Knockout Kings 2000 Nintendo 64

The first boxing game for the Nintendo 64 has you fighting inside the ring as one of 25 professional boxers from three different weight classes: Lightweight, Middleweight and Heavyweight. Rather than solely relying on fighters from the 1990s, Knockout Kings 2000 offers some of the most prolific champions from years past, including Muhammad Ali, ~Sugar Ray Leonard and ~Larry Holmes. Each fighter is modeled after his professional counterpart with realistic facial features and unique combinations that mirror those used in actual bouts.

The game is played from a default third-person view as you move your polygonal boxer around one of eight rings, many of which are based on authentic venues such as ~Caesars Palace or the ~Great Western Forum. Movement around the ring is accomplished using the analog stick, and basic jabs are thrown by pressing the blue and green buttons on the face of the controller.

By pushing the analog stick in one of four directions in tandem with a button press, players can throw more advanced punches like haymakers, uppercuts and cross body blows. Users can also block high or low and bob, duck or weave, but there is an option to have each fighter automatically block before starting the fight to make things easier. There's even a One-Button Mode to take the guesswork out of throwing combinations

Two game modes are available for one or two players: Career and Slugfest. Slugfest first involves choosing your boxer and opponent and then deciding on which arena you'd like to fight in. The object is simply to score a knockout, TKO or win by decision, but since this is a "Slugfest," there are no rules or referees Each boxer can also throw "Super Punches" after filling a circular meter by stringing together successful combinations; once the meter starts flashing, you can unleash a powerful blow that will have your opponent kissing the canvas

Options include setting the number of rounds (from one to ten), the difficulty (easy, medium or hard), and the frequency of flash knockdowns (none, low or high). Once the fight is over, your statistics will be displayed and you'll have the option of viewing a replay of the most powerful punch thrown as well as the most effective combination. Players will then be taken back to the main screen to begin another fight or embark on a Career.

Career mode involves fighting to gain the respect of your peers as you struggle to move from a lowly 20th ranked palooka to become champion of the world. Each fight will earn your boxer a certain number of points (depending on his performance) that will help establish where you stand among your competition. In between fights, your boxer can train to improve his attributes in power, speed and stamina. Once you have won the title from the champ, you'll have to defend it from other upstarts looking to make names for themselves

While Knockout Kings 2000 lets you take any of the 25 featured boxers through a career, you can also create your own fighter with your choice of body type, skin color, head, hair, trunks and attributes (which are used only while fighting in the Slugfest mode). You can then save your fighter (as well as options and Career mode progress) to a ~Controller Pak accessory as long as you have 41 free pages. The game also supports the ~Rumble Pak so you can feel just how much punishment you're giving or taking

The available boxers are broken down into the following classes:

Lightweight: ~Floyd Mayweather Jr., ~Angel Manfredy, ~Alexis Arguello, ~Sean O' Grady, ~Kevin Kelley, ~Shane Mosely, ~Aaron Pryor and ~Danny Romero.

Middleweight: ~Oba Carr, ~Oscar De La Hoya, ~Roberto Duran, ~Marvin Hagler, ~Sugar Ray Leonard, ~Ike Quartey, ~David Reid, ~Fernando Vargas and ~Pernell Whitaker.

Heavyweight: Muhammad Ali, ~David Tua, ~Leon Spinks, ~Joe Frazier, ~Butterbean, ~Lennox Lewis, ~Larry Holmes and Evander Holyfield. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide