Foes of Ali

Last updated
Foes of Ali
Foesofalibox.jpg
Developer(s) Gray Matter [1]
Publisher(s) EA Sports
Producer(s) David Bright
Platform(s) 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
Release
Genre(s) Sports game
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer

Foes of Ali is a boxing video game that was developed by Gray Matter and published by EA Sports in 1995. [1] It was released exclusively for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer console. It was one of the first boxing games to render matches using 3D graphics. Thus, boxers in the game could be shown to move 360 degrees around the ring in a more convincing fashion than had previously been possible using 2D sprites. The gameplay bears many similarities to that featured in 4D Sports Boxing.

Contents

Overview

The game features Muhammad Ali, as well as nine of his real life opponents: George Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, Jimmy Ellis, Bob Foster, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, Ken Norton, Leon Spinks, Chuck Wepner. The most notable of Ali's opponents not to be included are Larry Holmes, Antonio Inoki and George Foreman.

There are three game modes: 'exhibition', 'tournament', and 'career'. In 'exhibition' mode, the player can choose to fight as any boxer in the game, against any boxer in the game. It is possible to assign control of either boxer to a player or the 3DO. In 'tournament' mode, one or two players fight their way through a tournament of boxers from the game. In 'career' mode, the player plays as Ali, and fights each of the other fighters in the game, in the same order that Ali did during his career. [2] For the early fights in this mode, Ali is known by his original name, which he used during these fights in real life (Cassius Clay). Before each fight, a photo of the original fight is displayed, and an audio segment voiced by Tim Gammon outlines what happened.

The game was followed by Knockout Kings in 1998.

Gameplay

A career mode fight against Henry Cooper. Foagameplay.jpg
A career mode fight against Henry Cooper.

The game simulates a wide variety of boxing punches; jabs, hooks, and uppercuts can be thrown (and faked) with either hand. Defensive techniques consist of blocking, clinching and leaning. Fatigue is not simulated; that is, throwing punches or moving about the ring does not cause a boxer to tire. However, receiving large quantities of punishment does cause a boxer to slow down, both in terms of movement and punching speed.

Though throwing large volumes of punches does not affect a boxer's punching or movement in any way, it does negatively affect his ability to withstand punches. A fighter is significantly easier to knock out if they have already thrown large numbers of punches.

Although there is the option to turn off TKO based stoppages, this option has no effect. If a fighter's face is beaten into enough of a bloody mess, fights will be stopped regardless of whether it is selected or not. Regardless of whether the option is turned on or not, the game does not consider other factors when judging whether to stop a fight. As a result, it is possible for one boxer to pummel another for 15 rounds with no punches being thrown in response. Subsequently, unlike in real boxing matches, it is not uncommon to have rounds scored 10-6 or lower. By knocking an opponent down around 10 times, it is even possible to win rounds by a 10-0 margin.

The boxers in the game reflect characteristics of the real-life fighters who they are based upon. [2] For example, Henry Cooper, who had a tendency to get cut easily in real life, receives cuts after taking fewer punches than other fighters. Similarly, reflecting the fact that George Chuvalo was renowned for his ability to take punches (he was not once knocked down in his career), it is physically impossible to knock him down in the game (even if the player continuously punches him in the stomach for 15 rounds).

Presentation

The main menu screen. Foatitle1.jpg
The main menu screen.

The animations for the boxers were created using motion capture. [3] Pre-rendered sequences show a ring announcer introducing the start of the fight or announcing the outcome (only the ring announcer is seen/ heard during such scenes). Like most boxing games, a referee is not seen during the matches.

It is possible to injure an opponent's face in a variety of ways that lead to visible damage effects such as a bloody nose or black eyes. [4] Decals are used to simulate blood effects on the ring floor- such blood remains for the duration of the fight. The amount of blood that comes out of fighters' faces can be set to 'none', 'normal', and 'gallons'.

