.
The PlayStation Vita-exclusive title begins with the customisation of your fighter. Choosing a country, a name and then browsing through a range of hairstyles, clothing and tattoos, it’s a chance to give your boxer a personal touch and there’s plenty of variety to help you make him stand out from competitors.
Each boxer begins his career with three statistics (strength, speed and stamina) which he builds by spending points or cash which he wins by beating opponents. There’s also extra incentives (more money and skill points) for completing objectives such as knocking your opponent out in less than 30 seconds. Skill points are gained for winning, which can then be assigned across the three attributes as you attempt to build up your boxer with the skills needed to take him all the way through a challenging career mode.
Like typical boxing simulations of old, Real Boxing is not just about getting into the ring and knocking the living daylights out of opponents with a flurry of Rocky-style punches. Instead, it requires a slower, more tactical approach in the ring, alongside training and careful distribution of skill points.
Sweet looking graphics and animations
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In between bouts, activities such as the speed bag and skipping rope test your timing skills (and patience), though perks, including the ability to get up off the floor faster following a knock-out, motivate you to dip into these mini-games. Though it’s instantly familiar and incredibly repetitive, going to the gym is a necessity if you hope to complete career mode.
Career Mode consists of three progressively difficult tournaments each consisting of nine fights. 27 fights doesn’t seem like a hell of a lot, but the bouts can be incredibly challenging so the likelihood is you’ll play some of them multiple times before heading for the online multiplayer mode, which even consists of the European Championships and the chance to win prizes.
Real Boxing looks great. We’re not talking Fight Night quality here, but the intro sequences capture the atmosphere of a big fight and the boxers’ faces and bodies are well detailed with sweat pouring down them and bloody noses appearing throughout each bout.
And it’s during the fight that Real Boxing really shines thanks to an excellent control scheme, impressive animation and challenging fights. If you’re expecting fast-paced battles then you’ll be disappointed as each bout is deliberately slow and more about watching your opponent’s moves carefully, counter-acting efficiently, clinching when you need to rebuild strength and then delivering the crucial blows exactly when you need to.
Touchscreen controls offer something a little different and they’ve been mapped well to Vita. You can tap on the left and right of the screen to jab or swipe to hook and uppercut. However, the fact that your fingers are constantly moving across the screen actually obscures the view and makes it harder to counteract to moves.
Skipping and the training mini-games get repetitive
By far the best way to play Real Boxing is with traditional controls and Vivid has done a superb job at creating a control scheme that really works and feels intuitive. While the boxer can be moved with the left analog stick, all punches can be carried out with the right analog stick, while using the shoulder buttons allow for modifiers so you can attack the body. D-pad and face buttons can be used as an alternative to the analog sticks.
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Dodging plays a crucial part in each bout and there’s a cool mechanic where if you time your dodge perfectly the action slows down slightly and you get the chance to counteract and cause more damage than a normal shot. There’s also good use made of Vita’s gyrometer with a clinch feature that gives players the chance to win a fight even if your health bar has been run down. It kicks into play when your health is really low. A press of the shoulder buttons allows you to grapple your opponent and tilt the Vita to try to stay within the green area. Win the clinch and you gain some much needed health.
Without combining all of these moves in each bout, you don’t stand a chance in what is a tough career mode. Real Boxing is all about tactics and if you don’t dodge, block and punch at the right times, your opponent will punish your mistakes severely. The challenge can be a lot of fun, though it can be frustrating when a fighter’s blows seem to deal much more damage than your own, even when your strength score is similar.
Nevertheless, Real Boxing’s tactically-charged, deliberately slow bouts are extremely addictive. Fans of arcade-style thrills may be turned off by its repetitive mini-games and crawling pace, but once it clicks that the fights are just as much about blocking, dodging and clinching than they are about throwing punches, you’ll probably be hooked.
Written by Steven Williamson