I first got some experience with Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2 (WCBM2) while playing its demo on Steam. I had a lot of fun training up my boxer and putting him up against opponents in various bouts. But, I didn’t get the whole game experience. I recently got the chance to play the full game, which is now out on Steam, and have enough time under my belt to bring this review to bear. World Championship Boxing Manager 2 is the sequel to the 1991 game, World Championship Boxing Manager. In the game, you act as the manager and do everything from hire boxers to send them to training, give them advice during matches, and keep the money flowing in from (hopefully) how victorious they are in the ring.
A Critical Punch
World Championship Boxing Manager 2 has a fun story mode with a full plot in which you manage a young boxer named Axel to glory. It’s meant as the game’s tutorial and tends to be on the easier side of things in term of opponents. In the career mode, you will manage one or several fighters and their regiments depending on how good you are at managing them. The game mechanics are fairly easy to understand and the fights can provide a good challenge. I was a bit confounded by the lack of weight classes in the game, but I digress. Training your fighters consists of planning their regiment a week at a time. Some days you may opt for rest so they renew their energy reserves while other days you can have them hit the gym, run, swim, and a lot more. During boxing matches, you will be able to instruct your boxer to fighter in various styles and provide them with a health or stamina boost each round.
The Manager
The game’s visual presentation is very reminiscent of those fun SEGA training-based games like Derby Owner’s Club, etc. It’s got a fun 90’s pixel art vibe that serves it well. Boxing matches are interesting to watch and provide enough suspense as to when or if your boxer will take (or give) a good punch. Unfortunately, there is a lot of repetition to be found in the game. Boxers both stand in the center trading punches without moving around a whole lot. It would make the rounds even more interesting if they would perform a few more punch animations and perhaps danced a bit around each other. Not that the game isn’t fun for short bursts of play, but it does suffer from “more of the same” syndrome if you play long enough.
Overall, World Championship Boxing Manager 2 is a fun game to spend some time with. However, there is a lot of repetitiveness to be found here and that could affect just how long you stick with the game. It’s available now on Steam for a very reasonably priced $12.99.
