Game Day: And in this corner …
Nintendo's "Punch-Out!!" boxing games date back to the mid-1980s with the original arcade version, but most gamers are probably more familiar with the 1987 home version for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
First in "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!" and later in the slightly revised version without the Tyson license, late-'80s gamers learned to counter the dirty tricks of such hulking, caricatured boxers as King Hippo, Bald Bull and Piston Honda with the steady punches of the diminutive Little Mac.
The series had been dormant since "Super Punch-Out!!" in 1996, but now there's a new version on the Wii.
Mechanically, this "Punch-Out!!" is nearly identical to the old one (which is available on the Wii's Virtual Console for anyone who wants to check out the similarities).
For defense, Little Mac can dodge left or right, duck and block. For offense, he has high and low punches and the more powerful Star Punches.
Players can control the game with just a Wii Remote, for which the controls are pretty much like the original NES game, or with the Remote and a Nunchuk, which uses motions for the punches. The Wii Balance Board can be added to control ducking and dodging.
Little Mac's limited arsenal is part of what makes the game such fun. Each boxer is a puzzle to crack, and while the first few matches are pretty easy, the challenge ramps up quickly.
The lineup of rival boxers includes everyone from the original NES game except Mike Tyson and his eventual stand-in, Mr. Dream, along with several fighters from "Super Punch-Out!!" and a handful of series rookies.
Each of the fighters has an arsenal of regular punches and a signature special move. More powerful moves are telegraphed by signature taunts or movements, but that doesn't always make them easy to avoid. For example, King Hippo's two-handed smash must be ducked or countered with a body blow at just the right moment, and Great Tiger creates a phantom version of himself that's easy to spot but can still spoil a player's defense timing.
Opponents tend to have a tight defense, so the player has to watch for openings in attack patterns and exploit them. Little Mac will tire if he blocks too much or if his own punches are blocked, but his foes won't.
Hitting opponents in the right way at the right time may produce the stars that are used for Star Punches, or in some cases knock them down outright. Mac can win with a knockout, three knockdowns in a round, or by a decision at the end of three rounds.
After defeating the final boxer in Career Mode and claiming the big prize, Little Mac must defend his title against his previous opponents in the tougher Title Mode; they come back to the ring with new attack patterns.
Players having a tough time on a particular match can head to training mode for practice against a harmless hologram.
This "Punch-Out!!" is the first in the home series to offer a "versus mode" – two Little Macs can fight in split-screen fashion, and if they manage to fill a special meter all the way, they can temporarily become the more powerful Giga Mac.
PICKS AND PANS
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2
2 1/2 stars
Series veterans know just what to expect from "Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2": the same nearly mindless hack-and-slash action that defines the series. But this installment improves quite a bit on the first "Gundam" spinoff. The game play remains incredibly repetitive, but it's entertaining and well-done.
Players can select from several characters to go through the Official Mode, which ties into the anime series, or take on specific challenges in Mission Mode. Either way, the core of the game lies in guiding a powerful robot fighter to key points on the battlefield, pounding hordes of enemies until the contested zone is under control, then moving on to the next. The missions are arranged so that multiple paths to victory may crop up, depending on what the player does.
More powerful enemies appear from time to time, and sometimes the player must face gigantic foes that can be taken apart piece by piece.
Microsoft Xbox 360, also for Sony PlayStation 3, PS2; $59.99 ($29.99 for PS2) • Age rating: Teen
Air Conflicts: Aces of World War II
2 stars
"Air Conflicts: Aces of World War II" offers several campaigns each for the RAF, Luftwaffe, U.S.S.R. and U.S. Army Air Forces. Players have limited planes with which to complete a campaign – lose them all and it's back to the beginning for another try. It's unusual for a modern game not to offer "continues," and "Air Conflicts" is a reminder of why: It's simply frustrating to waste all that effort.
The limited number of planes is balanced out somewhat by the campaign structure: Whether a mission is failed or passed, the timeline still progresses, so the game moves on to subsequent missions as long as there are planes left.
The game play is fairly simple, with controls for acceleration and braking, firing guns and rockets, dropping bombs and so on all easy to master. Leading enemy planes properly is trickier to figure out, and sometimes hits seem to pass through their targets.
Sony PlayStation Portable; $29.99 • Age rating: Teen
Stalin vs. Martians
1 1/2 stars
"Stalin vs. Martians" is a silly strategy game that does exactly what it says on the tin. Under orders from Josef Stalin himself, the player battles an invasion of pastel aliens with a variety of Soviet vehicles and infantry, which can be instantly replaced by spending points in the reinforcement menu.
The game's arcade presentation is different from most real-time strategy games – players run over icons dropped by defeated enemies to restore health, increase attack, gain more points for reinforcements and other effects.
The graphics are middling, the sound is annoying and the game play hasn't been polished; troops are sluggish to respond, and attacks are hit-or-miss.
"Stalin vs. Martians" is available via several online marketplaces, including Steam, GamersGate and Direct2Drive.
PC; $9.99 • Age rating: Not rated
– Justin Hoeger