A zombie-like vacant look plagues all the boxers faces. Outside of several trademark punches and gestures for only a few select boxers, all the rest of the boxers move identically to one another to the point where it looks ridiculous when boxers appear to mime one another.
Game Description:Question: Who's a better fighter, Lennox Lewis or Joe Frazier? Answer: you. With Knockout Kings 2001, you can choose a champion from a long list of past and present greats--all with near-photo-realistic faces and signature moves. The game also includes today's top female boxers, including Mia St. John and Lucia Rijker, as well as in-game strategy from seasoned trainers and commentary from boxing experts Al Bernstein, Teddy Atlas, and Max Kellerman.
On paper, I'm sure Black Ops and Electronic Arts thought they had a winner. Their new game would only have Ready 2 Rumble: Round 2 to contend with, and it would be featured on the powerful, and (relatively) new PlayStation 2. But as other PlayStation 2 developers have done, Black Ops rushed the game to get it onto store shelves, and the results are disappointing.
KK2000 plays like a no-nonsense, yet full-featured interpretation of boxing. If you've ever seen it in the ring, you can probably do it in the game (with the exception of having some idiot parachuting into the ring and, thankfully, the patented Tyson-ear chomp).
I agree with Chi here, in fact there isn't much I can find to disagree with. The legendary boxers are represented here much more faithfully than in the N64 version and the extras on the disc (boxer bios and 'classic fights') are pretty slick and are welcome additions. As Chi mentioned, this version is much more of a simulation and those of you who read my N64 review will know that the lack of this feature was mostly responsible for my low overall rating.
Knockout Kings 2000 lacked damn near every-thing I saw in those legendary fights with the exception of the fighters themselves. The feel of vicious punches was missing, the characters moved too slowly, and none of the fighters distinguished themselves. Whatever was in the game to add realism was negated by the over-the-top arcade elements. The only true representative from the boxing world was Mills Lane (how sad is that?).
From the early goings, KK2000 has a lot working against it. Primitive looking models, mediocre motion capture, and poor collision detection all seemed to spell doom for KK2000.
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