I’ve been a fan of boxing ever since I saw the “Rocky” movies.  There is something about watching two guys try to beat each other to a pulp for the chance to get a belt around their waist.  I think maybe I’m just drawn to organized violence.  I’m also a fan of anime and had heard of boxing anime and manga before but never thought they would really be interesting until my friend showed me Hajime No Ippo:  The Fighting.  There is a great story here and some wonderful characters that are easy to connect with on some level.  The anime was cancelled early in it’s run but the manga is still going strong, and the anime will be making a comeback in January.  I assume to help promote the upcoming release of the new show this been game has been released on the DS to help tell the story of our main character Ippo. 

I think the DS is a good choice for a boxing game on portable systems because you get that wonderful stylus to tap the screen and somewhat simulate boxing.  There is a PSP version of Ippo which is also very good, but this new DS game makes you feel somewhat more in control I think.  There are two main game modes in the Ippo game, fighting matches of course, and minigames to help boost your abilities somewhat similar to the Fight Night games.

The boxing matches follow many of the main story arcs from the manga and allow you to control all your favorites like Ippo, and Takamura, and so on to try to win the big fights from the manga.  I don’t want to ruin any of the story in case you are interested in seeing the anime or read the manga, but you can change the outcome of how events unfold which is somewhat nice.

The matches are done from a behind the fighter perspective and the touch screen is split into two sections.  The top section allows for you to control the punches the fighter can do such as jabs, straights, hooks, uppercuts, etc. and the bottom half is for guarding and dodging punches that come from the opponent.  Something I really like about this system is depending on which side of the fighters head you tap that side’s punch gets thrown.  I really wasn’t expecting to have this much control over the boxer but it is a really nice touch.  Special punches are done by doing special motions with the stylus when you’ve got enough “special” power saved up.  These don’t really make or break a fight but do come in handy.

The A.I. in the boxing matches on normal starts out rather sluggish and stupid in the first few matches, but then jumps up in a steep learning curve.  This could be a turn off to some gamers because there really isn’t any way you know its going to happen other than going into a fight and getting creamed in the first round as opposed to the last fight you were in where you hardly had to throw punches to knock the guy out.  The last fight in the game is also the hardest, which is understandable, but everything is stacked against you from the get go and you almost have to go the whole match without getting touched which I think is a bit much, but if you do win you feel like you earned it.

The one thing I didn’t like so much about the fighting portion is that I was constantly afraid I was going to break the touch screen because I got so into the matches that I was slamming that stylus rather hard from time to time to try and knock out the computer.  You can change to just using the buttons if you don’t feel comfortable using the stylus which is also a really nice touch for those of us with heavy tapping.

The mini game mode brings a lot of neat exercises you see Ippo do as he is training for fights in the manga.  There is leaf catching, chopping wood, dodging tennis balls, and lots of other mini games to choose from to keep you interested in them for a while.  The difficulty of the mini games at first ranges from hard to impossible, but once you ge the hang of them they become no problem.

Lastly they were nice enough to include a vs. mode so you can fight your friends that have the game and maybe have some match up’s you thought should have happened or could never happen.  I haven’t gotten to try this mode yet so I can’t say if it is laggy or well done or anything to that amount, but it does seem like it would be rather fun to go head to head with friends tapping a screen.

All in all, this is a great game that I really didn’t expect so much detail to be put into.  Ippo right now isn’t really a popular manga with titles like Naruto and Bleach taking in the majority of fans these days, but hopefully the comeback of the show will really bring some fans back to a very good long running series.  If you get a chance check out the old anime and force yourself to watch at least the first 10 or 15 episodes before you make a judgement about it.  If the DS game comes stateside it will probably be one of, if not the only boxing game to buy for DS.

Every morning I go over to Famitsu to see if there is anything in Japanese that you guys may or may not be interested in. Today I found out more information for you guys about the upcoming Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom game. Inside is video and information on one of the “bigger” characters going to fisticuffs in game.

Far be it for me to be the one to judge what characters get put into fighting games.  I enjoyed playing Juggernaut in the Marvel fighting game.  I like playing Rogue in the X-men Vs. Street Fighter game.  This guy in Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, though, it just doesn’t seem fair.

Gold Lightan was the main robot character in a popular children’s anime in Japan from 1981 to 1982.  Okay, maybe it wasn’t that popular, but there are a lot of cartoons in Japan — not all of them can be a big hit.  I had no idea about the story of this Gold Lightan character so I dug up some info on Wikipedia about him.

The story is about a little boy named Hiro who accidentally found a gold lighter which turned out to be the giant Golden Warrior Gold Lightan with the mission to save the earth from every invasion of King Ibalda. Gold Lightan joined forces with his robot teammates to ruin the plots of King Ibalda and destroyed invading alien robots by using his surpassing hands and leg strikes. Hiro, the boy, also founded a group called the “One Pack Rangers” with his friends.

Yeah the kid fights a lighter and hes a magical giant robot that helps save the day.  Oh and this is my favorite part.  “Usually the robot ends a battle with a trademark golden hand stab move which drives a hand strike cutting the enemy robots body, pulling out and smashing the heartbox energy device.” – Wikipedia

Yep, he rips the heartbox from the chest of the evil robots. It doesn’t say if he eats it or shows it to them while it still mechanically beats before they die or explode, but he’s brutal to say the least.  Now, Gold Lightan can be seen giving a beat down to Morrigan and Chun-li.  For balance issues he isn’t allowed to have a teammate, but when you watch the video it still doesn’t seem fair.

