Fight Night for PS2

Because I can’t play every game ever made (though I’m really working on it), I often ask friends to tell me about games they have played that I might otherwise have missed. While having coffee with my friend Elayna, she revealed to me her secret video-gaming pleasure.

“My favorite game is Fight Night.” She said, daintily nibbling a bite of her bagel.

“Fright Night?” I asked, wondering how I could have missed a game in the horror genre, one of my favorites.

“No, Fight Night. A boxing game for PS2. It’s fun, and it gets all my stress out.”

The image of my very feminine friend punching the lights out of someone on a videogame was quite amusing to me. “Tell me more.” I said.

“Basically, I hit people. I beat them up. It’s really fun. It’s taking some time out for myself. Me time.” She giggled.

My me time usually involved a box of donuts and a few wine coolers, but we all have our way of coping with things.

Elayna went on to tell me that each fighter has a signature hit and her personal favorite was the Above Ground Pound as she referred to it. This move was empowering. “It gets out all my frustrations when I beat the crap out of someone.”

“The only thing I do not like is that once you get knocked down there are three fighters to contend with because your vision is blurry. You have to line them up to hit to get back up. That’s frustrating.” The same could be said after a box of donuts and three wine coolers. I could relate.

So what were the rewards for winning?

Money. Each successful fight would win you some good, hard cash. With this cash you could buy better…boxers !(as in boxer shorts)!As a fighter you want to have the very coolest boxers around don’t you? The better the fighter the better the shorts. There are also some other nifty things to unlock, like better boots, better tattoos and even better ring girls. I asked her if the upgraded items actually did anything, aesthetics aside.

“I don’t know, I think so.” She said, thoughtfully. She had not really given it much thought.

After my meeting with Elayna I did some cyber-investigating for more information on Fight Night. According to customer reviews on Amazon.com the fighters in Fight Night are real career boxers, not just ones made up by the developer. The boxers do have signature moves and the controls are easy to work. Most people found the game very realistic. “You can make your boxer stop on a dime after a punch.” Said one reviewer, happy with the game. As far as boxing games went, this seemed a good choice if your goal is just to knock someone around for awhile after a long day.

On a side note, I learned that boxers, boots, tattoos and ring girls don’t do anything for your career, other than make you look good. But isn’t that all you really need in life anyway?

I have this ‘thing’ about gaming. Before I can sit down and enjoy a video game everything has to be just right. Here is my usual routine…

1) Pop game into console/pc

2) Notice the pile of mail on my chair, sigh loudly, and move pile of mail to another suitable location

3) Notice that the place I have moved pile of mail also has other piles of things…some of which have not yet been identified

4) Decide I can not play game with piles of unidentified ‘things’ lying about

5) Curse my no-cleaning family members, sigh even louder, and finally go and clean up piles of ‘things’

6) Run from something that emerges from pile of suspicious ‘things’

7) Spot unread Sears catelog among pile, also notice 20% off sticker glaring at me from front cover if I order now

8) Decide it wont hurt to just browse catelog

9) Quickly flip through catelog and notice lovely pair of shoes that will make my feet look delightfully dainty

10) Contemplate how much time I have to make a quick call before my husband gets out of shower

11) Quickly dial number, order shoes, and destroy tattle-tale catelog

12) Pass by refrigerator on way to destroy catelog, and remember there is old pizza lurking somewhere in it’s midsts

13) Scour refrigerator, cursing greedy husband who must have eaten old pizza, swear to be spinster in next lifetime, and finally settle on a handful of cereal and a swig of milk from the carton

14) Pour myself a cup of diet soda with exactly five ice cubes, the proper number of cubes needed for a long gaming session, before leaving to officially start my ‘gaming session’

15) Go back to gaming chair and settle in

16) Notice that my pants must have shrunk in the dryer…again

17) Get back up to put on comfy pajamas which somehow never shrink in the dryer

18) Settle back into chair and hit start button

19) Listen happily as opening music begins

20) Hand over the controller to my husband who emerges from his shower, ready to take his turn on the game

OCD and ADD…making video games more challenging to get to than to actually play