Punch-Out is back for a new generation of gamers and one that should readily appreciate just how fun, exciting and addicting a game like this can be. The first two installments were released originally on the NES and SNES, but the series never really continued from there until this year on Nintendo's little motion-sensing console! The charm, spirit and challenge are all intact and ready to give you the old one-two punch that only 'fun' can.

Little Mac and Doc Louis are back. The 5' 7" 107 lb kid from the Bronx and his chocolate obsessed trainer are ready to take on the world, starting with Glass Joe. A lot of people tend to love the underdog. There is something particularly exciting about seeing some young up and comer handle the big boys and be crowned champ. But Punch-Out!! lets you experience that for the entire time you play through. Little Mac doesn't look like the kind of person that should be allowed to walk alone at night let alone legally enter a boxing ring against beasts like King Hippo, but that's part of the joy. You are this little guy and you are going to dole out a whooping to anyone that comes your way, or more likely earn a whooping or two first but that's besides the point.

There isn't much story to Punch-Out!!, you are simply Little Mac and you have spent your time training and are ready to fight in the ring. The game doesn't set much up for you; you just enter the first fight and begin. The gameplay is very pattern-based making Punch-Out!! unlike any other fighting game out there. In fact, some might even call it more of a puzzle game. You dodge, duck, and punch. There isn't much else to it. What makes the game exciting is every unstoppable opponent you face off against, with the exception of Glass Joe.

The other boxers have their own sets of attacks, and while much of it is pattern-based you should be aware that they do mix up the patterns all the time. So instead of focusing on your opponent's patterns you have to focus on their movements. What are they going to do so that you can read their moves and find an opening or create an opening? That's the name of the game. The match may start out with your opponent using the same patterns but as you continue fighting him he will mix things up, and in many cases use some one-hit KO moves. You cannot slack off in Punch-Out!!, you have to be aware during the entire fight. Even if you knock your foe down, keep Little Mac punching the air since it will recover stamina so he can fight longer when the other boxer gets up.

As for the game's cast of loony fighters, they are absolutely fantastic and breathe character and life into the game. Seeing these cartoon-like graphics and each gargantuan (some of them practically fill up the whole screen) opponent act in their own unique and silly manner during the fights makes them so exciting. The fighters are like over-exaggerated racial caricatures but no one should find them offensive, they are all in good humor and work wonderfully for the game. Nor does Punch-Out!! discriminate since it clearly has a hand in putting up some wonderfully silly characters from anywhere, whether it's a fighter from Hollywood, Japan, India or Canada, the game's cast of characters simply rock and do a wonderful job of making Little Mac seem so endearing and Doc Louis look like a crazy chocoholic.

The characters all sound excellent as well and the punches landed sound authentic to the feel of the game. The music is also wonderfully catchy. However, there isn't much to the game's graphics aside from the characters, nor is their much to the sound aside from the characters. However, it also makes those characters seem so much better than they should. The entirety of the gameplay is focused on you and your opponent, so it makes sense to focus the graphics and sound on that as well, and it really helps make Punch-Out!! not only one of the best looking Wii games, but also a game that would look good even on the more powerful consoles.

Punch-Out is challenging. There's no other way of putting it, this game will beat you if you hail from the impatient, button-mashing group of gamers. It takes patience, dedication and practice to make it through the game's various tiers. Long time Punch-Out fans should have no trouble getting through the game's cast of thirteen fighters, but newcomers will find each victory to be blissfully rewarding. However, the game doesn't stop there. Once you become the champ you have to defend your title. Title Defense is going to be what old-time fans have been craving for years. The other fighters are all sore that you beat them and they want payback. They are tougher and more resilient and their new tactics might just cause you to even lose to Glass Joe, and no one loses to Glass Joe.

But Punch-Out is like a buffet of gaming goodness since it doesn't stop there. The real meat of the game comes, surprisingly, from Exhibition. Every fighter you defeat is available in Exhibition. But it isn't the fact that you get to fight these guys at any time you want, it's the challenges that are waiting for you. Each fighter will have three different challenges that vary not only from challenge to challenge but also from fighter to fighter. Some challenges are easy, like landing every punch you throw without have them blocked, while others are a bit more challenging, like knocking King Hippo's crown off of his head before knocking him out. There is tremendous replay value here, and the game will keep just about anyone occupied.

Punch-Out!! also incorporates a multiplayer mode, but it simply isn't very good. It amounts to two boxers in a ring throwing punches at each and if one gets angry enough they'll become an Incredible Hulk version of Little Mac and destroy the other guy. It is creative in concept but is overall unnecessary. Punch-Out!! may technically be a single-player game but it truly shines in a party setting when everyone is taking turns fighting and losing, throwing out advice and laughing, and generally having a good time at watching people come so close to winning and then losing it all. Punch-Out!! is in a sense a better party game than the many multiplayer games out there since even the people not playing become emotionally involved in what's going on.

As with many recent Wii games there are various control options to choose from. Punch-Out!! lets you use either the Wii remote held sideways on it's own or to fight with motion controls using the remote and Nunchuk attachment. Both of these options are also compatible with the Balance Board. While holding the Wii remote sideways is probably the most accurate way of playing, the most fun way is easily using the motion controls. I myself have never told anyone who has come over to play the game about the other control options simply because they aren't as engaging. When the motion controls are used people just get into it. They start moving their feet, ducking when they make Little Mac duck, bobbing side to side, and literally putting their entire body into the punches they throw. In fact, that control option alone is what makes Punch-Out!! so engaging as a party game. It's a marvelous way of playing and there simply isn't enough praise that can be said about the controls.

Wonderful motion controls, an endearing cast of characters, and excellent gameplay make Punch-Out!! one of the year's best. If you own a Wii you owe it to yourself to play this game.

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