Knockout Kings 2003. DeveloperNew Corporation. PublisherElectronic Arts. Release DateOctober 8, 2002. Knockout Kings 2002. Knockout kings 2002 is an the latest in a series of Knockout King games. The new version features boxing greats Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Roberto Duran, and more, New game engine allows for quick, responsive controls, Select from 10 real-world boxing venues, Taunt your opponents in the ring, New hip-hop soundtrack.

Knockout Kings is a series of boxing video games that were produced by EA Sports for various platforms yearly between 1998 and 2003.

Before releasing the first Knockout Kings, Electronic Arts released its first 3D boxing game, Foes of Ali, for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer in 1995. While there are a few similarities between the two games, Foes of Ali was developed by a different team, Gray Matter and as such, is not regarded as a precursor.

The Knockout Kings game series gives users a chance to compete against numerous real fighters, such as Muhammad Ali, Eric Esch, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, Larry Holmes, Jake LaMotta, Roberto Durán, Alexis Argüello, and Ray Mancini. Amateur boxing legends, such as Daryl ‘Hotcakes’ McGee, The Great Smokey Maggard, Boto Bondingo, and Flute Top Terry, could also be unlocked by gaining certain achievements.

The duration of a round can be adjusted to either 90 seconds or 3 minutes. In the game's 'slugfest' mode, fighters can knock each other out at any given moment of the fight, or suffer 6 or 7 knockdowns and still last for the whole fight. There are several differences between Knockout Kings, Knockout Kings 2000, and Knockout Kings 2001 in particular, the most notable being the graphics.

In Knockout Kings, the boxer sprites, although distinctive, are not facially representative of their real-life counterparts. Championship bouts can last only up to 10 rounds and not for 12 as in real life or 15 as in the past. In between rounds, all that is seen is a ring-card girl. In Career Mode, Your created fighter fights all the way up the ladder, defeating the top contenders and eventually defeating the champion. After beating the title holder, you defend the championship multiple times until retirement. A created boxer can fight in Career Mode and Slugfest Mode, but not in Exhibition mode. Although there is a training mode within Career Mode, it is extremely basic. However, 2 aspects that Knockout Kings has which the sequels lack is that the referee does a mandatory eight-count when a fighter is knocked down whereas in the sequels the referee stops the count immediately after a fighter gets up from a knockdown, and, in Career Mode, the result of a fight is afterwards seen on the screen as front-page newspaper headlines.

In Knockout Kings 2000 for the PS, the boxer sprites are for the first time facially representative of their real-life counterparts. Championship bouts can last up to 15 rounds. Sound and Music volume can also be adjusted in Option Mode. In between rounds, you may see either a ring-card girl, a replay of a part of the previous round, or your boxer sitting at his corner together with the statistics so far of the bout. Injury to the face of boxers can also be recognized, as well as his mouth-piece flying out if he is hit by a hard punch. A created boxer in Career Mode can now fight in all Modes. The training mode within Career Mode is more specific. You can now control your boxer while he is training and, in the PS version, you can also choose the location of your gym. Each boxer in the PS version can also be seen entering into the ring just before the bout takes place. There is also a new Mode where the player can see the statistics and biography of all the real-life boxers in the game, and another Mode in which the player can re-live famous classic bouts. The user-interface and intro-theme of the PS version is different to the N64 version and there are also more boxers, while the graphics on each version are similar.

Knockout Kings 2001 contains the same improvements as Knockout Kings 2000 and adds more. Whereas fighters in KO Kings and KO Kings 2000 are either 'boxer' or 'slugger' style fighters, the styles of fighters in KO Kings 2001 are either 'boxer', 'slugger', 'freestyle', or 'crab', and these differences of style are very noticeable during bouts. Commentary in KO Kings 2001 is also far more vocal than its predecessors. During Career Mode, your trainer will occasionally talk and give you advice in between rounds as you progress through the bout. A fighter in Career Mode is made to retire after winning the title and defending it for several times. KO Kings 2001 is also the first game of the series to introduce CPU vs CPU bouts and 'fantasy match-ups' between famous boxers of different eras, and the first to introduce women's boxing, which is accessible in Exhibition Mode. The PS and PS2 versions of Knockout Kings 2001 are virtually identical.

Knockout Kings 2002 changes many concepts of its predecessors, e.g. you have to progress through a number of bouts in order to unlock new fighters.

After Knockout Kings 2003, the name of the series was replaced by Fight Night (EA video game series).

Knockout Kings 2001[edit]

Knockout Kings 2001 features many well known boxers such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Rocky Marciano, Michael Grant, Lennox Lewis, Joe Louis, and Jack Dempsey. It also features arenas such as Caesars Palace, Madison Square Gardens, Wembley Arena, and the Roman Coliseum, among others.

Knockout Kings 2001 is largely considered the best boxing game on the original PlayStation. In Japan, Famitsu gave the PS2 version a score of 30 out of 40.^[1]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'プレイステーション2 - ノックアウトキング2001'. Famitsu. 915: 88. June 30, 2006.

External links[edit]

• Knockout Kings / Fight Night series at MobyGames
• Knockout Kings Game Boy Color Review at AllGame
• Knockout Kings 2000 PlayStation Review at AllGame
• Knockout Kings 2000 Nintendo 64 Review at AllGame
• Knockout Kings 2002 PlayStation 2 Review at AllGame
• Knockout Kings 2002 Xbox Review at AllGame

. Summary: Knockout Kings 2002 features an all-new game engine with the fastest, most intense boxing action in the series.

Lace up the gloves, throw in the mouthpiece, and experience the thrills of boxing's biggest moments, most devastating combinations, dazzling footwork, crushing blows and the best Knockout Kings 2002 features an all-new game engine with the fastest, most intense boxing action in the series. Lace up the gloves, throw in the mouthpiece, and experience the thrills of boxing's biggest moments, most devastating combinations, dazzling footwork, crushing blows and the best looking boxers ever. A long list of champions allows fight fans to create countless dream bouts with such legendary fighters as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Roberto Duran, and Sugar Ray Leonard along with current greats-Felix Trinidad, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya, and many more.