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IGN Review of FaceBreaker
The first thing that you need to know about EA Freestyle's flagship title known as FaceBreaker is that it is not a boxing game. While it takes place in a ring with attractive women schlepping giant numbered signs around and the fighters are wearing the traditional gloves on their paws, this is most definitely a fighting game. That would be fine if only the mechanics that drove the action weren't so unbalanced and sometimes just downright frustrating.
FaceBreaker is a simple game, really. Players string together either high or low punches and defend themselves with series of parries, blocks and dodges. There are also the obligatory super punches that players can earn by stringing together long runs of punches with the most powerful of them being the titular Facebreaker attack. There's a decent layer of strategy built into the ebb and flow of punches, defense and super punches, but there are so many balance issues and moments of extreme frustration that few will be able to continue beyond a few hours.
As with most games of this type, there's a tournament system in place that acts as the meat of the game. Here it's known as Brawl For It All and sends each character through the same gamut of title fights. This is where my first moments of frustration set in. Be warned: don't start playing on the difficulty that looks like it should be the "medium" of the game (known as "truculent" in FaceBreaker). It isn't. Start on "fierce" and hope for the best.
The main issue that many will have with the difficulty is that there are moves and abilities that each character has that throw their balance off in some significant way. Take Kiriko for instance. Her attack after completing a successful dodge instantly stuns her opponent. That leaves them open to three seconds of defenseless attacks. The same goes for Steve whose throw move is not only very close to unblockable, but also stuns the opposition.
It's these moves being used repeatedly against you that causes the immense frustration in the game. I was able to use Kiriko's quick stun ability to land fight-ending Facebreakers on people, but couldn't get past the same bouts with a fighter who didn't have as cheap a special move. While playing as other fighters I'd find myself relying heavily on my Facebreaking ability to bail me out during what seemed like an otherwise unwinnable fight.
There are also issues with the timing of animations. The AI obviously has an advantage when it comes to reflexes, but sometimes I felt a bit cheated when I'd successfully dodge their hit, only to have them parry my ensuing punch with cat-like speed and reflexes. While this certainly did happen during multiplayer matches against other people, there was a discernible rhythm to the flurry of dodges and parries that would take place. Not so when playing by yourself.
Multiplayer, thankfully, is the area where FaceBreaker shines the brightest, but even then there's plenty of frustration. As I said, there is a bit more of a sense of rhythm when playing against another living person, which means you won't feel nearly as cheated. But that doesn't change the fact that the gameplay is nothing but rampantly hitting the same two buttons, throwing in the occasional block and dodge every so often.
One of the single saving graces of FaceBreaker is that people can create their own boxers using EA Sports' Photo GameFace and upload them for others to use. I've seen faces such as Kim Kardashian, Snoop Dogg and Hillary Clinton already making their way online. There's no telling what people will be able to do one they get the game in their systems. There could very well be a Bill Clinton vs. Barack Obama match in the making.
There are other modes to FaceBreaker as well, such as Couch Royale which tasks 2-6 players with collecting a set number of heads for their trophy wall and Boxer Factory which is where you'll have the opportunity to play god and make your own combatant. There's no training or attribution distribution to be had, instead the game relies on its core character types to provide all the variation you could want. It's just too bad it doesn't exactly extend beyond cosmetic differences for your virtual creations.
Visually, FaceBreaker holds up fairly well. The characters all share a certain art style but are different enough so as not to be confused with each other. The models have decent detail and, while the humor will likely be lost on most, it will have you reminiscing about Ready 2 Rumble in no time at all. There are some visual oddities that happen, like pieces of player models clipping through the environment and even other pieces of the model, but none of it stoops below the annoyance you'll likely already feel.
One cool visual nuance to note is the ability of the faces in FaceBreaker to deform over the course of a fight. Jaws become limp and loose and eyes start rolling around characters' heads. It might be not very realistic, but none of the action here is closely tied to reality, thus making the effect a perfect fit.