The game allows the player to choose from 21 camera angles, including first person views (similar to that seen in 4D Sports Boxing ). When playing the game using the first-person view, damage to the eyes affects the view in appropriate ways; [4] for example, if a boxer's eye takes enough damage so that it becomes swollen shut, that side of the view will be replaced by blackness. The view will also flash back when the player takes a hard shot, or red when they are hit by a punch that makes their face bleed. Taking substantial numbers of punches to the head will even result in simulated double vision. [2] Other camera views include a bird's-eye view and a free-roaming camera that can be positioned at an angle and distance of the player's choosing.

Depending on the action in the ring, the crowd responds with different speech effects; for example, someone might shout "Good shot!" when a punch is landed, or "Fight, you bum!" if there is little action taking place. There is also some limited commentary by Tim Gammon.

Reception

Foes of Ali received mostly mediocre reviews. GamePro called it "one of the lamest boxing games", citing poor control and "lifeless" polygon graphics. [8] The two sports reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the multiple camera angles and blurred vision, but felt the game fails to hold the player's interest due to its dull gameplay. They gave it scores of 6.0 and 6.5 out of 10. [6] Maximum similarly found that the game's highly detailed texture-mapped polygon graphics are impressive given the limitations of the 3DO, but that the fights often boil down to a tedious exchanging of blows. They concluded that "This is a well-crafted and solid 3DO release that should suit boxing simulators' needs adequately, but didn't have the necessary excitement to hold our interest in an increasingly expansive sea of next generation software." [7] Edge (UK) awarded the game 4 out of 10, saying: "Bung this motley collection of elements together - slow fighters, a finicky punch and block system, clumsy graphics - and you have one shabby game". [5]

In a 2006 article, GameSpot described Foes of Ali as the most accurate representation of boxing for its time. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boxing</span> Full contact combat sport and martial art

Boxing is a combat sport and a martial art in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time in a boxing ring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marvelous Marvin Hagler</span> American boxer (1954–2021)

Marvelous Marvin Hagler was an American professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight division from 1980 to 1987, making twelve successful title defenses, all but one by knockout. Hagler also holds the highest knockout percentage of all undisputed middleweight champions at 78 percent. His undisputed middleweight championship reign of six years and seven months is the second-longest active reign of the 20th century. He holds the record for the sixth longest reign as champion in middleweight history. Nicknamed "Marvelous" and annoyed that network announcers often did not refer to him as such, Hagler legally changed his name to "Marvelous Marvin Hagler" in 1982.

<i>Knockout Kings</i> Video game series

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Foreman</span> American boxer, minister, and entrepreneur (born 1949)

George Edward Foreman is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997 and was nicknamed "Big George". He is a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist. As an entrepreneur, he is known for the George Foreman Grill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquess of Queensberry Rules</span> Vintage rules system for boxing

The Marquess of Queensberry Rules, also known as Queensbury Rules, are a code of generally accepted rules in the sport of boxing. Drafted in London in 1865 and published in 1867, they were named so as the 9th Marquess of Queensberry publicly endorsed the code, although they were written by a Welsh sportsman named John Graham Chambers from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire. The code of rules on which modern boxing is based, the Queensberry rules were the first to mandate the use of gloves in boxing.

Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams was an American professional boxer. A poll in The Ring magazine rated him as one of the finest boxers never to win a title.

<i>Boxing Legends of the Ring</i> 1993 video game

Boxing Legends of the Ring is a boxing video game for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Super NES consoles. The boxers are represented by 2D sprites seen from over the shoulder of one of the fighters. The title of the game refers to the famous boxing magazine, The Ring, which the game is licensed to associate itself with. The following famous middleweight boxers are represented in the game: Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Durán, Thomas Hearns, James Toney, Marvin Hagler, Jake LaMotta, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Rocky Graziano.

<i>George Foremans KO Boxing</i> 1992 video game

George Foreman's KO Boxing is a sports video game produced by Acclaim, featuring boxer George Foreman, released in 1992. Three years later, Acclaim released another game with Foreman: Foreman For Real.

<i>Victorious Boxers: Ippos Road to Glory</i> 2000 video game

Victorious Boxers: Ippo's Road to Glory, known as simply Victorious Boxers, is a boxing video game developed by New Corporation for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is based on the Hajime no Ippo franchise. The game was released in Japan by Entertainment Software Publishing in December 2000 and in North America and Europe by Empire Interactive in 2001.

