‘Punch-Out’

‘Punch-Out’

(Nintendo) for Wii

Genre: Sports; Rating: E

Grade: A

Sure, they have stripped Iron Mike’s name from the title, but there is nothing better than seeing Little Mac return to the ring in an all-new, updated “Punch-Out” for the Wii.

Nearly all of the fighters from the original are back. Glass Joe, King Hippo, Soda Popinski, it’s both hilarious and wonderful to see them all over again. But luckily for older gamers who remember the original, all their moves have come along with them. Even a few new ones are thrown in to give the game-play a nice twist.

And this is before getting to the graphics. With some new cell-shading and obviously improved presentation from two decades ago, everything about the new “Punch-Out” is fantastic to look at, even more so because of it’s simplicity. No blown-out arenas or going overboard with 3-D technical wizardry. Instead, just some clever tweaks to highlight all the fighters and their styles is all that was needed to deliver an outstanding visual presence throughout.

One of the better inclusions to the game is a versus mode. It’s something all of us as kids wanted when the first game was released and luckily we have it now. You can pit two Little Macs against each other.

As long as you are using the remote and nunchaku or the classic control scheme, everything is going to play fine in “Punch-Out.” Just take my word for it and skip using the balance board. It’s much too difficult to use and you will want to stomp on it and break it in half when you reach the final fights and it decides to stop registering your moves properly.

I must admit that it is shame that Tyson could not be the final fighter. It would have been an exciting rebirth to his career in video game form. But there is no denying that showing Great Tiger and Sandman the power of your super uppercut is just as satisfying. Common sense says you should definitely pick up “Punch-Out.”

‘Bionic Commando’

(Capcom) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC.

Genre: Action; Rating: M

Grade: C

Rebooting a once-proud franchise is never a bad thing. It gives exposure of the classics to younger gamers who may have missed their initial releases decades ago. I remember the original “Bionic Commando” well, so it is disappointing to see the new edition of the franchise fall short of its potential.

The main star of the game is not the character you play as much as his bionic left arm. With this you have a rather full arsenal of abilities at your fingertips. You can latch onto a variety of surfaces to swing around from place to place. It’s not as robust as what you may have played in “Spider-Man” or another similarly designed platformer. But it’s decent and probably the best part of the game, even if the swing-kicks get a bit old after awhile since it is perhaps the most powerful attack you have.

As said previously, the main character is nothing to boast about. The characters don’t do much and as the story advances, you are never compelled to see it through to the end. The graphics look solid but since you cannot grapple onto every surface possible, each level’s visual limitations show clearly.

Fighting bosses is one of the strongest suits to “Bionic Commando.” Whipping together combos and using the environmental objects on both them and other enemies works and could have been expanded to make the control system more memorable.

In the end, “Bionic Commando” is a well-mannered reboot of a franchise. But it does lack the oomph to launch it into superhero status.

—Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard