NES Game Reviews #30 – George Foreman’s KO Boxing
Most people reading played Punch-Out right? It’s one of the NES’s most loved titles. It was held in such high regard, Mike Tyson himself decided he wanted in on the action (until his antics led to his name being pulled from the license). Not one to shy away from self-promotion, George Foreman decided he wanted in on the action too.
At first glance George Foreman’s KO Boxing appears very similar to Punch-Out. That’s because it is! Rather unashamedly so, there are some differences tho and even some improvements!
Like Punch-Out, there’s 3 different progressively tougher tournaments. Like Punch-Out, you attack high or low with left or right hooks. You can dodge left, right and bloc, again just like Punch-Out. You can gain a special punch, used with the START button after successfully landing punches that interrupt your opponents rhythm, hmm that’s just like…oh yeah Punch-Out! Whilst the early fights can be won with more direct attacks, you’ll soon face opposition that require you to learn there patterns, so much like….okay okay so yeah George Foreman’s KO Boxing a Punch Out clone!
The boxers in Foreman are less eccentric than Punch Out and while a little more realistic and a lot less racist, the overall the result is a fair less memorable one.
One big difference between the two games, and for me what makes this game a lot more fair (and easier to beat), comes from the Ref’s decision. Whilst you can win through a TKO, if you’ve landed more hits than your opponent then at the end of 3 rounds, the referee will often give the win to you, even if you failed to knock them down! You don’t even get to fight George!