Knockout Kings 2003

Knockout Kings is a series of boxing video games produced by EA Sports annually between 1998 and 2003 for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Color and GameCube. Prior to the release of the first Knockout Kings, Electronic Arts released its first 3D boxing game, Foes of Ali, for the 3DO in 1995. Although there are some similarities between the two games, Foes of Ali was developed by a different team, Gray Matter, and is therefore not considered a true prequel. In the Knockout Kings game series, the player can compete against numerous real fighters, such as Muhammad Ali, Eric Esch, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, Larry Holmes, Jake LaMotta, Roberto Durán, Alexis Argüello and Ray Mancini. The duration of a round can be set to either 90 seconds or 3 minutes. In the game's "Slugfest" mode, fighters can knock each other out at any point during the fight or suffer 6 or 7 knockdowns and still last the entire fight. There are several differences between Knockout Kings, Knockout Kings 2000 and Knockout Kings 2001, most notably the graphics. In Knockout Kings, the boxer sprites are distinctive but do not match the face of their real-life counterparts. Championship fights can only last up to 10 rounds and not 12 as in real life or 15 as in the past. Only a ring card girl can be seen between rounds. In career mode, a fighter must retire immediately after winning the title and defending it for the first time. A created fighter can fight in Career mode and Slugfest mode, but not in Exhibition mode. There is a training mode in career mode, but it is very basic. Two aspects that Knockout Kings lacks compared to the sequels are that the referee performs a mandatory eight-count when a fighter goes down, whereas in the sequels he stops the count immediately after the fighter gets up, and that in career mode the result of a fight can be seen as a headline on the screen afterwards. In Knockout Kings 2000 for PS1, the boxer sprites match the faces of their real-life counterparts for the first time. Championship fights can last up to 15 rounds. The volume of sound and music can be adjusted in options mode. Between rounds you will either see a ring card girl, a replay of part of the previous round or your boxer sitting in his corner, along with the stats of the fight so far. Injuries to the boxer's face can also be seen, as well as his mouthpiece flying out when he is hit by a hard punch. A created boxer in career mode can now fight in all modes. The training mode in career mode is even more specific. You can now control your boxer during training and in the PS1 version you can also choose the location of your gym. In the PS1 version, you can also see how each boxer gets into the ring just before the fight takes place. There is also a new mode where the player can see the stats and biographies of all the real boxers in the game, and another mode where the player can relive famous classic fights. The user interface and intro theme of the PS1 version is different from the N64 version and there are also more boxers, while the graphics are similar in both versions. Knockout Kings 2001 contains the same improvements as Knockout Kings 2000 and adds even more. While the fighters in KO Kings and KO Kings 2000 fight in either "Boxer" or "Slugger" style, the fighters in KO Kings 2001 are either "Boxer", "Slugger", "Freestyle" or "Crab" style, and these style differences are clearly noticeable during the fights. The commentary in KO Kings 2001 is also much louder than in its predecessors. In career mode, your trainer will occasionally speak and give you advice between rounds as you move through the fight. A fighter in career mode must retire after winning the title and defending it several times. KO Kings 2001 is also the first game in the series to introduce CPU vs. CPU bouts and "fantasy fights" between famous boxers from different eras, and the first to introduce women's boxing, accessible in Exhibition mode. The PS1 and PS2 versions of Knockout Kings 2001 are virtually identical. Knockout Kings 2002 changes many concepts from its predecessors, such as having to complete a series of fights to unlock new fighters. After Knockout Kings 2003, the name of the series was replaced by Fight Night (EA video game series).