Knockout Kings 2001

Knockout Kings 2001 is a boxing video game developed by EA Sports. The third installment in the Knockout Kings series, the game was released for PlayStation on October 31, 2000, and later for PlayStation 2 on February 5, 2001. Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley appear on the North American cover, while the European cover features Lennox Lewis.

Knockout Kings 2001
North American PlayStation 2 box art featuring Oscar De La Hoya (left) and Shane Mosley (right)
Developer(s)Black Ops Entertainment
Publisher(s)EA Sports
SeriesKnockout Kings
Platform(s)PlayStation, PlayStation 2
ReleasePlayStation
  • NA: October 31, 2000[1]
  • EU: November 23, 2000
PlayStation 2
  • NA: February 7, 2001[2]
  • EU: March 9, 2001
Genre(s)Boxing
Mode(s)Single-player, 2 players

Gameplay

Knockout Kings 2001 features a roster of 40 boxers, increased from the 25 featured in Knockout Kings 2000.[3] Alongside retired boxers like Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, the game also featured contemporary boxers like Lennox Lewis and Shane Mosley. It is the only game in the series to feature female boxers, which included Mia St. John, Christy Martin, Lucia Rijker, and Regina Halmich. Commentary during in-game matches was provided by Al Bernstein, Max Kellerman and Teddy Atlas, while Mills Lane and Richard Steele were featured as the referees. Jimmy Lennon Jr. was featured as the ring announcer. In the European version, the commentary was instead provided by Harry Carpenter, Barry McGuigan and Ian Darke.

The ability for the player to create their own character was retained from the previous game. Alongside standard moves such as jabs, uppercuts, and roundhouse punches, the player can also perform "dirty" moves against opponents including low punches, elbows and head butts.[4]

Reception

The game received positive reviews from critics.

John Gaudiosi of Next Generation said that while the PlayStation version was "a good boxing game, it's still not as good as it could be. Also, if you played KK2000, you won't find much of a difference."[11] Rob Smolka of the same magazine later said of the PS2 version, "Honoring the strategy of boxing as much as the ferocity, this should enthrall fans of the sport."[12]

Lawsuit

In March 2004, Alexis Argüello filed a lawsuit against Electronic Arts, Nintendo, and Sony regarding his appearance in both Knockout Kings 2000 and Knockout Kings 2001. He alleged that his likeness and identity were put into the games without his permission.[13]

References
  1. I. G. N. Staff (2000-11-01). "Woo, What a Knockout!". IGN. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  2. I. G. N. Staff (2001-02-08). "PlayStation 2 Knockout Kings Ships Today". IGN. Archived from the original on 2023-04-23. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  3. "PlayStation 2 Knockout Kings Ships Today". IGN. February 7, 2001. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  4. "Knockout Kings 2001 – Cheats". GameFAQs. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  5. "Knockout Kings 2001". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  6. "Knockout Kings 2001". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  7. "Knockout Kings 2001 Review". Archived from the original on 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  8. "Knockout Kings 2001 Review". Archived from the original on 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  9. "Knockout Kings 2001 - IGN". Archived from the original on 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2019-10-09 – via www.ign.com.
  10. "Knockout Kings 2001 - IGN". 9 February 2001. Archived from the original on 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2019-10-09 – via www.ign.com.
  11. Gaudiosi, John (January 2001). "Knockout Kings 2001 (PS)". Next Generation. No. 73. Imagine Media. p. 106. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  12. Smolka, Rob (April 2001). "Knockout Kings 2001 (PS2)". Next Generation. No. 76. Imagine Media. p. 78. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  13. Colker, David (March 29, 2004). "Ex-Boxer Is Making a Comeback -- in Court". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2021.(subscription required)


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