Donkey Kong
C64, Ocean (1986)

Three years after the release of AtariSoft’s Commodore 64 Donkey Kong port, European software developer Ocean Software decided it was time for another Donkey Kong remake and accepted the challenge.

It goes without saying that the more familiar programmers become with a particular platform, the more advanced their games will look and play. This is generally why games released later in a platform’s lifespan often seem more advanced than earlier titles. Such is the case with Ocean’s version of Donkey Kong. With an additional three years of familiarity with the Commodore behind them, Ocean was really able to crank one great looking port.

Pretty much all the items gamers nitpicked about AtariSoft’s release were addressed in Ocean’s. The game now appears in its native vertical mode, thanks to large amounts of black space surrounding the sides of the screen. The layout more closely resembles the arcade’s, including the timer and score windows. Multi-color shading has been added to every game element – the girders are now drawn with shades of red and purple, for example. Even Donkey Kong himself appears in much greater detail and more lively this time around – he grunts, he growls, he stomps … he lives.

All the sounds have been modified this time around as well, but not all of them were improved. While many of the sound effects themselves sound better that the AtariSoft port, the music sounds much less authentic. Between the two you could probably make a really good sounding port, but on their own, neither one is perfect.

Ocean’s port of Donkey Kong returns to the original Japanese level order (girders, pies, elevators, rivets). One noticeable difference between the two versions is that Ocean’s port runs much faster, which makes some levels easier (rivets) but makes timing your jumps on the elevator level much more challenging.

Ocean’s port comes complete with a splash screen tacked on to the front of the game, done in red (as a throwback to the original cabinets, perhaps?). The only option lost between the two was the ability to select a starting level.

Three extra years of familiarity with programming Commodore hardware shows on this translation which is more accurate, but not necessarily more fun, than AtariSoft’s version. Both versions are worth acquiring and playing.

Donkey Kong
C64, AtariSoft (1983)

In 1980, Space Invaders became the first arcade game to be officially licensed to a home videogame system. Sales of both the game and the Atari 2600 console itself skyrocketed, thus giving birth to a genre that still exists and sells strongly today: the arcade port. For two years, Atari released ports of arcade games for their competitors’ systems under the brand name Atarisoft. Atarisoft focused predominantly on the expanding home computer market, porting popular arcade games such as Centipede, Dig Dug and Pac-Man to the Apple II, TI-99/4A, IBM PC, and of course the best game-playing machine of the era, the Commodore 64.

When the Commodore 64 debuted in 1982, the Commodore 1541 disk drive sold separately for around $400. As a result, many early Commodore owners relied on either the inexpensive Datasette, or cartridges (which did not require any other loading method). Most of AtariSoft’s ports for the Commodore were available on cartridge.

AtariSoft’s port of Nintendo’s insanely popular Donkey Kong was released in 1983, two years after the game’s arcade debut. By the time Donkey Kong hit the Commodore 64 platform, Donkey Kong mania was in full effect; Mario and Donkey Kong were appearing on lunchboxes, in songs, and on television in the Saturday Supercade cartoon program. The game’s popularity combined with booming home computer sales combined to give AtariSoft one of their most popular videogame ports.

AtariSoft’s version of Donkey Kong was the very first game I ever saw on a Commodore 64 and, for all intents and purposes, it looked identical to Nintendo’s arcade version to my ten-year-old eyes. The C64 port was light years ahead of the crappy Atari 2600 version, released only a year prior. In the C64 port, barrels no longer resembled Ritz crackers and flaming barrels looked nothing like oil lamps.

Equally impressive was the fact that AtariSoft’s port of Donkey Kong contained all four levels from the arcade version. Colecovision’s port for the Atari 2600 only contained the first two levels – Nintendo’s own version, released two years later in ’85, only contained three! To my circle of friends, AtariSoft’s version of Donkey Kong was virtually identical to its arcade counterpart.

With two decades of space between us, we can now see that AtariSoft’s port was far from perfect. The arcade version of Donkey Kong uses a vertical monitor; AtariSoft’s solution to porting the game to horizontal television sets was to simply make everything reeeeeally wide. Other hardware limitations led to a few corners being cut. The infamous “How high can you go?” screen is nowhere to be found. The colors and sounds, while probably the best of any home version at the time, still weren’t perfect. Red girders appeared purple, some of the sound effects (like Donkey Kong’s grunts) didn’t sound quite right, and some of the animation (such as Donkey Kong’s) had been greatly reduced.

