Game Review: Punch-Out!!

Billy O'Keefe - Mclatchy -Tribune News Service

"Punch-Out!!"

For: Nintendo Wii

From: Next Level Games/Nintendo

ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ (cartoon violence, comic mischief)

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With "Punch-Out!!'s" dreadfully overdue return to the big stage, Nintendo has ignored its typical attention to all-ages accessibility with regard to its Wii lineup.

If you're a fan of past "Punch-Out" games, the news of this lapse could not be better.

Exteriorly speaking, everything about the new "Punch-Out" is exponentially more inviting than what older games could ever possibly deliver. The cast overwhelmingly consists of holdovers from games past, but they're significantly more alive thanks to a some inspired cel-shaded art, a loving attention to animation detail, and voice acting, which adds an entirely new (and frequently funny) dimension to each boxer's preexisting personality. In terms of presentation, it's everything "Punch-Out" should be in 2009.

But all that audiovisual likability is merely a front for a game that remains as faithful as ever to the "Punch-Out" philosophy.

In fact, though the challenge is never unfair, this is the most imposing iteration yet. The classic fighters have modified and diversified their attack patterns since you last saw them, and there are numerous instances in which dodging in a specific direction and countering with a specific punch is the only way to expose a fighter's true weaknesses. The extra frames of animation give fighters more opportunities to fake you out, while other ticks and vocal cues clue you in on what you need to do and how quickly you best do it.

Best of all is what happens when you knock out the defending champion and take the belt. Previous "Punch-Out" ended here, but this time around, you have to fight the entire cast again and figure out a slew of dramatically more challenging new attack patterns. Each fighter also has addressed a glaring weakness you might have exploited the first time through, so you'll have to find another way to put them down before they get you first.

"Punch-Out's" unflinching dedication to its original ideals is wonderful, almost astonishing news, because this level of challenge also completely undermines the game's optional support for motion controls and even the Wii Balance Board. Using motion controls to punch and the Balance Board to dodge makes for a silly good time during the game's no-frills multiplayer mode (two players, offline only), which pits you against friend as dueling Little Macs. But the fighters in the single-player modes' upper echelon, to say nothing of challenge you face when defending the belt, are simply too quick to take down using any of these methods. "Punch-Out" allows you to turn the Wii remote sideways and use it like an NES controller, and if you wish to master "Punch-Out" in 2009 as you did in 1987, this unequivocally is the way to go.

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