Ready 2 Rumble Revolution review

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to play a video game created by someone who hasn’t played very many video games, then run on down to any place that rents out video games and pick up Atari’s latest boxing game, Ready 2 Rumble:‚  Revolution.

I have never played the original Ready 2 Rumble, but I had heard it was a decent Dreamcast brawler.‚  Whenever I received this copy of R2R:‚  Revolution, I assumed it would be a solid boxing sequel to a franchise that already had experience in the fighting game genre.‚  With the motion censored controllers on the Wii, a boxing game seemed like an ideal candidate for the console.‚  Wii Sports did it already.‚  Every time I see someone playing the Wii they always look like they’re making left and right jabs when they are really just fishing or playing tennis or pretending to strum along on guitars.

From every angle, a Boxing game using motion censored controls (think MoCap Boxing) put on a home console should be a hit.

There are a myriad number of modes to pick from depending on how you want to play R2R:‚  Revolution from the start.‚  The arcade mode and the training modes are where you’re likely to spend most of your time.‚  But the arcade mode won’t be as rewarding as you’d expect it to be.‚  Instead of the gradual progression of weaker to stronger enemies, almost all the boxers are equally difficult to fight.‚  And by difficult, I mean nearly impossible to beat.

The tutorial at the start of the game isn’t as thorough as it should be.‚  While it does show you how to specifically do all the moves available to every boxer, the fact that it takes at least three or four tries just to shake the Wii-mote in several directions to land any blow better than a jab is difficult.‚  It may be the sensor on the Wii, but the moves are so hard to pull off that after a few matches, the enemies won’t be lenient by letting you attempt to dodge an attack two or three times only to accidentally throw a right or left jab, and instead the cpu will pummel you to death without hesitation.

Even when I set the difficulty down to the easiest level, I had to ask a friend of mine to help me beat the game.

All of the characters are satirical representations of celebrates.‚  Simon Cowl and Sylvester Stalone and David Beckham all make appearances alongside other celebrities.‚  All of the characters have different pluses and minuses.‚  Some characters have higher amounts of speed at the sacrifice of power.‚  Others have the opposite.‚  But what all this really means is that you can’t swing relentlessly throughout a bout due to a meter of energy that each boxer has.‚  The meter is good; it helps to vary the pacing of the bout so you can tell who’s got skill and who doesn’t.‚  But almost all the skill in R2R:‚  Revolution is based in luck.‚  If the game doesn’t recognize the way in which you shake the Wii-mote and nunchuck, you’re probably going to be pummeled.

That occurs to often causing confusion and defeat.‚  Even on the easiest difficulty, I had to plug a good half-hour into it just to beat the game.‚  And on top of that, winning doesn’t even feel that good because I was never sure if I won or just got lucky.

The character creation is a little silly and it is incredibly difficult to increase the skills of the characters you have created.‚  The clothing items are dull and don’t show me that the creators of the game really cared about that section.‚  The game has a cartoony vibe where all the characters are silly and nasty, like Ren & Stimpy but not as good.

Each character has a special move that they can only utilize when they’ve filled up their Rumble meter at the top of the screen.‚  There are a few ways to fill this meter up.‚  Either through silly taunting or by dodging/ducking/weaving your opponents attacks.‚  Once the meter is filled and you activate it, the round will inevitably take a pause due to the fact that after three successful swings, you will for sure knock your opponent to the ground.‚  Then they’ll have to frantically shake the controller up and down to get up.‚  The fact that this is so predictable, it becomes more of a fight of who can keep the opponent from filling up their bar.

Ready 2 Rumble:‚  Revolution is an overall disappointing attempt at creating a Wii boxing game due to the fact that the characters are unoriginal, the controls are based on luck, and the game is far to difficult (which is in parts due to the awful controls).‚  I don’t know who Atari planned on marketing this game for, but it surely isn’t anyone who likes to play video games.‚  I recommend they rethink this approach, make it easier and more responsive, and eliminate the silly character design.

But, past all of that, the power meter is a good inclusion to a boxing game.‚  None of that relentless punching.‚  And the game is hard, so if you like a challenge that you can’t really improve upon but merely become better at randomly flailing the controller around, this game is for you.