Another Prizefighter preview

Eurogamer has posted up their preview of Prizefighter. You can check it out in full here. This follows the IGN preview which expressed some gameplay concerns but seemed encouraged by the story mode and presentation.

The alarming thing that came out of this preview is the news that losing a fight will result in your career being over.

As interesting as the documentary style of the game is, it’s also a somewhat limiting factor, since the developer hasn’t created any branching storyline elements within the format. Lose a fight, and you don’t get to stage a comeback – you just get a Game Over.

That basically means it would leave people resetting their console at the signs of it happening or going back to a previous save. Not exactly an ideal way to play a game. I believe there will be at least one scripted loss in the story (citing the corrupt judges) so it won’t necessarily mean a 50 win streak. I didn’t mind the linear storyline as it seems quite intriguing as is, but knowing it all ends due to an unscripted loss is bothersome to hear.

The main outside the ring strategy seems to come in the form of choosing between media and training opportunities.

While the advantage of additional training is pretty obvious – it boosts your power and stamina, for instance – the advantage of a high media profile is subtler: the game has a system that factors in the adulation of the crowd. With the crowd really behind you, you get an adrenaline boost that allows you to pull off special moves – not ludicrous overpowered specials, but the haymakers and so on which can really batter an opponent

Also touched on are the controls which are known to use the buttons as opposed to the right analog as was the case in Fight Night.

The game is also fast – very fast, if the bouts we saw are anything to judge by. While acknowledging that Fight Night Round 3 is the main competition – and arguably the benchmark for the boxing genre – 2K Sports has chosen to go entirely the other direction. The game still looks great, but seems to have sacrificed detail for speed, with a control system that owes more to Street Fighter (albeit with simpler combos) than to Fight Night, replete with really immediate, responsive controls and a fast and furious rate of play.

Now, I may be wrong, but I don’t remember an outcry regarding Fight Night being too slow. I’m not sure if the sped up action and button combos in Prizefighter will make it seem more of a sim or less.