So I’ve always been into Boxing and the UFC. With Boxing, I’ve been a fan since the glory days of the 90s and with UFC I’ve been in love with the sport since the days of Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell, and Rampage Jackson. One of my favorite aspects of watching these fights is being a couch coach for the fighter that I’m rooting for. What I mean by this is that I get insanely invested in these fights and I often provided my “I’ve never fought a day in my life” advice to fighters who clearly can’t hear me through the TV. Well, playing World Championship Boxing Manager 2 allowed me to finally get to live out my coaching fantasy. So how does the gameplay? Find out in this World Championship Boxing Manager 2 Review.
Let’s dive into it.
Gameplay:
As you play more matches you’ll quickly realize that the matches themselves are strategy mini-games. Let me explain. Before you start each fight you are given information about your opponent. This info usually consists of how good they are at certain aspects of Boxing like their, power, technique, and endurance. You then take that info and decide how your boxer should approach each round of the fight. For instance, you can tell your fighter to be more defensive by bidding their time, more aggressive by throwing more punches, or take chances aka swing for the fences. As long as you take your fighter’s skills and strengths into consideration you should be able to navigate each fight well.
After you take into account each fighter’s skills there are also the adjustments that you have to make in between each round. Should your cornerman focus on a fighter’s damage and heal him? Should you focus on their hydration thus their fatigue level? You have to make decisions like these that makes or breaks the outcome of a fight.
Additional Pros:
This game has a fantastic 2D pixel artstyle. What really took me aback by the artstyle is how detailed it is. You can see some nuances of Boxing on display like the way a fighter moves his head to get out of the way of punches, the different attires, and how a fight blocks.
I also have to give a shout-out to the various modes in the game. There’s a story mode where you play as a Manager of a specific boxer and go through a curated story. And then there’s Career mode where you play a Manager of a gym. In this mode, you have to hire a roster of fighters, trainers, and coaches in order to propel your gym into a money-making machine. The better you raise your fighters, the better they do in the ring, which leads to you gaining more money overall. It’s a simple but fun mode.
I also want to shout out how this game respects a player’s time. Almost everything can be simulated and even the matches themselves can be sped up. For example, you can speed up the fight using a fast forward button to up to 4x times the normal speed. Because of this feature, each match feels fast-paced. You can legit finish a multiple-round match in a few minutes.
Flaws/Cons:
Even though the game is addicting and enjoyable you’ll probably feel a bit of repetition sooner rather than later. The core gameplay of the matches is the same thing over and over again. Another con that might turn you off a bit on the game is the soundtrack. While it’s not bad there are only a few songs that constantly repeat. After hearing the same instrumental over and over again you’ll likely want to play the game on mute.Â
Another aspect of the game that might turn some off is. The game’s load times. While they aren’t egregiously bad like some that we had in the previous Xbox One and PS4 generation, I did have some that last about 20 or so seconds.
Overall/Should You play World Championship Boxing Manager 2:
Yes, but only if you are into management-style games, sports, or if you are like me who has a tendency to pretend to be a coach on the couch during fights. If none of those traits describe you then you should probably give this one a miss. While the story mode does have some decent narratives, those probably won’t be enough to get gamers who play other genres interested. Overall, World Championship Boxing Manager 2 is a highly enjoyable experience even for a limited audience.
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