FaceBreaker (T)

Cartoon-y boxing game is no knockout.

(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)

About Our Ratings

Common Sense rates it

Played the game?

details

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genre: Video Games - Fighting
Release Date: 09/03/2008
Online Enabled: Yes
ESRB Rating: T
ESRB Explanation: Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Price: $49.99

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that this arcade boxing game is a parody, with bodies flying in the air after a bombastic punch. Yet the game does encourage you to pummel your opponents incessantly. And one of the power-ups you can earn is a finishing move that allows you to actually break your opponent's face. One of the characters, a dreadlocked Jamaican named VooDoo in a skull mask, could be considered a negative stereotype instead of an over-the-top caricature. Women are shown in tight outfits and look ditzy. The online aspect lets you download any picture and add it to a boxer as their face, or create your own boxer and upload it to share -- which means kids will find all sorts of boxers, including one with Hitler's face.

Families can talk about how the boxing in this game does not reflect boxing in real life. Families can also discuss whether the caricatured characters are racist or simply humorous. Why do you think the game portrays women as ditzy?

Message
Violence
Sex
Language

Message

Social Behavior:

Some of the boxers behave badly, but in a humorous way. And some over-the-top caricatures might be considered negative stereotypes instead, including a dreadlocked Jamaican named VooDoo who wears a skull mask.

Consumerism:

Lots of press upon release about Kim Kardashian from the show Keeping Up with the Kardashians playing a character in the game.

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Educational Value:

Violence

While it's cartoon-y and meant to be comic, faces and bodies do get busted up badly and players are encouraged to pummel opponents incessantly. A finishing move allows players to break an opponent's face.

Sex

Women in the game wear tight, revealing outfits.

Language

Mild cursing of the "damn" variety.

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Harold Goldberg

Bang! Pow! Ouch! FACEBREAKER isn't a boxing simulation. Rather, it's an over-the-top, cartoon-y arcade game that recalls the classic games of Punch-Out!! and Ready 2 Rumble Boxing. There's no real story here, just a cast of boxing personalities that would make boastful promoter Don King seem like a quiet wallflower.

Boxing in FaceBreaker is super easy. You use the controller buttons to punch low and high and to parry punches. Pummel your opponent incessantly and you'll get power-ups. The first, GroundBreaker, just adds stronger punches. The second, SkyBreaker, sends your sorry prey flailing into the air. The third, FaceBreaker, is a finishing move that contorts the face of your foe, more in a Popeye way than in a real-life way. Yet the characters are unbalanced and button mashers will win over careful players.

Is it any good?

This game could have been rated four stars, but it lacks the necessary depth. Its online play is thankfully seamless and adds a fun aspect to the gameplay. You can add your photo or any celebrity photo to a boxer that you, yourself create. Imagine the possibilities: Palin versus Biden or Obama versus McCain. You just upload a photo and the game adds a 3D element, just as in the Tiger Woods PGA games. It's a brilliant addition, one that gets better because you can share your creation online.