That’s not to say the game wasn’t incredible; it was, especially considering the entire thing was crammed into a cartridge that maxed out at 16k. AtariSoft’s port of Donkey Kong was one of many early games that dazzled home computer owners. The ability to get arcade graphics into your home (or a reasonable facsimile thereof …) turned millions of people on to home computers and proved that they could be viable gaming platforms.

Ignoring slight changes in graphics in sound due to less powerful hardware than its arcade counterpart, Atarisoft’s version of Donkey Kong delivers an arcade quality experience in a fashion that seemed impossible at the time.

Defender of the Crown
C64, Cinemaware (1987)

In 1986 Cinemaware released Defender of the Crown for the Commodore Amiga, introducing a new style of game to home computer owners. Equal parts movie, strategy and action, Cinemaware called their new style of games “Interactive Movies”. Defender of the Crown begins like a real Hollywood experience, complete with opening credits and a montage explaining the game’s back story. The Amiga version’s graphics were literally mind-blowing. No one had seen graphics like that before on a home computer, and gamers were convinced that the game would not appear on any other platform. Commodore 64 owners got their wish one year later, when Cinemaware ported the game over to the Amiga’s 8-bit little brother. Defender of the Crown was also eventually ported to several other platforms, including the Apple II, Atari ST, NES, and even the PC. Much like the Amiga version, the Commodore 64 version of Defender of the Crown raised the bar on graphics for the system.

Defender of the Crown begins with a bit of back story, relayed to your character by none other than the infamous Robin Hood himself. The King of England has been murdered and the crown has been stolen. The Saxons and Normans have blamed each other for the King’s death, and war has broken out across the land. To recover the crown and declare yourself the new King, you’ll need to gather some troops, amass some weapons, and kick some butt medieval-style.

The basic core of Defender of the Crown plays like Risk. Each round, your character earns gold based on how many territories you own and how much equipment you’ve acquired. In turn, gold can be used to purchase more equipment, such as catapults and soldiers. During each round, players have several default options: Hold a Tournament (which takes gold), Conquest, Go Raiding, or Buy Army. Other game specific choices (cush as Rescue Fair Maiden) appear throughout the game.

The format of acquiring new territories is also similar to Risk’s. While some randomization of soldier loss occurs, generally “he with the biggest army” wins. Other actions, like tournaments and castle sieges, lead players to arcade-style action sequences. To destroy an enemy’s castle you’ll need to be a good shot with a catapult. In castle invasions, you’ll participate in swordfights alongside your men. During tournament jousts you’ll need to line your bobbing lance up with a bobbing opponent on horseback headed toward you. For the record, I’ve won about three jousting tournaments since I first started playing this game almost 20 ago. You’ll need more than Robin Hood’s help in that area to be successful.

With each round you’ll earn more gold, which will eventually begin to open up more options. Keep in mind your enemy’s armies are growing each round as well, so it’s best to attack early and swiftly. The ultimate goal is to conquer all of Britain by capturing the other three Lord’s domains, and you’ll need a large army along with catapult skills, a true blade and quick reflexes to pull that off.

Defender of the Crown isn’t perfect. Fans searching for an action-packed title may find themselves bored waiting for things to happen, while those looking for a fun strategic title may find their plans dashed by an unlucky lance to the head. Neither portions of the game are particularly deep in design, but to me that’s what makes it an enjoyable title for a broad range of gamers.

The game’s biggest drawback has since been overcome by technology. Due to the amount of graphics, cut scenes and different mini-games, playing Defender of the Crown on an original Commodore 64 was SLOW. The game was incompatible with most turbo loading cartridges, forcing users to wait (and wait and wait) for the game to load. While the cinematic experience is impressive the first few times, having to wait almost five minutes each time to start the game is frustrating to say the least. Thanks to modern emulation (and WinVice’s warp mode”) load times can be practically eliminated.

Cinemaware went on to release several other fantastic games for the Commodore 64, including Sinbad, Rocket Ranger, and The Three Stooges. Although the company originally filed for bankruptcy in 1991, several of the company’s employees have resurrected Cinemaware and released an updated version of Defender of the Crown for the Xbox and PS2 consoles titled Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown.

With equal parts cinema, action, and strategy, Defender of the Crown was a ground breaking game that should be played by every Commodore 64 owner at least once. Only load times and somewhat shallow action/strategy portions keep the game from being perfect.

