Mike Tyson's Heavy Weight Boxing Screenshots   The Final Say! Gameplay 7.8 Graphics 8.8 Sound 7.5 Value 8.0 Mike Tyson Heavy Weight Boxing -  reviewed by Andrew B Review Date: 8th August 2002 Review Score 8.0/10 Distributed By: GameNation

"Two-time Undisputed Champion of the World, Mike Tyson slams the PS2 in Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing!" Its been awhile since a good boxing game has been released for the PS2, fortunately for arcade, sport and boxing fans, Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing is finally here to break the drought. Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing is a combination of a 3D Fighter, Sport Game and Strategy Game and features a wide range of features that should keep die hard boxing fans happy. The game features three different types of gameplay modes that include, Exhibition Fight, Speed Boxing and Belt Mode.  Exhibition mode lets you bout for money against a boxer of your choosing. Speed Boxing lets you play against a boxer of your choosing in a single round, whereas Belt Mode is basically career mode. In Belt Mode, you start at the Bronze Belt level and as you proceed, you can then compete against higher levels of the competition and tougher opponents.  Another impressive feature of this game is that you can create your own boxers that lets you alter a wide variety of facial and bodily features. There is also a two-player mode that lets you box against your friends and soon to be enemies.  The graphics of Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing look extremely nice but unfortunately are riddled with a few glitches that should have been picked up by the programmers or quality assurance testers.  The characters all contain a high amount of detailed polygons with a realistic look to them. On some levels, there are girls that hold a sign up over their heads showing which round you are up to, they are well animated and it looks like the programmers have decided to go one step further, unfortunately I cannot mention this here so you will have to check this out. The only problem with the characters is that they lack facial expressions and seem a little dead. The animation of characters is extremely good but unfortunately every now and then, a punch or uppercut may miss a few frames which looks like something has been missed. The framerate is generally high though which is good for hardcore gamers who love smooth gameplay. The boxing stadiums look impressive and the crowd animation is quite good although they do repeat the same movements over and over again but it does manage to pull off a realistic crowd.

There are a dozens of different moves that your boxers can perform such as jabs, uppercuts, hooks, body blows and even some illegal dirty moves. The most unfortunately aspect of the game is the gameplay which does improve with practice. 

The controls of Mike Tyson Heavy Weight Boxing are a little bit all over the PS2 Controller but once you have got the hang of the gameplay, you can pull off some impressive moves, especially the super combos. The only problem is that newbies may get a little bored with the game, because essentially the game is a button masher. If you're the fastest of pressing buttons, then you will just about always win the matches.     

The sound and music of Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing helps add to the boxing atmosphere of the game and there is just enough background sounds such as the crowd noises and the sounds of gloves hitting flesh to give the game a realistic sound to it. Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing is an interesting game for the PS2 and does have some amazing graphics that come with its own flaws but as mentioned earlier, once you have mastered the gameplay, this may be the boxing game for you. Check it out!

- Andrew B