• ID = PS0454
• STYLE = Boxing
• DEV. = Black Ops
• PUB. = EA SPORTS
• R-DATE = Mar-06-2002
• ESRB = T / For Teen
• PLAYERS = 1-2 players
• LIST PRICE = $29.99
  

Step inside the ring and prepare to face off against some of the best fighters in history. From the stinging blow of an Ali uppercut to the brutal accuracy of a Lennox Lewis jab to the face, Knockout Kings 2002 offers boxing action at its most intense. Train your way out of dingy gyms and amateur status, climb the rankings ladder, and reach for the title belt against the best of the best.

An all-new game engine puts real-time boxing response at your fingertips. You can play as any of 21 current and historical greats, including Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard, Felix Trinidad, and many more. Ten different venues let you fight for the championship belt in a variety of settings. You can also create your own fighter, train hard to learn new skills, and climb the ranks to earn a shot at the title.

Description 2:
Having earned heavyweight reviews for its earlier installments, the KNOCKOUT KINGS series returns with its most realistic action to date. The fighters have higher speed and agility ratings this time, making for intense boxing action like nothing you’ve ever experienced. Play as any of your favorite pugilists, including legends like Ali, Frazier, Roberto Duran, and Sugar Ray Leonard, or such current favorites as Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas, Lennox Lewis, Bernard Hopkins, and many more.

Ten real-life arenas serve as the backdrop for the brawling, and you’ll have real-life referees like Mills Lane and Richard Steel to keep things cool. A brand-new AI system heats up the computer performance, and commentary from Larry Michael and Max Kellerman adds to the excitement. As if all of this weren’t enough, there’s motion-capture animation, creative taunts, multiplayer tournaments, and 3D face mapping to provide optimal fighting detail. With so much going for it, KNOCKOUT KINGS 2002 leaves the competition on the mat.

• All-new game engine brings lightning-quick responsiveness and fluid movement.
• Motion-capture technology lets you watch the faces of your opponents contort in agony as you land big punches.
• Play as any of dozens of current and historical greats.
• 10 different fight venues.
• Create your own fighter, train hard to learn new skills, and climb the ranks to earn a shot at the title.
• Play in an eight-team tournament to establish dominance among your friends.

Amazon.com Review
Fans of past installments in the Knockout Kings series will be surprised by several changes to the 2002 version. Previously, you had to fight your way up a list of 20 challengers and fine-tune your skills by training between bouts before getting your shot at the champ. But Knockout Kings 2002 scraps all this in favor of a four-tiered pyramid system in which you need to beat just 11 out of 14 challengers before fighting for the title.

While it doesn't feel as hard-earned, it's still satisfying to advance your boxer out of dingy gyms and into major venues such as Caesar's Palace. Career mode still offers the opportunity to create your own boxer or choose from the 45 available (21 past and present, 24 fictional). Inexplicably absent, however, are such greats as Rocky Marciano, Jake LaMotta, Larry Holmes, and Marvin Hagler, all of whom appeared on past versions of the game.

Also surprisingly absent this time around is the ability to throw body punches. While some boxers have this punch in their repertoires as a body combination, the best you can do with others is slug away at your opponent's head with a multitude of hooks, jabs, straight punches, low blows, or illegal backhands. And slug away you must if you expect to hold your own against stiffer competition, as finesse options are limited.

Where Knockout Kings 2002 truly shines is in its graphics, thanks to the combination of boxers' well-sculpted physiques and EA Sports's face-mapping technology. The eye-catching detail of the various arenas and rings further enhances the realism, right down to the excitable fans in the seats and the blood flying from fighters' mouths. Satisfying smacks of gloves to the face and thuds of bodies hitting the deck can also be heard in abundance. --Larry White

Pros:
Best graphics yet in the series
Lots of boxers and venues from which to choose

Cons:
New career mode eliminates past enhancements
Few opportunities to throw body punches
Fewer real boxers to select
Frenetic pace turns most bouts into slugfests