Cubic Lode Runner
PS2/Gamecube (2003)

Somewhere deep in the heart of Japan lies a big cute machine. No, the machine itself isn’t cute; it MAKES things cute. On one side there’s a big funnel where you can insert things — moments later they come out the other side, all cute and cuddly. Hudson recently inserted the classic game Lode Runner into that wacky Japanese machine, and Hudson Collection Volume I: Cubic Lode Runner popped out.

Lode Runner first appeared on the Apple II computer way back in 1981, and has since appeared on several different systems in several different variations. Despite the huge graphics update the N64 and PSX versions received, the game has always essentially remained the same. You control the Lode Runner, a man on a mission to collect gold packages. During your quest you’ll face two main enemies: evil Bungling Agents, whose touch is deadly, and the environment itself, which consists of blocks, ladders, rails, and traps. The only tool at your disposal is your drill, which can dig holes in regular bricks. You’ll need to do this to trap your enemies and complete puzzles throughout the levels, but you can just as quickly trap or bury yourself with this tool so you’ll have to plan a head and move quickly to survive.

After 23 years, Cubic Lode Runner for the PS2 and Gamecube drags the franchise into the 3D world. This adds two new gameplay elements to the classic formula. First, Lode Runner can now dig in four directions instead of two. This is performed by pressing one of the four buttons on the gamepad — the buttons correspond with the direction. The other new element is camera control. The field of play can/must now be rotated using the L/R buttons. While neither of these changes sound major, they completely change the way Lode Runner has always been played. In classic versions of Lode Runner, you could set up big attacks by lining up baddies and digging a line of holes. In Cubic Lode Runner, they’ll most likely just run around your well-laid traps. The map rotation went from being a novelty to being annoying very quickly. Within just a few minutes I found myself in positions where the playing field would have to be rotated to see certain areas of the map, but each time I did so I would get confused and frustrated. To try and solve this problem, the game includes a “slice” mode, which allows you to dissect the map and see how things are put together. It felt like cheating to me, and a way to get around the strange camera controls.

The in-game graphics are cute. Lode Runner’s head is almost half of his total height and perfectly round. Likewise, the agents closing in on him have been Japanified as well. The graphics and music throughout the menus have received the same treatment, tipping their hat to games like Bust-A-Move and Tetris Attack and giving the game a “puzzle game” feel. Also adding to that feel is the ability to unlock “gifts” in the game. By beating levels, there are several extras you can unlock — everything from the original NES sounds to movies, backdrops, and additional levels.

Like the classic versions of Lode Runner, Cubic Lode Runner also comes with a level designer. The interface is simple to use, and all the tools are there to create your own levels should you desire to do so. I was afraid that the language barrier might make creating levels complicated, but it really isn’t a factor.

The conversion of Lode Runner from 2D to 3D adds a new level of complexity to the game, but adds a few quirks and a bit of frustration during the process. Cubic Lode Runner may initially be a bit frustrating for fans of the classic series, but the core of the game remains unchanged and that in itself makes it worth checking out.

Graphics: Cute, but nothing Earth shattering. 5/10.

Sound: So cute you want to pinch its cheeks. 5/10.

Gameplay: A few 3D quirks, but still fun. 6/10.

Crayon Physics
PC (2009)

One of the greatest gaming series of all time was The Incredible Machine, which debuted for DOS in 1992 and was followed by several official sequels and the related “Toons” series. Each game consisted of dozens of levels, and each level has a specific goal that was achieved by creating a machine. Players, using a provided set of parts and tools, would create machines in order to complete a given task and move to the next level.

I really loved the Incredible Machines series. These games were less about speed and graphics and were more about thinking. Many of the levels had one obvious solution, but the game was so open-ended that you could literally solve each level a dozen (or more) different ways. It was what I had hoped the future of videogames would look like. Instead, someone released Doom, it caught on, and instead of making more games like the Incredible Machine gaming companies have been churning out Doom clones for fifteen years now.

Fast forward several years; rumblings of a new game called Crayon Physics have been circulating for a while. Here is a video demo of the game.

Obviously the game looks similar to The Incredible Machine, but with one major difference: players are no longer limited to a specific set of provided tools. Instead, players can create their own! As you can see in the video, any object you draw inherits the physics of that object. Wheels roll, ropes swing, axles pivot and so on. While the demo shows the game being played with a light pen, I can assure you that it is completely enjoyable and playable with an ordinary mouse. The video shows the creator erasing objects by “scribbling” on them. With a mouse, this is done with the right mouse button. Also in the video, the creator typically propels the red ball by dropping objects on it; by using a mouse, the left button pushes the ball to the right, and the right button pushes it back to the left.

