Real Boxing Review
Real Boxing is yet another example of a popular indie title making the transition from mobile devices to a “grown-up” console, with Vivid taking the decision to port its popular iOS and Android fight-fest to the PS Vita. The original made impressive use of Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 to deliver some extremely slick visuals and a highly competent take on the sweet science. This PSN download is considerably pricier than its forebear, but comes with the benefit of some additional control options.
The pugilistic art of boxing in videogame form usually goes one of three ways. Licensed simulations like Fight Night go the whole hog in trying to deliver a valid, serious, all-round representation of the sport. Titles of yore like the excellent Victorious Boxers or Dreamcast fave Ready 2 Rumble combined an approximation of the sport with arcade elements. Then you have your Punch-Outs, or Wade Hixtons, which are essentially boxing-themed rhythm action fests, a genre that does lend itself well to the dodging, counter-punching and focus on timing that is crucial to the sport. Real Boxing eschews any arcade sensibilities and is best described as a combination of the former and latter styles.
Once you ‘ve created yourself a boxer from the reasonably comprehensive palette of options available, a wonderfully Rocky-esque tutorial eases you into the action. Where those playing on mobile devices previously had just the touchscreen to play with, Vita owners have the benefit of either the ultra responsive analogue sticks, or a combination of the face buttons and D-pad to control the fighter. On the analogue side, the left stick looks after movement, with the right used to generate the plethora of different hooks, jabs and uppercuts. The D-pad and face buttons have the same function, but the game allows you to use a combination of all of these controls however you wish, giving you a great deal of flexibility. The right shoulder button handles your guard, but is also used to trigger a dodge manoeuvre that gives you a brief window in which you can deliver a counter-punch that Floyd Mayweather would be proud of.
Grinding down your opponent’s stamina bar whilst protecting your own is the order of the day. If you do end up on your arse, then you are presented with a button mashing mini-game of sorts, where hammering the shoulder buttons will allow you to regain your footing and re-enter the action with a health boost. You can also regain your stamina – and composure – by engaging in a manly clinch with your opponent. When this happens, an on-screen bar pops up which asks you to balance a pointer in the central green zone, using the motion sensor capabilities of the handheld like a spirit level. Successfully using this spoiling tactic can result in your life bar being replenished – but cock it up and you leave yourself open for a further good hiding.
In between gunning for one of the three championship belts on offer, you can improve your avatar by hitting the gym and taking on some bag work or boxing staples like skipping rope, here represented as rhythm action-style trials, where you have to time button presses and flicks of the sticks in order to earn handy boosts, such as shortening your recovery time when you get knocked down. Successfully improving your fighter is key to beating the higher difficulty levels as well as venturing online to fight other human beings, and you are awarded RPG-style improvement points after winning each bout, which you can assign to jack up either your speed, stamina or punching power. You take your main created boxer into the online arena, therefore it is important that you are equipped to deal with other players who would have levelled up significantly, to ensure that you come off more like Lennox Lewis than Audley Harrison.
There isn’t a huge amount of variety on offer. All of the boxing takes place in a solitary weight class, which is understandable for a game that began life on mobile platforms, but means that it pales next to other simulations available elsewhere. Lack of licensing isn’t a fair criticism but there is a certain po-faced, gritty realism and the glistening, often heavily tattooed gladiators lack personality and pizazz.
Statistically boosting your fighters does not seem to have a huge amount of bearing on how you approach fights, which is where a game-changing element would come in handy – such as the inclusion of a flashy signature move, for example, which could have been implemented without tripping over into the realms of fantasy.
VERDICT: Those who already have access to alternative platforms on which to enjoy Real Boxing may wish to consider whether the extra expenditure is cost-effective when balanced out against the superior controls. It isn’t a perfect encapsulation of the sport, but it is the best one to have appeared on any handheld in recent memory, and one which makes fine use of the Unreal Engine to generate some high-fidelity looks on the Vita’s OLED screen.
GOOD. A game that scores 7/10 is worthy of note, but unworthy of fanfare. It does many things well, but only a few of them incredibly well and, despite a handful of good qualities, fresh ideas and solid mechanics, it fails to overwhelm.
