Review: Punch-Out!! (Wii)
The thing with Punch-Out is that you can’t approach it as a standard boxing title, because while it might appear to be one on the surface, underneath it the mechanics are as far removed from boxing as you can possibly get. Essentially it boils down to reflexes and pattern recognition. Each boxer you come up against has a set pattern of moves, each one with a specific way of dodging and each leaves them open to a barrage of fists. Finding the weaknesses is what makes the core part of the gameplay. And even in doing that it’s easier said than done. Boxers will mix up their moves and as you edge closer to toppling them they’ll throw some new attacks into the mix. For instance with the character of Don Flamenco, if you manage to knock his wig off then it sends him into a rage with quick evades being your only option.
Don Flamenco being one of the many stereotypes you can find in Punch-Out. During the first game when Gamestyle was young, naïve and oblivious to it, as we’ve aged it’s become much more apparent that it’s all about laughing at the foreigners. You have a posh tea drinking Brit, an uptight German guy and to top it all off a new character introduced to the series, a rather camp disco lover. And naturally you’re a 17 year old American who must thwart all these evil foreigners. It’s amusing, but for all the wrong reasons.
Controlling your character (Little Mac) can be done in a couple of ways. First off, and it’s the one we spent most time with, is the motion controls. You use the nunchuk and wii-mote to throw punches, and the 3D stick on the nunchuk is used to dodge attacks. It’s a simple system that works incredibly well. Other than that you have the simple method of holding the wii-mote on its side and using it as a standard controller. Also the Wii balance board can be used to dodge by bending your knees and shifting your weight. Though we weren’t able to try this method personally, reports suggest it’s just an ill advised addition that adds nothing.
Career mode is where most of your time will be spent. First off you enter the Minor Circuit, populated by a few easy fights before you come up against the champion, the returning favourite, King Hippo. From there you unlock the harder Major Circuit and finally the ridiculously difficult World Circuit, which is where you come up against one of the hardest final bosses we’ve face in quite some time. Though not on the scale of Mike Tyson in the original Punch-Out, it still comes close with only a few punches needed to send you face first onto the mat. If you manage to complete this then you unlock the even harder Title Defence mode and Mac’s Last Stand. So despite the simple look of it, there’s plenty to do. And we haven’t even mentioned the Exhibition (where you complete specific tasks) or the multiplayer. There’s plenty of longevity and despite it’s simple aesthetics Punch-Out is certainly no slouch in the looks department. The cartoon style brings the boxers to life and the animations they perform are quite amusing.
Punch-Out is a welcome return for an old favourite that has spent far too long in the sidelines. It’s a finely crafted, rare game that is able to reach out to both the casual and hardcore audiences. Can we have Pilotwings and F-Zero next, please?
Rating: 8 / 10
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