On the audio side there really isn't a whole lot to talk about besides the in-ring effects and soundtrack. With next to no voice acting or commentating to speak of, the world of FaceBreaker is pretty devoid of listening material. The punches land with the expected wallop and sound solid enough, now if only there was some variation to them.
©2008-09-03, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
FaceBreaker is a simple game, really. Players string together either high or low punches and defend themselves with series of parries, blocks and dodges. There are also the obligatory super punches that players can earn by stringing together long runs of punches with the most powerful of them being the titular Facebreaker attack. There's a decent layer of strategy built into the ebb and flow of punches, defense and super punches, but there are so many balance issues and moments of extreme frustration that few will be able to continue beyond a few hours.
As with most games of this type, there's a tournament system in place that acts as the meat of the game. Here it's known as Brawl For It All and sends each character through the same gamut of title fights. This is where my first moments of frustration set in. Be warned: don't start playing on the difficulty that looks like it should be the "medium" of the game (known as "truculent" in FaceBreaker). It isn't. Start on "fierce" and hope for the best.
The main issue that many will have with the difficulty is that there are moves and abilities that each character has that throw their balance off in some significant way. Take Kiriko for instance. Her attack after completing a successful dodge instantly stuns her opponent. That leaves them open to three seconds of defenseless attacks. The same goes for Steve whose throw move is not only very close to unblockable, but also stuns the opposition.
It's these moves being used repeatedly against you that causes the immense frustration in the game. I was able to use Kiriko's quick stun ability to land fight-ending Facebreakers on people, but couldn't get past the same bouts with a fighter who didn't have as cheap a special move. While playing as other fighters I'd find myself relying heavily on my Facebreaking ability to bail me out during what seemed like an otherwise unwinnable fight.
There are also issues with the timing of animations. The AI obviously has an advantage when it comes to reflexes, but sometimes I felt a bit cheated when I'd successfully dodge their hit, only to have them parry my ensuing punch with cat-like speed and reflexes. While this certainly did happen during multiplayer matches against other people, there was a discernible rhythm to the flurry of dodges and parries that would take place. Not so when playing by yourself.
Multiplayer, thankfully, is the area where FaceBreaker shines the brightest, but even then there's plenty of frustration. As I said, there is a bit more of a sense of rhythm when playing against another living person, which means you won't feel nearly as cheated. But that doesn't change the fact that the gameplay is nothing but rampantly hitting the same two buttons, throwing in the occasional block and dodge every so often.
One of the single saving graces of FaceBreaker is that people can create their own boxers using EA Sports' Photo GameFace and upload them for others to use. I've seen faces such as Kim Kardashian, Snoop Dogg and Hillary Clinton already making their way online. There's no telling what people will be able to do one they get the game in their systems. There could very well be a Bill Clinton vs. Barack Obama match in the making.
There are other modes to FaceBreaker as well, such as Couch Royale which tasks 2-6 players with collecting a set number of heads for their trophy wall and Boxer Factory which is where you'll have the opportunity to play god and make your own combatant. There's no training or attribution distribution to be had, instead the game relies on its core character types to provide all the variation you could want. It's just too bad it doesn't exactly extend beyond cosmetic differences for your virtual creations.
Visually, FaceBreaker holds up fairly well. The characters all share a certain art style but are different enough so as not to be confused with each other. The models have decent detail and, while the humor will likely be lost on most, it will have you reminiscing about Ready 2 Rumble in no time at all. There are some visual oddities that happen, like pieces of player models clipping through the environment and even other pieces of the model, but none of it stoops below the annoyance you'll likely already feel.
One cool visual nuance to note is the ability of the faces in FaceBreaker to deform over the course of a fight. Jaws become limp and loose and eyes start rolling around characters' heads. It might be not very realistic, but none of the action here is closely tied to reality, thus making the effect a perfect fit.
On the audio side there really isn't a whole lot to talk about besides the in-ring effects and soundtrack. With next to no voice acting or commentating to speak of, the world of FaceBreaker is pretty devoid of listening material. The punches land with the expected wallop and sound solid enough, now if only there was some variation to them.
©2008-09-03, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved