CREED: Rise to Glory, Sony, PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR, 711719522768

Got this as a Christmas gift for my son. Sounds like the disk is loose in the case but arrived early. Hasnt got to play it yet.

One of my favorite sports games that I use to play on the PS3 was EA Sports' Fight Night and although it wasn't perfect, it still was pretty good fun to work you way up to the championship. Unfortunately, it seems that series has been abandoned by EA as the last game was in 2011. So, I was looking to get my boxing game fix while at the same time in search of a game to enjoy with the new PSVR set that I got around the holiday. Graphically in VR, the game looks well done with both your opponents, the workout gym and the ring that you fight you matches in. Combine that with the realistic sounds of the matches and you almost feel like you are there. Game control to me feels slightly awkward as you use two move controls to walk and move in various directions. It took me a little bit of time to get use to controlling my boxer's movement in that way. For the most part, the controls are pretty responsive though. The gym training sessions help a bit though in learning the control scheme and is quite a workout as well. I was sweating after my trainer put me through the paces but this being repeated over and over for every match, quickly became tiresome and monotonous. There really isn't any kind of motivating story to go along with all the gym training, just get in there and hit that bag, etc… The boxing matches are fun, but tend to be more arcade-ish than the more realistic simulation that the Fight Night games tended to be. My biggest issue though is the game, like a lot of the VR games out so far, is really short. The career mode takes you as Creed through a quick movie-like career of opponents that felt far too brief for a boxing game. I really wish they had added a career mode similar to the Fight Night games, where you can be an unknown amateur and build you career through the amateur ranks into the professional ones on a quest to be a champion, that could be upwards of 40 or more matches against different opponents before you retire. If you like online PVP, you can do online matches, but for those that like solo campaign play, like me, this doesn't make this a title that I will play over and over. It is a promising start for a boxing game in VR and has its fun moments, but feels woefully short in campaign mode and lacks the depth that I would expect for a sports simulation. VR Game makers need to make their games feel more like a game than a glorified long demo and although this isn't quite to that level, it does lack a lot that could have made this a great boxing game. 3.5 stars