GENRE
	Sports
	DEVELOPER
	Crawfish Interactive
	PUBLISHER
	Midway
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1
	CONNECTIVITY
	No
	BUY NOW AT

An amusing fact is revealed in the wave of legal mumbo-jumbo that appears on the screen when Ready 2 Rumble Boxing is turned on. Michael Buffer's likeness and the "Let's get ready to rumble!" phrase are trade marked by something called "Buffer Partnership". I find that bit of info worth a small giggle. The entertainment value of R2R goes downhill from there.

The boxers have some decent animation, and the boxing rings look reasonable enough to avoid any complaints. I assume the highlight of the visuals is supposed to be the well done full-motion video. While R2R's video might be the best I have seen on GBC, it is also the sixth or seventh game I have played for the portable that features it. In other words, the gimmick has long been dead in my mind, and I immediately suspect a lack of substance.

R2R includes a funky midi for the select screen and scratchy noises to represent punches, likely because all of the audio effort went toward creating some crystal-clear clips of Michael Buffer's speech. The speech is excellent, but also somewhat pointless and annoying. When arcade mode is selected, Buffer yells "Arcade mode!"...ummm...okay, yeah...earn that money, Buffer... Also, just before fights, Buffer introduces both fighters before yelling his signature phrase, but I grew sick of that waste of time almost immediately.

The rumble feature is built into this cartridge, but it is barely even noticeable. The ridiculous little contraption tickled me every time my boxer was hit.

The idea here is to pick one of several goofy boxers and either compete with a single computer opponent or tear through the ranks in championship mode. There are no other choices, not even a link option to play another human.

At first, R2R appears to have at least a little bit of depth. There is a difference in feel and reach when boxers are compared, a variety of punches can be thrown using combinations of the buttons and rocker switch, and it is possible to unlock more characters by progressing through championship mode. Unfortunately, the different advantages of the fighters and various moves never become a factor. The strategy of the opponents never changes, it simply gets faster. I quickly discovered a simple pattern that cannot lose, whether I was fighting the first opponent or the last. If I tried to make things harder and not use my little tactic, I found that button mashing was awarded more often than not.

N/A

Simply put, zero gameplay depth added to a mere two play modes equals fifteen minutes of entertainment at most, and that's assuming the time is taken to watch all the full-motion video.

2.0/10