August 2019 Together Retro: Retro Sports Games

[prfsnl_gmr]

I need to try Surround. I own it, but haven't played it beyond testing. It's a sports title? I always thought it was an early "snake" game.

Not a sports game at all. It’s a snake game.

[Ack]

I've played a little more Riddick Bowe Boxing. I currently have 6 wins in my career and am ranked 20th heavyweight fighter in the world...which is pretty funny, considering my stats aren't nearly as good as many of the fighters around me. One thing that interests me is that the game limits who you can fight, so you can only ever battle the two guys either above or below you. Since the rankings and stats of these guys change, you might beat up on someone and then discover you're surrounded by some very high stat characters. Also, beating the guys below you won't advance you, but at least it gives you the chance to get better. The only issue is, I have to do it before 40 fights, because after 40, my fighter will retire regardless of my record. So if I have 6 fights, I'm looking at 34 left in which I can beat Bowe.

One stat the game doesn't track is how aggressive your opponents can get, and while they're all basically stock folks generated from the game's creation system, sometimes the AI seems to have preferences. Some prefer to stand up and protect their heads, some prefer to duck and protect their bodies. Some will shoot in with a few attacks and then reset themselves once you're out of reach, while others launch into a relentless assault, always pressing forward. If you go up against someone who is aggressive and faster, you're gonna feel it.

I wish I could find more information on the system, but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of guides written on how the autoblocking system works or suggested best practices in the ring. The best I've seen is that Riddick Bowe Boxing is basically a more cartoonish looking version of Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing, so maybe I should look to that for suggestions on developing strategy. While I've begun to pick up a few methods of my own, they're just not effective enough against a tougher opponent. I may also just go into 1 player mode and repeatedly try one off fights to see if I can build up skill that way. We'll see if I eventually manage to take down Bowe for the title or retire before I get there.

[CFFJR]

I spent quite a while yesterday playing Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX on the Dreamcast.

There are 8 levels, 6 standard levels with goals, and 2 competitions. Surprisingly there are only 5 goals per level. It came out several months after THPS2, so I expected it have 10 goals, but that isn't a bad thing really. It makes the levels a bit more concise, and if you're the type to shoot for completing the game with every pro, it'll save you some time.

I finished the career mode 3 times. Once with Mat Hoffman, again with the unlockable Tony Hawk (on a bike, not a board, if you were wondering) and finally with another unlockable character, a Granny. An old lady, sporting a purse and bunny slippers and riding a bike with a basket on it. Beating the game with her unlocks a "trick" video of a dude dressed up like an old lady, flailing around in a park, all set to Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. So that was entertaining.

It pretty much is THPS on a bike, but the feel is a bit different, control wise, and not in a good way. Somehow the game felt more clunky to me, and it felt like certain things didn't work reliably, such as the inputs for special tricks, or launching (intentionally or not) off of ramps. Its odd and probably easier to experience than to hear about.

Its possible to land backwards when you come down a ramp. Makes sense that you can't just keep going backwards of course, unlike a skater who can simply face the other direction. There are two ways to right yourself, but it still kills your momentum, and unfortunately sometimes when you turn the camera will decide to turn with you, which means you'll still end up rolling backwards. It is every bit as aggravating as it sounds.

The formula is still fun and I had a good time with the game, but despite having 7 more pros available to play as, I am finished with the game at this point. The experience obviously doesn't change, so I've seen enough to be satisfied.

Debating about moving on to the sequel on Xbox, or something else entirely, we'll see.

[Gunstar Green]

I've played a little more Riddick Bowe Boxing. I currently have 6 wins in my career and am ranked 20th heavyweight fighter in the world...which is pretty funny, considering my stats aren't nearly as good as many of the fighters around me. One thing that interests me is that the game limits who you can fight, so you can only ever battle the two guys either above or below you. Since the rankings and stats of these guys change, you might beat up on someone and then discover you're surrounded by some very high stat characters. Also, beating the guys below you won't advance you, but at least it gives you the chance to get better. The only issue is, I have to do it before 40 fights, because after 40, my fighter will retire regardless of my record. So if I have 6 fights, I'm looking at 34 left in which I can beat Bowe.

