by:	April 10, 2004

Rocky the game uses the Rocky movie license to bring boxing onto your Xbox. There are four main gameplay modes: sparring, exhibition, knockout tournament, and movie. Sparring is basically a practice mode that lets you practice punches and combos against a computer-controlled opponent. Exhibition mode is where you can set up quick bouts with your friend or the computer. Knockout tournament allows you to set up a 16 player tournament. The real meat of the game, of course, is to be found in the movie mode.

The movie mode follows the story of Rocky Balboa from Rocky through Rocky V. The general layout is that you fight three obscure boxers that were, for the most part, only briefly mentioned in the movies and then you fight the main rival. Wash, rinse, and repeat. So you start as Rocky Balboa, fight a guy, fight another one, fight again, and then you go up against Apollo Creed. Then, you are Rocky II, fight three guys, and then face Apollo Creed. Enter Rocky III, fight some guys, and then face Clubber Lang. Rocky IV fights Ivan Drago, and Rocky V fights Tommy Gunn. Yes, they rename Rocky according to the movie the fights are from, which kind of makes it feel like you're a clone or something. As "non-repetitive" (hint of sarcasm) as most boxing games are, this one shines. Not only are the filler boxers exceedingly easy, so are the big names. It would have been nice for Rage to mix it up a little and not have the fights be so formulaic, but since they were grabbing names out of the air anyway, I can see why they kept this pattern of fights. This isn't the only flaw. If you grasp the math of the above passage, you already know there are only 20 fights in the movie mode. This is compounded by the fact that on hard, even when playing the game for the first time, the whole affair can be beaten in less than two hours. Lots of replay value? Not really.

Regardless, let's go into a little more detail. Rocky can throw all sorts of punches. He has jabs, hooks, uppercuts, and straight hits. Rocky can block and crouch. But what's really fun is weaving out of the way. Left and right dodges are normal avoidance manuvers, but Rocky can also lean back to avoid getting swiped in the head. It is great - it's like Rocky is spring loaded. He leans back and then snaps right back up like he's a rubber band... very cartoony (I laughed). The other issue is that you can cheat. Basically, if you back your opponent into a corner and start wailing him with uppercuts, he will go down because he can't escape. You can also simply time your punches to land during your opponent's recovery animation. But even without cheating, as mentioned above, the game isn't all that challenging. There aren't even any real advantages to beating the movie mode, except that it unlocks the tournament and all the characters.

In between each round, Rocky will get a little pep talk from his coach. If you're being beaten, he'll tell you to move your feet and stop telegraphing moves, whereas if you're winning, he says to keep up the good work. You also get to hear what your opponent's coach is saying, which theoretically could be used to your advantage... but you don't really need it. After each bout, you have the opportunity to train. If you're successful, you'll increase your speed, determination, strength, stamina, or movement. Although training is really a bunch of button hitting dexterity exercises, it does add some relief from the main bouts, and is a necessity if you want to be equally matched against your opponents. If you don't train, you'll notice you're sluggish, donít injure your opponent as much, or can't get up from a knock down.