Game of the Day - Title Fight

Ding ding.  Time to fight.  I apologize for not loving Title Fight earlier.  I hadn't played it and didn't realize it was a dual joystick controlled game.  As you might know if you've read the blog before, I am the Duke of Dual Joysticks (DDJ for short).  Of course, Title Fight is different in controls than Robotron or Black Widow or the like, because you are using the DJ to beat the living crap out of somebody.  The controls work great...  Essentially, the left JS is your left hand and the right JS is your right hand.  But the combination of moving the JS in all directions lead to all kinds of punches (and blocks).  For instance, if you push both JS in toward each other, you cover up by putting both your gloves in front of your face.  If you move one JS from down to up quickly - you throw an uppercut.  Moving the JS to the outside and up (or something close to that) throws a hook.  You'll see all the possibilities when you start wailing away on the opponent's head and trying to break your joysticks off the control panel.

The match can be a little claustrophobic because there is no way to move your boxer.  It all happens from your over-the-shoulder 3rd person perspective a la Punch-Out.  You are even represented by a see-thru outline just like Punch-Out.  But in Punch-Out, you move around with the JS and use the buttons to punch.  Here, it's all about the joysticks emulating your hands.  My nickname is "Joysticks of Steel".  By the way, speaking of joysticks, if you are knocked down, you can get up and recover more health by moving the JS left and right quickly.

Of course, like other boxing games, you have to win to continue.  You can win by KO or win a decision after a 3 minute round.  For me so far, the game is tough.  I haven't played a lot, but I will soon - gotta get the championship belt

The last point I'll make is how well this game plays if you have an Xbox 360 controller (preferably wireless) as part of your MAME setup.  The two analog stick make great replacements for the JS and you can throw punches faster and in better combos.  If you don't have a wireless Xbox controller as part of your setup, get one (you can read my speech about it here).  In fact, get 2 of them.  Title Fight is a split screen game and plays great mano a mano.  Two Xbox controllers should make for a classic donnybrook.