FaceBreaker

FaceBreaker
Developer(s)	EA Freestyle
Publisher(s)	EA Sports BIG
Platforms	Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
Release date(s)	Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 EU / NA: November 11, 2008 Wii
Genre(s)	Sports game
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

FaceBreaker (also titled FaceBreaker K.O. Party for the Wii version,) is a fighting game created by Fight Night developers, EA Canada. It was released for the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3 and was announced on January 30, 2008 by 1UP.com. The game was released on September 4, 2008. As of October 2008, the game has sold 52,000 units in Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 combined.. EA announced in January 2010 that they would be closing down online services for this game on February 2, 2010.

Gameplay

FaceBreaker has a "cartoony" artistic style (similar to Punch-Out!! and Ready 2 Rumble Boxing) and allows players to break their opponents faces as the game feature 'real-time facial deformation'. The game also uses the same face-capture technology as Tiger Woods PGA Tour to allow players to capture their own image using peripherals the Xbox Live Vision Camera and the PlayStation Eye. The game also contains a "Couch Royale" mode in which friends can compete in a tournament-type game mode.

Marketing

On February 9, 2008, GameTrailers released the World Premier Exclusive Debut trailer.

Soundtrack

. The Warrior's Code performed by Dropkick Murphys

Woman performed by Wolfmother

Street Signs performed by Ozomatli

Reception

Reviews
Review scores Publication Score EGM C- Game Informer 7.75/10 OXM 7.0/10

G4's X-Play gave the game a one out of five, citing the broken AI being so difficult to beat to the point where it makes the game basically unplayable. IGN.com rated it a 5 out of a 10. Game Informer however, gave it a rather positive 7.75 out of 10.

Aaron Thomas at gamespot.com gave the game a poor review, scoring it a 3.5/10. Thomas felt that the game featured, "cheap AI," "very few game modes," and "bad, button-mashing gameplay." He did say of the game that, "it looks pretty good, and the deep customization options mean you'll never want for new brawlers..." However, "unfortunately, there's nothing fun to do with your boxer."

Matt Cabral in his Xbox 360 review of the game for teamxbox was overall favorable, scoring it a 7/10. He said that, "the game actually becomes quite satisfying once you climb the steep learning curve." He did note of the games difficulty that, "while the controls aren’t complex, FB’s AI boxers give you little room, especially early on, to learn them. Their endless pummeling will leave many frustrated far too soon." He ultimately stated that, "there’s no question FB has style to spare... those willing to put up with the early beatings will find lots to enjoy both offline and over Xbox Live."

Games in the series

FaceBreaker

FaceBreaker (Demo)

FaceBreaker K.O. Party

External links

• Official website