The beauty of this game is that the only limits are your imagination. For example, some of those levels in the video I posted above looked pretty simple, right? Check out some of the creative solutions this guy came up with for those same levels:

Not only does Crayon Physics come with 80 levels, but it also comes with a very easy to use level editor. Levels can be loaded, saved, and shared online. This game is begging to be ported to the Nintendo Wii or the Nintendo DS (there is a homebrew port for the DS called , but it’s not the real deal), but for now, I have no complaints about the PC version.

Mason played Crayon Physics for over two hours yesterday, working his way through the early levels and later creating his own levels for me to try and solve. When he went to bed, I got to play a little, too. Crayon Physics is the best game I’ve bought in a long, long time, and may be the best $20 game I’ve ever seen. If you want to try it out, the author is offering a free demo so you can try it out.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
PS2/Xbox/GCN (2005)

As children, my sister and I probably watched the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie at least once a week. My parents were the first people on the block to purchase a VCR (back in the late 70s, when they cost around $1000). Willy Wonka was one of the first VHS movies we ever owned, and over the years my sister and I literally wore the tape out from watching it so many times.

People have picked apart poor Wonka over the years, citing problems with the annoying child actors or the cheesy special effects. To me though, THAT movie is the Chocolate Factory I know and love. I know that with 35 years of technology we can make a graphically better Wonkaland, full of CGI and other dazzling special effects, but that stuff by itself doesnt make it a better film.

And so follows Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the new platform game for multiple consoles. Its flashy, its got great graphics and the presentation will blow you away. Unfortunately when you get down to the game play, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is about as smart as the four brats who meet their untimely demise in Wonkas factory. Despite all the technological advances, the game simply doesnt play as well as the 2D platformers of yesteryear.

The game starts off well enough. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory follows the popular trend of forcing you to play through an in-game tutorial. Youll learn the ins and outs of controlling Charlie by making his poor ass chase money up and down the streets of Poorville (or wherever he supposedly lives). After a brief downhill race, which while fun proves ultimately pointless, youll arrive in Wonkas abandoned plant. In the game, it will be your job to find Oompa Loompas, assign them jobs, and group them together to complete tasks. While reading this description, I immediately thought to myself, theyre not Oompa Loompas theyre Oompa LEMMINGS! While the idea is definitely the same, the implementation is much worse. Half the time you cant get the Oompa Loompas to do what you want. Believe me, there were many times I wish Charlie could punch, kick, or pick up weapons and go all GTA on some Oompa Loompa ass. How on earth any chocolate ever got made before Charlie showed up is beyond me.

Ultimately, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory suffers from the same problems that all other semi-good 3D platform games suffer from; camera and control issues. I feel like a broken record here, whining about difficult to complete jumps and cameras getting stuck behind walls. The game is stunningly beautiful and colorful, but you really wont give a toot when the camera is hiding Charlie and an Oompa Loompa is stuck halfway in and out of the chocolate river. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a great game stuck in the wrong engine. Without the glaring technical glitches, the game stood a good chance at being a golden ticket among this summers sea of Wonka bars. As it stands, this game is sadder than Mike TV in a power outage. Expect kids to get bored and adults to get frustrated long before you reach the end.

Centipede / Breakout / Warlords
GBA, DSI games/Atari (2002)

Two of DSI’s retro compilations for the Gameboy Advance are fairly similar in composition: there’s this one, the Centipede/Breakout/Warlords package, and the Millipede/Super Breakout/Lunar Lander compilation. Centipede and Millipede (its sequel) are comparable as are Breakout and Super Breakout (again, a sequel), making the main difference between the two packages Warlords vs. Lunar Lander.

DSI’s Centipede port is loyal to the arcade version, and except for minor changes in sound effects and graphics, this version passes for a clone of the original. Except, you know, it’s much smaller. In the game, players must shoot the titular centipede as well as scorpions, fleas, and a random assortment of other baddies while avoiding touching any of the enemy insects. Dead insects turn into mushrooms, which affect the playfield’s dynamics and the centipede’s path. Overall the game translates well (but not great) to the GBA’s controller, meaning I can usually get to the general vicinity I want to be in, but hitting specific targets takes as much luck as it does skill.

Breakout, on the other hand, takes ten times as much luck as it does skill to successfully bounce a ball against a wall using a controllable paddle. Just like Super Breakout, the game’s analog controls translate poorly to the GBA’s d-pad, making movements erratic and more frustrating than they should be. Even more disappointing is the fact that this port of Breakout appears to be of the Atari 2600 version instead of the arcade ROM, apparent by the lack of detail in the graphics. Of course, complaining about any version of Breakout’s graphics is like complaining about an 87′ Geo Metro’s hubcaps.