Also, the Wii release is getting a lot of extra mini games to enjoy when you are tired of being beat up by a giant golden lighter.  One of the new mini games you can see at Famitsu stars Gold Lightan himself as you make his body shiny and gold, the more you clean him the more points you get.  The next one involves Morrigan carrying off a poor soul higher and higher for more points before she, I assume, drops him.  The last one looks like a button mashing mini game.  You have to get Chun-li to kick as fast as she can to carve Ryu in a giant stone — what talent!

This comes out on Wii in Japan December 11th and I may have to buy a Wii just for this.

Source: Famitsu Wikipedia

Ready to see what your favourite beat ‘em up bad guys are going to look like in Street Fighter IV? Check out these brand new screens.

Capcom have released a whole host of new images for Street Fighter IV. The screens show the “bosses” and “sub-bosses” of the earlier incarnations of the Street Fighter series– Bison, Sagat, Balrog and Vega.

I’ll let you guys make your own minds up as to what you think of these designs but I personally like this Bison screen a lot.

That look on Ryu’s face with Bison floating behind him is priceless!

1234►

Isn’t he dreamy?

Video game publisher Mastiff announced today that they have acquired the Major League Eating (MLE) license, with their first game titled simply Major League Eating: The Game. Needless to say, I had a few questions about how you can make a competitive eating game, and Mastiff’s Head Woof (yes, that is his official title) was kind enough to answer them.

For those who may not instantly recognize the company, Mastiff was the publisher of quirky games like Gurumin and La Pucelle: Tactics. Bill Swartz is Mastiff’s pack leader. He’s a dude that knows how to not take life too seriously, as evidenced by his statements regarding the MLE:

“Major League Eaters aren’t just elite athletes. They are the people who built America. Or at least the competitive eating part of America. And I am deeply honored that the International Federation of Competitive Eating and Major League Eating choose Mastiff as their exclusive videogame partner.”

And his description of the new game:

Major League Eating: The Game features the world’s greatest gurgitory athletes competing across twelve different food types. Built much like a fighting game, MLE: The Game requires players to show brilliant on-screen eating; a mastery of offensive and defensive weapons including burps, belches, and mustard gas; and of course the technical mastery necessary to avoid emptying one’s stomach in a vividly colored reversal of fortune.

After reading this, I knew I had to talk to this man. I got in touch with Bill, and this is how it all went down.

Dan: So, Major League Eating, huh? How did this partnership form, and what made you want to do a game about competitive eating?

Bill: I believe good games come in large part from learning to deal with one’s deepest fears but in a controlled way. Well, I’ve always feared judgment day. I was sent to a religious school as a child and I still remember, as a second grader, listening to the preacher talk about chapter six of the Book of Revelation and its prophecy that one day we’d face The Four Horsemen Of The Esophagus. This video game is a chance for me to conquer that fear, and I hope also help other people in the same situation.

I also liked the fact that competitive eating is a popular sport (Ham and Eggs, a CE special on Spike this past Sunday, scored something like 816,000 viewers) filled with colorful characters but still on the fringes.

The International Federation of Competitive Eating was looking for a video game partner, and the rest is history.

Dan: The first title, Major League Eating: The Game — it’s built like a fighting game?

Bill: Yes, but the two inspirations were Street Fighter Alpha and Mario Kart. The idea was to get something really simple to play but with a lot of depth that would come out as you got better, would be fun to watch, and would be fun at all skill levels.

Dan: Are there going to be finishing moves? Does the winner devour the loser?

Bill: Except to say there are signature moves, I’m going to take the 5th amendment here.

Dan: Are you using the likenesses of real-world competitive eaters? If so, did you do any motion capture to nail their eating style?

Bill: We looked really hard into motion capture, both with the great eaters and their stunt doubles, but ended up using another technology.

Dan: If you released a competitive eating game on the Wii, with motion-sensing eating controls, what would you do to prevent people from looking like complete perverts while playing it?

Bill: I’ve contacted our Department Of The Hypothetical, and I’ll contact you as soon as I hear back from them.

In the meantime, here’s one for you…. If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn’t it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked and dry cleaners depressed?

Dan: Finally, do you have the up-side or the down-side to the Swartz?

Bill: Tell you what I got. I keep a deep, deep burning hunger. I am, in the words of Badlands Booker, Focused And Hungry!!!!

Dan: Wow, great answers Bill! I won’t take up any more of your time (read: I’m dumbfounded by the awesomeness of your answers and can’t think of more questions). Thanks again for taking the time to talk with me, and I look forward to getting some stomach-on time with the game.

Bill: Glad you liked them… I had fun.

From the Press release:

About Mastiff:

Mastiff is a publisher of interactive entertainment with offices in Tokyo, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Titles from Mastiff include Gurumin for PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Dr Sudoku for the GameBoy Advance, Pump It Up: Exceed, and La Pucelle: Tactics, which was awarded an Editor’s Choice Award from leading gaming website, IGN.com. Other releases include Gungrave: Overdose, Technic Beat and Top Gun: Combat Zones. Please visit www.mastiff-games.com for more information.

About Major League Eating:

Major League Eating (MLE), the world governing body of all stomach-centric sport, conducts more than 80 events annually, including the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, N.Y. Last year, MLE produced six hours of original programming on Spike TV and ESPN. The MLE competitive eating community, which numbers more than 8,000 veteran and rookie athletes, travels the nation in search of top titles and the glory that they provide.

No release date or platforms were yet announced for MLE: The Game.