When it was announced the Electronic Arts' Chicago-based studio would be closing its doors, boxing fans lamented the fact that the development team behind the acclaimed Fight Night Round 3 was being scattered to the wind. Did this mean that fans of boxing games would be out of luck, or would a new challenger step into the ring in an attempt to wrest the crown from the current champion of boxing games? Thankfully, an answer came quickly, as EA announced soon after that it was already hard at work on another boxing title, albeit one that is much less realistic. This is actually a good thing, as it's been a number of years since we've seen a good arcade-style boxing game hit the market. We recently had a chance to take a look at FaceBreaker during a recent trip to Vancouver, and while it's a bit too early to say whether or not the game will slake our boxing thirst, it looks like it should be a fun game
Our demo began with the game's producer explaining that the development team was aiming to create a game that would make players "laugh out loud." FaceBreaker will be the first title under Electronic Arts' new FreeStyle brand that will be replacing the EA BIG label, and it looks to be going in a new direction. FaceBreaker is more cartoonish than games like SSX or NBA Street, though we're not sure if this is indicative of the rest of the brand's lineup.
This was immediately evident when we were introduced to the game's offbeat cast of characters, each of which fit neatly into a stereotypical archetype. Kekoa, for example, is a Hawaiian living in Jamaica who battles with what's know as "Surf 'n Turf" style. Romeo, on the other hand, is a suave Latin lover type that will slap his enemies and release a shower of rose petals. Each of the characters falls into a genre standard, from the heavy, slow-moving brawlers to the quick, in-and-out fighters. Our favorite was Steve, the overweight nerd that makes a lot of gaming and comic book references. Oh, and did we mention that there's a monkey?
FaceBreaker's core gameplay mechanic is the ability to unleash a variety of "Breakers" on your foes by stringing together combinations of punches. You can throw both light and heavy punches (using the face buttons, presumably because FNR3's analog controls aren't particularly user-friendly), choosing to aim for your foe's head or body. Naturally, you can also block the blows of your enemies, as well as parry for a quick counter-punch. It's pretty straightforward stuff, though we're hoping that there's enough variety to keep it interesting for a while.