One stat the game doesn't track is how aggressive your opponents can get, and while they're all basically stock folks generated from the game's creation system, sometimes the AI seems to have preferences. Some prefer to stand up and protect their heads, some prefer to duck and protect their bodies. Some will shoot in with a few attacks and then reset themselves once you're out of reach, while others launch into a relentless assault, always pressing forward. If you go up against someone who is aggressive and faster, you're gonna feel it.

I wish I could find more information on the system, but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of guides written on how the autoblocking system works or suggested best practices in the ring. The best I've seen is that Riddick Bowe Boxing is basically a more cartoonish looking version of Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing, so maybe I should look to that for suggestions on developing strategy. While I've begun to pick up a few methods of my own, they're just not effective enough against a tougher opponent. I may also just go into 1 player mode and repeatedly try one off fights to see if I can build up skill that way. We'll see if I eventually manage to take down Bowe for the title or retire before I get there.

Have you ever played Greatest Heavyweights? It's an improved sequel to Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing but wasn't really marketed as one other than a "from the makers of" blurb on the box. It's my favorite 16-bit boxing game and has a great roster of boxing legends.

[Golgo 14]

First, awesome user name. Second, even better avatar. I love Kaboom!, but I have yet to reach the “patch” score.

Thanks! It's been a few years, but I am patch-worthy at 3k. I've even once or twice gotten past 10k which wipes the smile off the Mad Bomber at the end of your game.

The game is so simple and yet it demands the reflexes of a jet pilot and the concentration required for high scores can induce a low-key transcendental state. I've considered moving to the desert and starting an apocalyptic cult based on visions obtained through long play sessions of Kaboom!

I appreciate the perspective. I think Indy 500 could be a lot of fun with two skilled players. A seven-year-old trying to play it with a joystick, however....

Oh, well that makes perfect sense. I'd hate Indy 500 if I were playing with a joystick, too. The true Indy 500 experience requires clean, well-calibrated controllers that came with the game in an enormous box. Check out that package!

atari_2600_indy500_big-box_1.jpg (75.89 KiB) Viewed 9983 times

[Ack]

Have you ever played Greatest Heavyweights? It's an improved sequel to Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing but wasn't really marketed as one other than a "from the makers of" blurb on the box. It's my favorite 16-bit boxing game and has a great roster of boxing legends.

I had not, but looking it up, I found something that fascinates me:

The real-life boxers featured in the game reflect the fighters they are based upon in the way the console controls them. For example, Muhammad Ali dances about the ring, throwing lots of quick, straight punches, whereas Rocky Marciano constantly moves forward, throwing heavier punches such as hooks or uppercuts.

That sounds absolutely amazing that the developers would even think to do that.

[MrPopo]

I've started putting some time into Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. It's a pretty major iteration; you have twice the number of goals to complete per map, far more stats per skater, and the introduction of the manual system to crank up the points on long grind tricks. This would come to a head in THPS3, which adds reverts so you can chain aerial tricks and if you're good you could do a full two minute run of a single long combo. There's also been an improvement in level design; they've gotten rid of the crappy downhill levels and now everything is much more skate-park esque.

[noiseredux]

yup. THPS2 rules.

[MrPopo]

3 is the one I put the most time in; I had it in HS on PC and 100%'d Doom Guy. The revert definitely made things go crazy. The series definitely went off the rails with Underground.

[noiseredux]

THPS1 is a fine game. 2 was my entry, so it has the most nostalgia for me. I love it. I then bought 3 as soon as it came out and spent probably the most time on that game. So yeah, minus the nostalgia, 3 is probably my favorite. 4 is... very good. I don't know. It feels like a step down from 3, though it's probably just that it's 'just like 3' and doesn't really have any amazing bumps up in quality the way that 1 > 2 > 3 did.

I thought Underground was... alright. I lost interest in it, though. I did actually really really enjoy Proving Ground on DS back when that came out. I missed a lot of the other post-Pro Skater games, though like Downhill Jam and Ride and all those.

I did unfortunately play THPS5, though. What a terrible... I don't even know if I'd call it a game. Proof of concept? Demo? I don't know. Bad.