Knockout Home Fitness – Review
When we saw the original announcement for Knockout Home Fitness, we were struck by that deja vu feeling, as if we recently already reviewed this title. We first thought it was just another rendition of the recently-reviewed Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise, but we soon noticed that this was a completely new title. That being said, within this specific genre there is not that much wiggle room to create something brand new. Where Fitness Boxing 2 focused heavily on the boxing aspect, Knockout Home Fitness tries to add some other moves to the repertoire, which is a nice touch. Sadly, it then ends up neglecting many of the customization aspects that were a lot of fun in Fitness Boxing 2.
Story
The game is void of any story content, and will only provide you with a handful of different trainers to choose from; provided you make enough progress to unlock them. Other than that, you’ll have to make up your own story.
Graphics
Graphically the game isn’t all that flashy. You’ll have your own personal trainer on-screen, backed up by a few other random characters going through the motions. The character models in Fitness Boxing 2 and Knockout Home Fitness are very similar, and this is mainly because of the somewhat undetailed look of the trainers. Other than that, most of the menus are very simplistic and clear, as well as the backdrops during your training sessions. It’s all very functional, but never truly plays around with customization options. Nonetheless, clarity is key here, and the developers succeed in creating a proper overview of your progress and the available training exercises. We did find move prompts a bit more clear in Fitness Boxing 2, as these would literally appear on either the left or right side when having to do a move on each respective side. In Knockout Home Fitness the prompts show up via a single line, and the prompt that tells you what specific move to perform will be colored on either its left or right side. The latter will indicate on which side the move should be executed.
Sound
The sound design is fairly okay, and the voiced trainers motivate you to make it through your (short) training sessions. The music itself is upbeat enough to be enjoyable and serves as a slight booster to get you in the mood to throw some punches and kicks. As you progress, you’ll unlock a few more background tunes to play during your routines.
Gameplay
Knockout Home Fitness is, as you might have suspected, a fitness game where you’ll have to punch, kick, stretch and move around when instructed. The game will show a prompt when you have to pull off certain punches and kicks, or even guide you through stretching sessions. Knockout Home Fitness will throw an array of different moves at you, often not really explaining how certain moves work beforehand. You can of course visit the tutorial for all moves in the menu, but it would be somewhat convenient to see new moves before your planned training sessions.
The game is actually very straightforward and simple in what it has on offer. Outside of being able to unlock a few different backgrounds, trainers, and songs, you’ll be able to play your daily training and then opt for additional 3-minute challenges. The short exercises will be limited at first, but as you play more, you’ll unlock more options, making it easier to mix and match after a few days of playing the game. Overall, it’s a simple formula but an effective one. It has a bit less flair than Nintendo’s title, but it’s also a fair bit cheaper to buy this game, so it balances the scales again.
As mentioned in our review of Fitness Boxing 2, motion controls remain quite fickle. The game does allow you to do jabs for moves like elbow strikes or hooks, which allows you to cheat for moves you don’t like. Kicking also feels awkward, as some kicks will not require detection and are immediately approved during the prompt, while others require you to still move your hands to have them register. This is the case for when you have to thrust your knee upwards, as you are then required to lower your hands, otherwise, it will register as a miss and ruin your perfect score. Elbow strikes, even when doing them correctly, also have a lot of issues properly registering, which can also result in breaking your combo.
Conclusion
Is Knockout Home Fitness better than Nintendo-published Fitness Boxing 2? Not really. Is it worse? Also; not really. Both games have their own distinct style to motivate you to do some exercises at home, and both are actually quite equal in terms of quality. One may have more options in its unlockable cosmetic items, while the other throws you in the heat of your next training a bit quicker. Both have a unique UI, where one works better for one player than it does for another. Owning both games may be a bit too much, but we suggest looking up some gameplay and to make your decision based on the exercises, and perhaps the background music and UI. In all honesty, you cannot go wrong with any of these two titles. Knockout Home Fitness is a very amusing title to get you into shape, and it might teach you a few new moves as you unlock more routines.
Knockout Home Fitness - Review,
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