The Fight: Lights Out Review

The Fight: Lights Out could’ve easily been a classic for the PlayStation 3, and the game that could truly show users what the PlayStation Move was all about. It’s a fighting game that relies more on real-time movement than bedazzling special attacks, projectile throwing or ridiculous combo attacks. In other words, it’s a lot like being in a fight club, only without the danger of feeling actual pain or shooting yourself in the mouth to kill your imaginary other self. So what’s stopping it from being said classic? Well, pretty much the fact that throughout each battle, you’re battling against the controls more than you are your opponent.

In The Fight, you’ll take on a number of opponents, including the Violator (no, not the one from the Spawn comics), the Preacher (no, not the one from the Preacher comics) and other lame-named brawlers. Most of these guys are forgettable chumps that you can take to the floor without a second thought, mainly due to their lack of personality. What’s more, none of them also have any memorable techniques, so you can easily read them and get your smack on.

At least you can when the controls work, that is. Half the time, The Fight relies on continuous recalibration, even more so than Sports Champions. Even when you do abide, the game still doesn’t work properly. Most of your dodges come from real-time movements, which are supposed to be read by the PlayStation Eye camera. But, surprise, it doesn’t catch all of this, and as a result, you’ll take an unnecessary pummeling from your foe. What’s worse, some of the game’s more complicated moves don’t work half the time, such as elbows or hard-hitting grab moves that put your opponent in a headlock and allow you to pound away. Only the lighter punches work, and, honestly, a fight club shouldn’t be about quick sissy hits. We want to pulverize someone.

Additionally, in order to get The Fight to work properly at all, you’re going to need two PlayStation Move controllers. Using only the one, your movements are read even less clearly, resulting in trying to win matches out of sheer luck. With two, it’s a little better, but the other problems still remain.

Sony attempted to go for a dark and dingy look with The Fight, making you feel like you were in a gritty urban setting. The only problem with that is that it’s too gritty for its own good. While the character designs are okay and the animations are life-like, the black-and-white settings never really change; you’ll quickly become bored as you fight in the same old places, trying to do the same old thing to the same old people. You’ll run into deja vu within a matter of minutes, rather than hours. And that’s a problem. The background music is okay, and the sound effects fit the bill, but the presentation as a whole just seems uninspired.

There are some bright moments that keep The Fight from being a total train wreck. First, the online functionality is pretty interesting. Along with taking on an opponent in online combat, observers can come in and place wagers on the fight, making (or losing) some money in the process. Also, the training videos are fun to watch, mainly because your trainer is played by Mr. Machete himself, Danny Trejo. He’s a bad-ass, like always, and he would’ve made a real difference if you could do some damage as Machete in the game. That would perk up this fight club in a hurry.

Back when we saw The Fight: Lights Out at GDC earlier this year, it had potential. Unfortunately, it’s waned away in the final release due to lackluster controls and dull visuals that fail to appeal. You might have some short-lived fun playing online, but otherwise, this game simply isn’t worth the struggle.