<i>Riddick Bowe Boxing</i> 1993 boxing video game

Riddick Bowe Boxing is a multiplatform boxing video game released in 1993. It was also released for the Game Boy and Game Gear consoles.

<i>Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing</i> 1992 Sega Genesis video game

Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing is a boxing video game that was developed by Park Place Productions and published by Virgin Interactive in 1992. It was released for the Mega Drive/Genesis console.

<i>Evander Holyfields Real Deal Boxing</i> 1992 video game

Evander Holyfield's "Real Deal" Boxing is a boxing video game that was developed by ACME Interactive and published by Sega in 1992, released for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Game Gear consoles. It was followed by a sequel in 1993, Greatest Heavyweights, which featured a number of improvements.

<i>Greatest Heavyweights</i> 1993 video game

Greatest Heavyweights is a boxing video game that was published by Sega in 1993. It was released for the Sega Genesis console. It is a follow-up to Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing, and is virtually identical in many ways, apart from a number of significant improvements.

<i>Don King Presents: Prizefighter</i> 2008 video game

Don King Presents: Prizefighter is a 2008 boxing video game for the Xbox 360. It was developed by Venom Games, published by 2K and released on June 10, 2008. A Wii and Nintendo DS version, called Don King Boxing, was released in 2009. Players will take on the role of a boxer as they participate in fights and build their careers. This includes balancing training commitments, overcoming adversity and finding the right promotion balance. The storyline of the game is told in a sports documentary-style, with the ultimate goal being to win the title belt.

<i>Punch-Out!!</i> (Wii) 2009 video game

Punch-Out!! is a 2009 boxing video game developed by Next Level Games for the Wii. It is the fifth and most recent mainline game in Nintendo's Punch-Out!! series, following the SNES version of Super Punch-Out!!, and is a reboot of the series.

<i>Boxing</i> (1981 video game) 1981 video game

Boxing is a multiplayer sports video game written by Tom Loughry and published by Mattel Electronics for its Intellivision video game system in 1981. The game simulates a 15-round boxing match with the goal of knocking out the opponent; at the time of the game's release a real-life professional boxing match may have lasted up to 15 rounds.

<i>Fight Night Champion</i> 2011 video game

Fight Night Champion is a boxing video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fifth and last entry in the Fight Night series and was released in March 2011 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game takes a drastic turn from its predecessors, depicting a "grittier", "darker" setting with animations and player damage that "truly conveys the brutality of the sport of boxing." The violence and strong language in the game's story mode earned it a Mature rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the first EA Sports title to do so.

<i>The Final Round</i> 1988 video game

The Final Round, released in Japan as Hard Puncher, is a boxing arcade game released by Konami in 1988.

<i>Foreman For Real</i> 1995 boxing video game

Foreman For Real is a 1995 boxing video game for the Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System featuring George Foreman. It is the follow-up to Acclaim's previous release, George Foreman's KO Boxing. The game was met with negative reviews which criticized the simplistic and unexciting gameplay and low production values.

Cassius Clay fought Argentine Alex Miteff in a ten-round boxing match in Louisville on October 7, 1961. Clay won the fight through a technical knockout when the referee stopped the fight in the sixth round. Miteff and Clay would feature in the 1962 film Requiem for a Heavyweight.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Foes of Ali (3DO)". GameSpy . Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  2. 1 2 3 "Foes of Ali". Next Generation . Imagine Media (10): 106. October 1995.
  3. ↑ "Inside Look: Foes of Ali". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 76. Ziff Davis. November 1995. p. 251.
  4. 1 2 3 "History of Boxing Games". GameSpot. 2006-02-24. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  5. 1 2 "Foes of Ali Edge Review". Edge . Future Publishing. March 1996. pp. 78–79.
  6. 1 2 "Box Score: Foes of Ali" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 81. Ziff Davis. April 1996. p. 116.
  7. 1 2 "Maximum Reviews: Foes of Ali" (PDF). Maximum: The Video Game Magazine. No. 3. Emap International Limited. January 1996. p. 160.
  8. ↑ Tommy Glide (March 1996). "ProReview: Foes of Ali". GamePro . No. 90. IDG. p. 78.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.