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Reminder: Today is your last day to enter
Just in case you overlooked the previous post or have been trapped under some rock for the past week, we're trying to give you a game. For free. It's just our generous nature hard at work, what can we say?So, be sure to enter before 11:59PM EST tonight for a chance to win! And, good luck!
Wii Fanboy Review: Victorious Boxers Revolution
Upon initially hearing that the title Hajime no Ippo would grace U.S. retail shelves as Victorious Boxers Revolution, we were quite excited. Then, some critics reviewed it and we were worried the game wouldn't be worth our trouble. So, upon receiving this nice little review package from XSEED, we jumped right into the game.And you know what? It's actually quite good.
Wii releases for the week of October 15th
This week, plenty of games are waiting for eager new players to pick them up and save them from the boring life of sitting on some store's shelf. The most notable title for us is the latest entry in the Tony Hawk franchise, Proving Ground. It's a return to the roots of the franchise and nothing like Downhill Jam. We can't wait to see how it plays on the Wii.Releases for the week of October 15th are: Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Mercury Meltdown: Revolution Rockstar Games Table Tennis Avatar: The Burning Earth Backyard Football Legend of Spyro: Eternal Night Victorious Boxers
Joystiq checks out Victorious Boxers
Joystiq was lucky enough to get their hands on the upcoming Victorious Boxers: Revolution and they walked away generally interested in the game, although they think the title has one flaw: controls. And this is arguably the most important factor for the game (and most games), so this is very disheartening news.The rest of their time with the game was spent lauding its stylish presentation, as they commented that the game looks great in 16:9 and 480p. They also mention that the replays look amazing and the need to keep track of one's own health through physical cues in the game, such as character wobble and bruises.But, all of the style in the world can't save a game that has crummy controls. So, given that the game is due to release later this month, gamers might want to give this a rental before purchasing.%Gallery-7359%
Joystiq impressions: Victorious Boxers: Revolution
With a projected late-September U.S. release, Wii-only Victorious Boxers: Revolution dukes it out for the best Wii sports title. I recently played a nearly complete localization of the June-released Japanese original, and Victorious Boxers is clearly different than Wii Sports Boxing. While Americans may think the manga art-style should appeal mostly to kids, the animation and physicality are viciously pitched to an older crowd. You're not trying to bowl over your opponent with kindness after all.The boxing mechanics were harder to gauge than the catchy art. I relied on the two-fisted, motion-only control scheme, although the game offers five other ways to play. After a lot of wild flailing, I felt like I had a general sense of my character. But I never felt like my swings were perfectly interpreted. Hopefully, after an hour or two, players will learn how to move. But while Victorious Boxers easily held my interest, I couldn't predict if this will be a perfect translation between physical moves and game action. At some point, I wonder if the Wii controllers can handle one-to-one motion mapping for fast games.%Gallery-7321%
Victorious Boxers boxart, for real this time
We threw in the towel last week when we mistakenly identified GameFly's Victorious Boxers: Revolution mockup as the finalized design, but now we're scrambling into the ring to retrieve the surrendered cloth. "Uh, sorry about that! It must've slipped out of our hands!"Dynamite Glove, a community site for the Hajime no Ippo series, received a first look at publisher XSeed's actual packaging, and it is a thing of beauty. This is the sort of box that we could run up the Philadelphia Museum of Art's steps with, holding it above our heads once we've reached the top, hopping up and down in slow-motion as the training montage fades out.Those of you who would still rather have Ippo's fighting figure on the front will be happy to hear that the jacket is reversible, the opposite side using artwork from the Japanese cover. Jump past the break for a better look at both boxart designs.
Not So Victorious Boxart
Publisher XSeed will be bringing Victorious Boxers: Revolution to the US (Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting Revolution in Japan), but the boxing game's manga-tastic cover won't be coming along for the trip, at least according to the packaging design on GameFly's product page.Instead of the crowd of expressive faces -- determined, vengeful, and contemplative -- that we saw with the Japanese boxart, we'll be getting this victory pose silhouette and a ho-hum logo. While we understand that Hajime no Ippo isn't as popular in North America as it is across the Pacific, it would've been nice to have at least seen Ippo, the series's hero, on the cover.Victorious Boxers hits store shelves this September. Bob and weave past the post break for a look at the game's dramatic packaging art in Japan.
Wii version of Victorious Boxers coming to U.S.
Lost a bit in the mess of announcements and impressions that was this year's E3 was the news that XSEED is bringing the Wii version of anime-flavored boxing sim Victorious Boxers to the states at the end of September. The sequel to the PlayStation 2 classics, which is already out in Japan, offers three different control modes: one using the classic controller, one using the Remote and Nunchuk to simulate boxing gloves (a la Wii Sports: Boxing) and one that uses the remote pointer to control things.A video preview on Gamespot (embedded after the break!) shows the boxers doing elaborate dodges as well as some incredibly over-the-top special moves. It's hard to gauge how well the motion-sensing controls work without some hands-on time, but it has to be better than the flail-fest that is Wii Sports.
Today's most pugilistic video: Victorious Boxers
Victorious Boxers snares our video pick of the day, although much of our interest is based on imagining how this title will play on the Wii. The Japanese trailer shows clean art -- versus bad attempts at photo-realism -- that we've been waiting for on Nintendo's new system, but we're in it for the controller. How well will Victorious Boxers mimic player movements? Wii Boxing is a fun diversion, but we never feel quite in-sync with our Mii. Will this be import-worthy?See the trailer after the break.
