Preview: Facebreaker
Just a few months after the Xbox 360 first launched, Fight Night Round 3 was one of the first current-gen looking titles–particularly praised for its realistic sweat. EA Canada, the team behind that fantastic simulation, is getting back in the ring, but this time it’s an arcade-type slugfest. Read on to see whether Facebreaker will be another knockout punch for EA or just K-O’d.
As the title may suggest, Facebreaker features real-time facial deformation. You’ll beat your opponents senseless, and then see the devastation. If Fight Night is any indication, you should have access to accurate punches and combinations, even if the results in this title end up being more cartooney and arcadey than they are accurate depictions of boxing.
The boxers themselves aim to be bigger than life, including Romeo, a Latin lover known for some special moves, and Molotov, a Russian bomb expert who likes to fight dirty. And if these characters aren’t enough, you can always upload your own picture and, as the press release suggests, “go toe-to-toe with a real life friend or foe.”
The game should succeed if it takes an approach like that of NBA Street Homecourt and The Bigs, pushing for fun over realism. The highly stylized art will go a long way, but it won’t go far enough if the game is a snoozer.
One more thing I hope the developers look out for is predictability and repetition. I loved Fight Night Round 3 and was so hooked I played it for 8 hours straight from beginning to end. Although it was quite a rush, I suffered from some burnout, and I haven’t picked up the game since. Part of that was because once you’ve fought all the fighters, you’ve seen it all, and it’s not quite as thrilling waiting woozy in the near knockout screen.
Facebreaker ships in 2008 for the Xbox 360, playstation 3, and Wii.
For more, please see the Facebreaker website.
Tags: buyers guides, sat-nav, gadgetry, audio
