Foreman For Real

Some call him "Hungry George," and that's an apt description because this game bearing the champ's name won't entirely feed your boxing need.

Cheez-Burger Champ

With a Tournament, Exhibition, and Career mode, George brings standard boxing options to his game. In the Career mode, you select one often contenders with different attributes and begin in the 19th spot on the road to dethroning Foreman. The round numbers and round lengths are customizable, there are three skill settings, and up to 15 players can enter the tournament.

Stiff gameplay hinders this game. You start with three effective super punches, and one is replenished after every round. Other than your programmed combination or rapidly throwing jabs, true combos are almost nonexistent. The slow fighters show no sign of injury as the fight progresses -- you have to pause the game to check out your damage graph.

Rendered Contenders

George and his challengers have been three-dimensionally rendered to make them the finest- looking boxers to hit the Genesis. While they look sharp, their limited animations and poor knockdown visuals keep them in the corner.

Unlike the graphics, the sounds are a total nightmare. The average music severely drowns out the sound effects in each fight. You won't hear the ref count on knockdowns, the punch effects sound like bad kung fu noises from '70s films, the crowd's silent, and the round bell sounds like someone tapping a children's toy piano. The bottom line is that the do-or-die thrills found in Greatest Heavyweights and Toughman Contest just aren't here. You'll want to send this out-of-shape Foreman back to training camp.

Pad-pounding pugilists excited to get ahold of George's latest game will be a bit disappointed. A school bus full of Don Kings couldn't generate any excitement for this fight.

Gloved Beauties

Foreman brings standard boxing options into the ring. Fight an exhibition match where you can play as George, enter a tournament, or begin an illustrious boxing career. In the Career mode, adopt any one of ten boxers (there's no "create your boxer" feature) and earn higher rankings until you get your shot at Foreman and his belt.

Controlwise, the gameplay's faster here than it is on the Genesis, but it's still slow and lacks the excitement fight fans have come to expect. Combo punches feel easier, but the fighters seem reluctant to duck when you want them to.

George and his many challengers look more at home on the SNES than the Genesis. While the ring is the same stale background that it is on the Genesis, the rendered characters are more detailed and more 3D in their appearance. As smooth as they are, they still don't show visible signs of damage as the fight progresses. How real is that?

In the sound department, rowdy crowd noise, an effective round bell, and solid punching effects are pleasing to the ear. However, the referee's voice is dull, and the crowd doesn't get louder or more excited when there's a knockdown. How real is that?

Not Really, George

Once you've seen your opponent's head snap back from the weight of your blow, the game loses its punch. Stick to the cartoony Super Punch-Out! and Rid- dick Bowe Boxing for better action in the ring.

So you think you’re tougher than George Foreman? Well, now’s the time to prove it with Foreman For Real. Choose your fighter and step into the ring for some of the most intense, realistic boxing action you’ve ever seen.

You view the action from slightly behind your fighter, so you won’t miss a single jab, uppercut, or knockout punch! Each boxer is rated in several categories, so pay attention to each one’s strengths and weaknesses if you want to come out on top. If you’re able to get past the top 20 boxers in the world, you’ll find yourself in a showdown with George Foreman himself.

A full range of punches and jabs are available, with full round-by-round scoring from the judges. You can choose from 3-12 rounds, and there are 2 camera views as well as an automatic switch option.

You can play simple exhibition matches or tournaments, or launch into a career mode. In this you start at the bottom of the world rankings, and must reach the top by beating the game's players, who other than George are all fictitious boxers with varying strengths and weaknesses. The coach gives advice before each fight to help highlight weaknesses in your play. There are passwords for each round.

Foreman For Real features:

• 20 of the toughest fighters in the world
• Motion-captured animation
• Unique perspective allows you to see all the action
• Each fighter ranked in several categories
• Fight George Foreman for the Heavyweight Championship

Boxing fans take note: Foreman, the king of the video-game ring, is at it again. Choose from one of 20 boxers, including the man himself, to fight in one of three modes: exhibition, tournament and career.

The graphics for both the Super NES and Genesis versions are good, some of the best ever for a boxing game. Unfortunately, the playability is weak. There really aren't many things you can do besides punch. True, boxing isn't known for its variety, but at least show some different styles of punches. Also, the game isn't fast enough, and the space that you're allowed to fight in is almost nonexistent--you feel crowded the whole time. Don't waste your time with this game when you could just as easily pick up Electronic Arts Foes of Ali.