By James Carey Contender Victor Interactive SCEA Playstation I will never claim to have much more than a cursory knowledge of boxing. I've always thought that two guys get into a ring and punch the crap out of each other until one passes out. Contender surprised me with a few things. What was most interesting was that there are several really cool styles of play, some good realism and one mode of play reminded me of Rocky. Unfortunately, Contender doesn't quite have the same cheesy story line and quotes that made Rocky so memorable.
Contender has three different modes of play.
Tournament mode allows you to play a relatively strong boxer against the other characters of the game to get the title. If you lose, you have to start back at the beginning again. It really sucks when you get to the title fight and you get your butt K.O.ed in the first round. The Exhibition mode is where you can either play two players or one player vs. the computer. This mode is good because it's not imperative that you win a fight.