Game Reviews

Tower Boxing

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Tower Boxing
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| Tower Boxing

Building boxing could be the next big reality TV show, once we've all had our fill of Celebrity Diving, and Dancing With Dogs, and Uzbek Idol, and any other crazy ways that the C-list have discovered to keep the spotlight on themselves a few minutes longer.

If Tower Boxing is any measure of entertainment value, that trite reality show could actually be a lot of fun to watch.

Beat your building

That said, your first few minutes with Tower Boxing might not be as engaging as you'd hope. But stick with it for a few minutes more.

It's an utterly crackpot concept, and perhaps that's part of the reason it takes a little perseverance to connect with it. The game falls into the ultra-niche genre of city-destroying games like the sensational monster mash Rampage, and the lesser known, but equally fun Chewits-sponsored The Muncher. There might be others, but we can't think of any right now.

Tower Boxing casts you as a boxing-gloved behemoth, out to bring down an endless skyscraper. The controls are incredibly simple - directional buttons let you switch to the left or the right of the building to take out a storey.

And that's about it. Smash left and right, or stay on the same side of the building and bash away as quickly as possible. The trick is to keep punching without the building fighting back.

There's an energy bar/timer at the top of the screen, which is minutely refilled each time you destroy a floor of the building. So you need to keep punching, and punching fast, to keep the bar from depleting.

Mind your head

So why even switch sides? Because Tower Boxing's procedurally generated high rise blocks are riddled with balconies, and bringing the building down on your own head ends the game.

Switching to the opposite side is how you avoid the overhangs, and it also lets you snatch coins that you can use to unlock new characters.

This is where the game's challenge stems from. The speed you you need to destroy the building at gives you almost no time to watch out for the floor above. It's also where the game's only frustration is to be found.

If you switch to a side that has a balcony at ground level, you're crushed beneath it, even though it feels more like you should have destroyed that storey before the terrace could have posed a danger.

Perhaps the game would be too easy if this was the case, but it doesn't change the fact that it feels like a flawed mechanic.

It's ultimately forgivable, thanks to Tower Boxing's fantastic pixelated artwork and even more enjoyable chiptune music and sound effects.

Throw in the odd wry pop culture nod in the building's design, and you've got a great arcade game that takes no effort to enjoy.

Tower Boxing

Perhaps a little too fast and superficial to become a new habit, Tower Boxing is furiously entertaining and difficult, for a short while at least
Score
Spanner Spencer
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.