Having fought past names such as 'Sonny Robinson' and employing punches such as Cross, jab, hook and uppercut you eventually meet Barry himself, though I never recall actually beating him so can’t elaborate on the endings. Victory was of course by knockout or points!
In addition to the brutality itself, there is a complex training regime between fights varying between 10-15 weeks during which time you could train your fighter in different areas such as strength, stamina and speed by participating in activities such as light bag/heavy bag and some others I can’t remember. This in effect added a mini boxing management simulator, which at the time was a fantastic experience and added to the depth of the game.
Basic sound effects and graphics added
to the experience, especially the exit doors at the back and the small round heads! The crowd got excited whenever anybody fell down, and I have no doubt on today’s surround sound it would sound great. The graphics being far more impressive then, than when you look at them now, but at the time it seemed like state of the art!
Control was by joystick, wasn’t it always, and a lot of button bashing always seemed to be the best way to go. A combination of body shots followed by a well timed upper cut usually seemed the best way to go.
All in all, it was a fantastically addictive game with amazing playability. Looking to today for a comparison, it has hard to find a boxing game that holds my attention as long as Barry did.
