Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 PS2 DISC ONLY

by Midway

Product Details

• ASIN: B00004U5VJ
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,251 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Product Description

Has the King of Pop become the Prince of Pugilism? As a sequel to 1999's surprise knockout, Ready 2 Rumble: Round 2 features Michael Jackson alongside NBA heavyweight Shaquille O'Neal and a mix of new and returning contestants for some over-the-top fisticuffs. The game combines authentic boxing action with outrageous costumes, special moves, taunts, and rumble flurries that are all unique to each character. Throw some quick jabs in the arcade mode or do it Rocky-style via the enhanced championship mode, where you'll manage your boxer's training regimen and schedule fights. Adding to the realism are photographers, corner men with spit buckets, beautiful ring girls that announce each new round, and Michael Buffer with his famous "Let's get ready to rumble!" call.

GameSpot Review

The original Ready 2 Rumble Boxing was not only one of the first Dreamcast games that really showed off some of the system's capabilities, but it was also one of the few third-party games that was completely original. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 for the PlayStation 2 has more boxers and moves than the first game, but aside from a few slight changes here and there and slightly better visuals, the game remains largely unchanged, which for people who've never played the original is great. However, for those of us who were big fans of the original game, the gameplay and presentation of R2RB: R2 are all too familiar, making the sequel seem more like a simple roster update.

The game has two main modes of play, arcade and championship. Arcade mode lets you start a match against the computer or another player without worrying about any statistics or unnecessary setup options. Championship mode is the game's main single-player mode, and it allows you to take a fighter from the depths of obscurity to the top of the ranks in search of a shot at the title. This mode has been slightly dressed up since the original game, and it now includes a fight schedule that basically forces you to pay more attention to your fighter's training regimen. Training consists of seven real-life boxing exercises: jumping rope, the heavy bag, the speed bag, the sway bag, rumble pads, lifting weights, and aerobics. These exercises are represented in the form of minigames, which you must actually do well in to get the full benefit of the exercise. These benefits come in the form of increased abilities such as greater punching power, greater foot and hand speed, and additional endurance. The majority of the minigames are fairly simple exercises in timing, speed, and memory that get progressively harder with each step. The bulk of the time you spend playing Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2's championship mode is spent playing these minigames, which do get a bit stale after awhile.

In terms of the actual gameplay mechanics, R2RB: R2 hasn't actually changed that much from the original game. The left analog stick lets you control your fighter's movement in the ring, while the buttons on the face of the controller take care of the punches, left and right, high and low. If you press in a direction while executing a punch, you can throw hooks, uppercuts, and overhand rights. The shoulder buttons individually handle the blocking and weaving, but by pressing them together, you can parry punches as well. The game also has a rumble combo that builds up every time you hit someone with a good shot or taunt. Letters appear that eventually spell the word "rumble," and at this point you can activate a moment of near invincibility or choose to continue building up your power. In all, there are three levels of rumble power, and waiting to fill all three levels up results in the ability to throw a knockout punch that can literally send your opponent out of the ring. The controls in R2RB: R2 as a whole are extremely tight and responsive - you always feel as though you're in charge of the action, and you never have to wait for an animation to finish before resuming play. The game's controls match the game's visuals exactly, which makes playing R2RB: R2 a joy.

Visually, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 is quite sharp. The 3D models used for the fighters look very detailed - all of the boxers blink, move their mouths, and even grimace in pain when they're struck. Even the crowd stands up and sits down, raises arms, and holds signs up. In the audio department, R2RB: R2 is quite good. The game's musical score is a bit of dramatic music that has the Ready 2 Rumble anthem behind it. The sound effects for punches, groans, and grunts - as well as all of the characters' voices - are very good.

In the end, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 is a solid arcade-style boxing game, and like most arcade games, it wears thin fairly quickly. The only challenge that the game really presents is unlocking additional characters, which simply consists of the time-consuming task of beating the game over and over. But since the game's AI is relatively simple, you'll quickly learn all of the little tricks that'll lead you to a win with little or no thought put into it at all, which ultimately makes R2RB: R2 a game that's better suited for rental than purchase.
--Ryan Mac Donald--Copyright © 2000 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Improved, but still lacks, November 10, 2000

By 

Ned Sheng - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 PS2 DISC ONLY (Video Game)

This is a party game. If you have friends that come by and play all the time, well this is the game for you. Though, I don't know that it's changed that much from Ready2Rumble1. Yeah you get some new characters and some new moves, but it's really just button mashing. Not many combos are used unless you get your special. The only good part is that you get to talk trash and layeth the smacketh down on your friends. Against the computer, it's just not that much fun. If you want to build up your boxer and play the season mode or whatever, i suggest that you wait for an EA sports simulation boxing game or something. This game just get's really repeditive after doing the same training over and over again. Oh, and who really cares if you beat up your friend with Michael Jackson or Shaquille O'Neal. As long as you beat them up and rub it in, it doesn't matter who you use. To me, this is a rental game. Remember NBA Jam? Well, this is like the Boxing version of NBA jam. No matter what new features it brings, it's just not fun when you play by yourself.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a serious boxing game, but it isnt suspossed to be!, November 26, 2001

By 

"tpf79" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 PS2 DISC ONLY (Video Game)

Whoever thinks of this game in the same manner as knockout kings is looking at it all wrong. This game is meant to be FUN and goofy. And fun it is. The crazy moves and wacky characters make it great. It is especially awesome in 2player mode. If you are looking for a realistic game, look somewhere else. But if you are looking for a game that will be loads of fun for you and your friends, then look no further. The only reason I didnt give this game a 5 is because it does get boring after a while with only 1 player, but play 2 player mode to keep the fun lasting!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Solid Playstation 2 Sports Game, December 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 PS2 DISC ONLY (Video Game)

This is a solid title for the playstation 2. I think most people who buy this game will be happy with it. Its obvious that this isnt a serious boxing game. Its not meant to be. Knockout Kings from EA Sports will handle the serious boxing simulation, this game is more of a parody of boxing, with hilarious charachters, all of which are ficticious, no real fighters here. The most enjoyable part of the game, surprisingly, is probably the training. In championship mode before each fight your fighter must train for 30 days. There are several excersizes that your fighter must go through before he is allowed to step into the ring. Jumping rope, speed bag, heavy bag and lifting weights are just a few of these training excersizes. When you do step into the ring it makes for a fun game and provides alot of laughs as the fighters taunt their opponents,throw big time flurries and have the ability to knock their opponents out of the ring. I would say that a serious fight fan would be happy with this BUT thats only because KO Kings isnt out yet for the PS2. For right now though, its a good solid sports game that is alot of fun.