(Move) The Fight: Lights Out

Its going to hurt...

Posted 2 years ago By - Jay Acevedo

When Sony revealed its first Move games, The Fight: Lights Out (previously known as Motion Fighters) was my most awaited title for the fledgling tech. Matter of fact, it was THE Move game. Its gritty, dirty, mature feel with a far more interesting motion-controlled application than what the Wii brings. Putting it alongside the Wii line-up like Punch-Out! and Wii Sports’ Boxing...well...they paled by comparison. Then E3 ‘10 came and the 10 minute demo with what seemed to be an early build turned out to be the most disappointing moment at the expo.

After that, my comments and expectations towards The Fight were more reserved. Needless to say, I was willing to give the game a second chance. However, the experience repeated itself at the Sony Holiday Event a few weeks ago. At that point, my thoughts became clear: either the final build was going to be perfect or a total mess. Let’s give it a third chance. Now that I’ve spent a serious amount of hours trying to understand it and give it as much attention as possible, I must say that Coldwood Interactive’s first foray into motion-controlled gaming is a disappointment. However, I blame the Playstation Eye, not the game.

You see, Fight: Lights Out requires a calibration procedure prior to each fight, which I didn’t really mind. However, the Playstation Eye does a poor job at evaluating your surroundings in order to give you the best set-up possible. Of all the lighting and background set-ups I’ve tried, none of them let me pass the Average mark. I even had to turn-off the head tracking option altogether because the Eye was simply unable to track it correctly. Surprisingly, despite the numerous calibration issues, the game ended up being playable; but quickly became excruciating as well. One time my arms were too far away. Another time they were too close. My pugilist was no longer responding to my body commands and the red light on the camera kept blinking, telling me that I was either out of range or completely out of sync. So you can imagine how difficult moving around, blocking and landing accurate punches was against a CPU fighter who constantly attacks with precise hard hits and quickly steps away to avoid counter-attacks.

What is the game actually about? Well, right after Duke (your outspoken trainer played by Machete’s Danny Trejo) guides you through the basics, you create your fighter and battle opponents one after another. Each win will net you cash to be spent in different ways as well as character upgrade points. Beating boss characters will also unlock special “dirty” moves such as headbutts, grabs and spinning punches. Boosters - which further improve your fighting skills - can also be acquired by unlocking Trophies. Hitting the training room and spending time punching the good old speed bag or sparing against a dude will grant you extra skill points. Confident? Then bet on your match for more kablinky. But in all honesty, with the game having so many troubles adjusting itself and trying hard to keep you interested, I wouldn’t be surprised if you eventually stop caring. There’s also an online multiplayer mode but I’m not going to spend time describing the experience. Seriously, one word says it all: boring. If you play with a friend, there’s some fun to be had, but I’m not seeing the competitive gamer having a blast. Bad PS Eye calibration + online lag = an even more painful experience.

As I’ve pointed out earlier on, The Fight: Lights Out has a distinctive - and somewhat appealing - monochrome look with some decent character models. The only colors you will see is the red blood on your opponent face...if you manage to punch him hard of course. The soundtrack and environmental sounds are okay but for a game like this, it was rather surprising to see such a small emphasis on the trash talking and crowd noises.

Would I still recommend it? Yes, but with a big warning sticker. While many label The Fight: Lights Out as a “punching” game, I’ve realized that it was more than that. It will make you break a sweat and will test the most obscure upper body muscles. Okay, the PS3 already has Get Fit with Mel B and EA Sports Active. But since there are some macho guys that could potentially lose their manhood if they’re caught flexing and stretching (I’m just saying...there might be), The Fight: Lights Out suddenly becomes an alternative. Provided that you’ve clearly understood that there’s no way you can get proper satisfaction out of the gameplay and that you already own a second Move controller. Forty dollars for a decent workout, not too shabby. As I’m writing this review, my upper body has been aching for the past three days and my office now has a distinctive Tiger Balm scent to it that my wife can’t bear. It definitely feels good to see how many calories I’ve burned after a fight. I’ll give the game that.

Conclusion

The Fight: Lights Out isn’t a bad game per say. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed my time with it. Yet, seeing all this potential go to waste, makes me a sad fella. If it wasn’t for the outdated Playstation Eye camera, this game could have been so much better. A killer app even...a thing Sony’s new platform desperately needs.

The only “potentially great” Playstation Move game turns out to be the most disappointing of all. No wait, that spot is still held by Kung-Fu Rider. Did you fell my heart breaking into million pieces at one point during my review? I’m still gluing it back together...