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Amsoft, £9.95 cass
Following on from Amsoft Gold's other releases, 3D Grand Prix, 3D Stuntrider, is 3D Boxing. A simulation of the noble sport of hitting people. The idea is for you to reach the final, win the title of world champion and claim the coveted Amsoft Belt! (wow). To become the holder of this obviously wondrous object you have to thrash no less than six different fighters. The various contenders' skill and nastiness increase with every man-gled opponent left behind you, each having different strengths and weakneses.
At the start you are presented with an option menu accompa-nied by a jolly little melody. There are options for one or two players, and rather than letting you try and beat yourself up, the one player option pits you against the computer's skills.
The game takes place in a full 30 representation of a boxing ring taking up the whole screen, with hordes of spectators crow-ding around the ringside. The boxers are about a quarter of the screen height tall, your boxer being identified by the colour of his snorts. Each competitor has an energy bar displayed in his corner. Any unblocked blows drain away a boxer's energy, while skillful dodging and weaving allow you to rest and reclaim some lost energy. To win you need to win a round leaving the other fighter with a lot less energy than yourself. Bouts are fought in rounds, each one lasting one and a half minutes.
When you finally get to down to fighting there are eight diff-erent moves accessable from either joystick or keys. The fight moves are split into two groups, seven for attack and one for defence. The control method is similar to that used in Melbou-rne House's Exploding Fist. The joystick is used for directional control until you press the fire button, you then have access to different fighting moves. Punc-hes available include jabs, hooks and uppercuts, each hav-ing their own advantages. Jabs and hooks can be aimed at your opponent's head or body while the uppercut delivers a good old fashioned 'roundhouse to your opposite number's chin. You are equipped with only one defens-ive move, a face block which should sway any attack on your precious features. Your midriff is left perilously unguarded and the only manoeuvre available for dodging a body blow is a quick backstep.
The six different boxers are named as follows. Mad Joe, Quasi, Roland, Mik Hail, Ronald and Jef. Included in the packa-
26 AMTIX December 1985
ging is a handy booklet detailing tne weaknesses and strengths of the various contenders. The first five boxers all have their weak-nesses but Jef, boxer number six, seems to be pretty near perfect and is almost unbeatable.

Control keys:
Player 1: W/A hook head/body;
A/S face block/uppercut;
WA/SZ jab head/body;
AZ/WS jab body/ head;

Player 2 uses different combinations of keys.

CRITICISM

Boxing games seem to be this year's answer to last
year's craze for platform games. Artisoft's attempt to jump on the bandring is quite creditable, the impressive graphics coupled with the convincing 3D make 3D Boxing immediately playable. Things begin to fall down once you start playing the game seriously. When up against a really good opponent, ou can end up playing for up to een rounds which can get a bit dull. The joystick control works quite well and you'll soon find it quite easy to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Despite the high standard of graphics and easy control there's still no getting away from the game's perpetual dullness and why it has been launched under Amsoft Gold I'll never know.
^Yeah, what a great idea. Let's put someone into a coma, only in a boxing game. I have to admit, boxing games are a bit dull as far as I'm concerned. There's nothing new and exciting in the way of screens; just more deadly opp-onents to battle. If you like the idea of slugging it out for several rounds with acceptably animated characters, then you could find this game to your liking. There are no absolutely damning flaws in the game. But there is little long term appeal in these sophisticated forms of fisticuffs and I suspect they will all soon fall into oblivion, which, to be honest is where I think they belong.
30 Boxing is in an unfortunate situation. As a game, it isn't really that bad, even if it is lacking a little in depth. The problem is that being on the 'Gold' label, people may well expect it to be better than the norm and the plain fact is — it isn't! The characters look terribly elastic and the 3D effect fas you may have guessed) is out of perspective. It does respond well to the joystick, but this isn't that much of a saving grace. I had hoped tor something more. There is a sense of achi-evement first time you win a bout, but after that the whole affair sinks to the level of repet-itive tedium. Even the names of the other boxers aren't that imaginative. Not a total failure for boxing addicts.

Presentation 71%
Usual Amsoft mundane package.

Graphics 82%
The men may look slightly elastic but they are well animated.

Sound 61%
There isn't much you can do with sound on this kind of game — so Amsoft didn't try.

Playability 62%
Learning to make the right move at the right time is going to take a while.

Addictive qualities 53%
Boxing has had its heroes but none of them are likely to be seen on the Amstrad

Value for money 54%
For the amount of game you get, if s a bit much at the price.

Overall 69%
The variety and speed form the main saving graces of this game.