First off HBO Boxing is an arcade style boxing game, which should be noticable right from the get go. There isn't the huge depth of a Knockout Kings here, but then again, some of the best boxing games (Punch Out, Ring King) have been arcade-style, so it isn't something to hold against Acclaim, unless you are looking for a simulation.

The most signficant area of negative proprotions applies to the mediocre graphics, a stark contrast from the fluid and detailed graphics of Knockout Kings. It's not to say that the visuals are horrible, but they're extremely average. There's no graphical splendor here, merely two stiffly animated boxers fighting in front of a crowd that shows no enthusiasm for the action in the ring. The boxers themselves look almost generic, and unfortunately don't look anything like their real life counterparts. Granted, you can tell who's George Foreman and who's Ray Jones Jr, but only after careful inspection; and don't even get me started on the other, smaller draw boxers.

As for the sound effects, I'd be lying to say they are horrible, because well... there is almost nothing. I'm serious. When fighting against your opponent in the ring, there's hardly a peep out of the crowd, nor is there any cool body thumping music in the background. Whether this was done intentionally to add some 'realism' to the game or if it was a victim of the cutting room floor is something that only Acclaim will know. The only music or sound effects you'll hear in the entire game is in the front end interface, and even that isn't too good. Maybe Acclaim did something right by not subjecting us to horrible music.

Despite all this, I was hoping the game could dig itself out of the hole it was in with some solid gameplay, but alas, that was not to be. For something that's supposed to be arcade-like in gameplay, it certainly doesn't play like one, not with the confusing and frustrating controls. The biggest mistake that Acclaim made was not allowing you to use both of your hands at the same time. That's right, you can literally only punch with one hand, until you press L1 to switch "Active Hands". Now, I really wanted to write this nicely, because for all intents and purposes, the attempted 'innovations' that Acclaimed attempted to bring into the genre are duly noted, but toggling between punching hands is by far the stupidest thing I've ever seen in a boxing game, or any fighting game, hands down. Do I have to toggle between kicks and punches in Street Fighter ? Do I have to toggle between Kick/Punch and Slash/Hard Slash in Guilty Gear? No. Why? Because any game that's based primarily around fighting relies on timing and extremely fast reflexes. Implementing anything that prohibits this is a bad thing, got it? Good.

For a game that's supposed to be fast and furious like an HBO Special, HBO Boxing is extremely slow. There is no science here, all you need to do is bash on any button of your liking, and you'll win. It seems the rule of this game is whoever can bash the button the most will win, because the boxers are so slow and unagile that you probably won't be able to dodge any punches if you wanted to.

In theory, this game could've been something, had the developers cared about the product they were producing, and had Acclaim had the mind to say "no, this isn't good" somewhere in the process. In reality, this game is not exactly the first, second, third or even fifth title I'd pick if I wanted a quality boxing game.

Bottom Line: Want a good boxing game on PlayStation? Pick up Knockout Kings or Ready 2 Rumble. Leave this on the shelf.

· · · Bahn