HBO Boxing: A Few More Rounds Wouldn?t Hurt Company: Acclaim George Foreman and Roy Jones, Jr. lead the way, along with other greats of today and yesterday for HBO Boxing. The graphics for this Beta release aren?t too bad, which is what I have come to expect from Acclaim. The boxing movements are fluent, and when you get hurt, you show it. Whether it be a bloodied, swollen eye, or a gash on the cheek, your man or woman will be affected. I did find in this Beta release, however, that when somebody is knocked down, they might go through the ropes as if they are invisible, but we?ll see what happens in the final cut. Also, the crowd is all 2-dimensional, but I?ve never seen different from Acclaim, so that doesn?t surprise me. The sound effects, right now, aren?t bad. From the opening bell, to the announcing, and throughout the fight... all the sounds make you feel like you?re sitting ring side. I did experience some glitches in this Beta, but overall, it seemed to hold up steadily. But regardless, HBO Boxing is made up of three different modes: Single Bout, Career, and Pay-Per-View. In the Single Bout, you face either the computer or a friend with all real boxers, or a created version. This consists of both men and women boxers. For the Career, you create a boxer and start from the bottom, where you fight your way up the rankings, all the while improving your strength and such. You also hire management to help motivate and train you. The better the management, the better you train. And finally, the Pay-Per-View is a tournament setting, where you have between three to twelve boxers vying to be the Champ. I found that it seemed to be a slugfest at times, and other times not. In fact, during my career, there was a few times where my opponent didn?t even fight back through an entire round. But when they did fight, I was falling more often than not. This isn?t the final version, so I?m expecting it will improve by the release. I couldn?t find a way to change the difficulty in HBO Boxing, but perhaps they left it out of the Beta. Like I said earlier, I think the A.I. differed at times throughout the rounds, because at times, they didn?t fight back. Otherwise, it?s all about whom you fight and whom you fight with. When I looked at the button configuration for HBO Boxing, I?ll admit... I got scared. But after enduring one round, I found that it was set up perfectly for the controller. There are a couple of combination punches that require two buttons at the same time, but again, it fits your hands. And saving wise, Acclaim has mastered keeping it at one memory block! I think HBO Boxing has the makings to be a good game, but only time will tell. -Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications AKA Alex Redmann