That leaves Warlords, the videogame that introduced the phrase “hey, stop crying” into my family’s living room. A popular game amongst divorce counsellors, this one to four-player game pits four warlords against one another in a battle to the death. The object of the game is to destroy the other three castles and make it to the next round by deflecting a fireball away from your own castle and aiming it at your enemies’. Your moving shield can temporarily hold the fireball (which allows you to aim shots), but the longer you hold a fireball the more damage it does to your own castle, so it’s best to quickly catch and release. The best part of playing four-player Warlords was ganging up on a family member until they cried and left the room, so playing by yourself on the GBA isn’t quite as fun. The game does support link cables so if you happen to have four friends with four GBAs, four link cables and four copies of the game, theoretically you can all play together — of course by the time you’ve spent that amount of cash you’d be better off simply buying the original arcade cabinet. The graphics on DSI’s port have been updated from the arcade version and look bright and colorful, complete with a new background and an animated dragon (who releases the fireballs). It’s good, but without the ability to afflict pain (and usually therapy) on your friends and loved ones, it’s slightly less than great.

Capcom Classics Collection
PS2/Xbox (2005)

It is impossible to deny the impact retrogaming has had on the gaming industry. Those of us who spent our youth hanging out in smoke-filled arcades are now the prime videogame demographic. Many of us have spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on games, and the companies from our childhood have figured out a way to tap into that cash flow through retro compilation discs. Its taken a while for companies to get the formula right; too few games or to high of a price, and consumers complain (or simply avoid) your package. Developers (particularly Sega) have experimented with updated versions of classic games, which have been met with mixed reviews. In 2005, manufacturers seem to have dialed in to what consumers want arcade ports of 20 or more games for $20. Bonus features are a plus.

While it may appear that Capcom is simply tagging on to the current retro craze with Capcom Classics Collection, they certainly have the games to warrant such a release. With series like 1942, Ghosts N Goblins and Street Fighter II included, there is no doubt that Capcom puts the classic in the term classic collection.

By scrolling through the disc it becomes apparent that Capcom released games for almost every genre. There are vertical SHMUPs (Vulgus, 1942, 1943 1943 Kai, Legendary Wings), horizonal ones like Forgotten Worlds, and ones that move both directions (Section Z). There are 2D platformers (Bionic Commando, Ghosts N Goblins, Ghouls N Ghosts, Super Ghouls N Ghosts, Trojan) and games where you run and shoot in a number of directions (Commando, Gun.Smoke, and Mercs). Fans of one-on-one fighting will appreciate the three Street Fighter II games, including the original followed by Street Fighter II: Champion Edition and Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, while beat-em-up fans will get a kick out of the original Final Fight game. And, like all retro compilations, there are games you probably havent heard of before but are worth checking out, like Exed Exes, Pirate Ship Higemaru, and Son Son (Exed Exes is a particularly fun SHMUP). One advantage that Capcom Classics has over many of the other compilation discs is that their roster begins in 1984, so all the games benefit from (relatively) newer graphics and multiphonic tunes.

Each game within the compilation contains a multitude of unlockable extras, including folders full of artwork, music, and more. Each unlockable item is listed next to the means to unlock it some require you to achieve a predermined score, some require you to reach a certain level, and some require you to simply beat a game. All of the feats are easy to perform considering the fact that all the games are set on free play and most of them allow unlimited continues, so unlocking every extra for every game requires more time invested than skill. Each games menu contains a brief paragraph or two explaining the game and commenting on its history. Most of the games also list a trivia fact, but most of the facts listed are simply what the games name in Japan translates to. At the menu, players can also tweak each games settings or change the controller configuration. All the games support both the d-pad and the analog stick, depending on just how old school you are. The unlockable sound-remixing capability is an interesting one, which will update each games music and sound effects. Purists will prefer the originals; others simple wont care.

Like most other compilation discs, the games load times are negligable (under five seconds), which keeps the packages pace moving along. Game emulation has been performed by Digital Eclipse, responsible for everything from Midway Arcade Treasures 1 and 2 to the recent Arcade Anthology. Digital Eclipse does another stellar job here, as the games all appear to function identical to their arcade counterparts.Incidently, I could tell no difference between the Xbox and PS2 versions of this package at all. If I had to choose between the two versions, Id buy the version for whichever systems controller you liked better.

