Bruce Von Stiers

Mike Tyson is sort of a pariah. You either love him or hate him; think he’s the dumbest galook around or really shrewd by playing at being not too smart. Aside from his trouble with women and his ear fetish, Mike has been pretty good for the sport of boxing. A lot of young fighters wanted to “be like Mike.” Now he is being immortalized in a way other than a warehouse full of bad press reports. Codemasters has just released Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. I just got a chance to check out the PS2 version of the game.

This game is about boxing, pure and simple. You get to box several opponents on the way to being crowned the Champ. There are 16 different boxers that you can step in as or create your own custom fighter. There is ringside commentary from sportscasters Ian Darke and Bobby Czyz. And the ring girls! There are 3D Ring Girls with Round placards and really skimpy bathing suits.

The game has Single Player modes and a Two Player mode. With Single Player, there are three types of gameplay. There is the Exhibition mode, which lets your fight for purse money and build up your skills. Speed Boxing is the second Single Player mode. Here you will try to beat your previous record and unlock a series of Upgrades. The Belt mode is the most intense. You will begin at the Bronze Belt level and box your way up to the Championship level. The Two Player Mode pits two players against each other. The number of total bouts won determines the winner in the Two Player mode.

As you box, there are several things to watch for on the screen. There is a status bar that measures your health. As you get hit, the color on the Health bar will disappear. The same for the Power bar. If you swing and miss, your power will diminish and the Power bar will reflect that. There is a TKO status light. It is actually as set of three lights in the corner of the screen. If all three of your TKO lights get lit, you are considered out by Technical Knock Out. One of the lights will be lit up if your opponent hits you hard enough to put you on the floor. Then the game goes into what’s called the Get-up Game. This is an extra challenge to get back into the fight and not get counted out.

While you are in a match, the game will provide some idea of how well or poorly you are doing. If you get injured, words like “Face Cut”, “Face Critical” and “Face Bruised” will flash on the screen. The same goes
for your opponent

If you decide to put together a custom boxer, there are several choices to make. Choose things like tattoos, body hair, body shape and even the length and style of the boxing shorts. Then you will have to decide the skills your boxer will have. Be sure to build up your boxer’s ring speed and protect him from punches to the chin and his gut.

The more you fight and win, the more things will be unlocked. These include both combo punches and illegal moves. Each boxer will have a signature punch and a series of combos that are attributed to them. The basic punches will be the Jab, Cross, Hook, Uppercut and Body Punch.

If you want to have hours of fun boxing without getting tagged on your glass jaw, then Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing is just the game for you. It gives you all the excitement of a boxing match without having to actually be there (or the cost of Pay-Per-View). Sport enthusiasts will love this game. Hard core gamers , like my 14 year old son, will soon be bored as there is no story line here. You just box your way to the Championship Ring. But if boxing is your thing, then Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing is a TKO.

Look for Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing at stores that sell console game titles. You can also order it online from Codemasters at www.codemasters.com.