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Rocky Review - Gamecube

The prodigal son has returned, after a game on the Sega Master System (can you remember back that far?) Rocky is flexing his muscles in a 128 bit triumph. This is a game that could be great yet it could also go down quicker than Apollo fighting Drago. Boxing games such as Knockout Kings haven't been popular but people can identify with Rocky with his charm and passion. Can Rocky make a comeback or will he limp out of the ring?

Gameplay

Rocky is a fun and easy game to get into but the only problem is that it's over too soon. Even on the hard setting every boxer is susceptible to repetitive jabs or by moving to the side and counter punching with body punches. When you work this out, the charm that the game possesses begins to wear off. Even the bosses such as Apollo, Clubber, Drago and Tommy Gunn can be beaten all the time by these combos. This loses their intimidation qualities that we saw in the movies, which were a big part of their personalities.

Each fighter can taunt but if they can't walk the walk, what's the point? Before you fight each new boss, a small video clip is shown which shows the lead up to the fight and while it's corny, it's funny and spot on. The fighting engine is pretty basic, too basic actually. You can't get any real combos happening like in Knockout Kings, if you punch your opponent repeatedly you will seem him dazed with stars circling his head. Then you can use a special punch, which are slow but quite powerful.

Movie Mode provides the longest duration of the game with roughly about 4 fights between bosses where you'll fight fictional and minor fighters. What I mean by minor fighters is that these guys were mentioned on the movies but you didn't see them fight much, such as Billy Snow, Union Cane, Big Chuck Smith and Spider Rico. Sadly, Hulk Hogan doesn't appear as Thunderlips, like he did in the movie, Rocky III .It's still a nice touch though and helps it feel like 'Rocky'.

There are some unlockable characters such as the Rocky Statue and Mickey, Rocky's old trainer. In between fights you can train and earn points to stamina, strength, endurance etc. and if you do well you can gain more points than auto training. However, some of these are tough so it's better just to auto train most of the time.

Graphics

Rocky has a ton of authentic touches making it look very realistic. The boxers feature the right trunks, Rocky has his white and red shorts as Rocky I, black and gold in II, the gold and black in III and Apollo's 'America' trunks in IV. The rings are well done, when Fighting Clubber Lang, the big Italian Stallion logo is featured on yellow canvas. The last fight of the game takes place ... (continued next page)