22 classic games in a $20 package. Even without the mounds of extras I still need to unlock, Im sure Id be playing this games for months on end. This is one retro compilation that has earned the right to use the word classics in its title.

Bust-A-Move 3000
Gamecube (2003)

With versions appearing on the Sega GameGear, Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation, Nintendo Super NES, Nintendo 64, and the Neo Geo (both home and arcade), Bust-A-Move, a kind of upside-down version of Tetris, is one of the most popular and prolific puzzle video games of all time. Originally known as “Puzzle Bubble” (and starring Bub and Bob from the video game “Bubble Bobble”), players fire colored bubbles up towards clusters of other bubbles. Connect three bubbles of the same color and the bubbles will pop, sending anything clinging on to them crashing to the ground — and in two-player mode, over to your opponent. Bust-a-Move definitely falls under the “easy to learn, difficult to master” genre of puzzle games.

This time around it’s Bust-a-Move 3000 for the Nintendo Gamecube. I also recently played Bust-a-Move for the PS2, and can honestly say they’re identical.

The oddest thing about Bust-a-Move 3000 is, it seems a lot like Bust-a-Move for the Super Nintendo from almost a decade ago. Despite huge advances in technology, the game looks, acts, and plays the same. Sure, there are a couple of new types of “special bubbles” that appear in higher levels, and both versions support rumble controllers, but other than that, this is the same game it was ten years ago.

That’s not to say it’s a bad game — it’s just unchanged. Gameplay is very addictive and very fun, especially with two players. I had hoped that the next generation of consoles would bring Bust-a-Move into a four player arena, but this is not the case.

The 2D Graphics are bright, funny, and colorful — kids will love looking at the different animals as they shoot bubbles into the sky. The sound effects and music are equally kid-friendly, although you might end up playing with the volume controls like I did — the sound effects were way louder than anything else.

If you liked the old Bust-a-Move series, miss it, and don’t already own it on another console, pick up either one of these (Gamecube/PS2). If you already own a copy of this for another system, there’s no reason to upgrade.

Black and Bruised
PS2 (2003)

Upon throwing Majesco’s Black and Bruised in my PS2 for the first time, my initial impression was that I had just purchased a graphically updated version of Ready 2 Rumble Boxing. Despite the characters being raytraced this time around, it looked and resembled R2R Boxing. Everything from the cartoony fonts on the menus to the game itself sounded similar. However, the moment El Luchador (one of the 19 boxers available in Black and Bruised) hit the canvas face down for the last time, I realized I had more than a simple button masher on my hands.

Unlike R2R, Black and Bruised’s fights leave the traditional squared circle arenas behind and take players across the world. Which of the 14 first available fighters you pick (from the endowed Holly Vixen to the oversized Bronto Sore) will determine the location of the fight.

Once the bell rings, come out swinging! As a fan of R2R, I found Black and Bruised frustrating to learn. If you go in throwing punches as fast as you can, expect to end up kissing canvas even faster. You’ll have to spend a little time learning how to block and more importantly, pull off combos and special moves. Like R2R, you can earn power moves throughout the bout. Unfortunately, I never survived long enough to use one. My opponents however seemed to constantly have flaming or glowing gloves, both of which pounded me into submission with ease. One move I did get a lot of practice with was the “get up” move, where you have to press X repeatedly after being knocked down from taking too much punishment.

While everybody else is over cel-shading, I still think it looks great. It works here, and helps sell the boxers along with their over-the-top personalities. During the matches, successful punches are denoted with small explosions, while blocked or failed attacks emit a puff of white smoke. On par with the character models are the locations themselves, each one unique and full of moving objects.

Despite the game’s initial difficulty, I kind of like Black and Bruised. I got a sense that the game had a bit of an identity crisis, falling somewhere in the middle between an actual boxing game and an arcade punch out, but maybe there’s a niche for that.

Graphics: 8/10. As the next-gen consoles mature, the graphics continue to impress. For a silly punch-a-lot title, the graphics are astounding. Some of the background models are a little rough, but spend too much time looking at them and you’ll be on the receiving end of a fist. Watch for the damage and expressions to change on your fighters face throughout the bout!

Sound: 6/10. The rockin’ theme song played on the meny cycles every 15 seconds or so. The characters have several quips and even though the punches sound just like a door closing, it’s all in good fun.

Gameplay: 5/10. Not strategy boxing, but not an absolute button masher either. Plan on getting pooch punched a few times before picking up the controls.

Overall: 6/10. A great looking title that’s slightly above average in the fighting genre.