“Will you go down in history?” It’s a simple enough question, and can be asked relative to just about anything. But in the world of boxing, a world where the actual sport is only 50% of its overall focus and subsequent draw, that question can mean life or death. Well, maybe not death in the traditional sense, but death in the sense of branding, or at least of not managing to brand yourself a contender for the “annals of boxing history”, as Don King himself will tell you.

And he will tell us. That’s one of the main draws for 2K Sports’ newest title, Don King Presents: Prizefighter – not only does the game carry Don King’s name in the title, it carries his personality, his charisma and his history with the sport. Only not in the way you think it might.

“This is something that has never been done in videogames before,” expresses Prizefighter executive producer, Matthew Seymour, as he explains how the game’s Story Mode plays out. Turns out, instead of just training and becoming number one, Prizefighter is presented as a pseudo sports documentary outlining your life as a boxer. So, alongside Don King, other big players such as Mario Van Peebles, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes and more join in to chime about your rise to stardom. It’s an interesting idea and fits in with the depth and creative element of the game’s Career Mode that sees you crafting the sort of boxer you want to be from the ground up.

Seymour ran us through the profundity of the game’s create-a-character option, which from a demonstration point-of-view, still looked mighty meaty. You obviously have your three main classes, Feather, Middle and Heavy Weight and a variety of options with each. You can create the loudest shorts you like (which are animated with 2K’s signature cloth system), have whatever skin colour you like, body type, tattoos and more. You’ll be able to take your character online for full bouts, but you can also create another seven boxers to have as part of your stable. If you’re a fan of any of the active boxers on the roster or the 10 legends packed within, you can forget your created monstrosities and use any of the licensed guys online as well.

Part of the customisation of your characters comes in the form of a virtual gym. Within, you’ll be able to play a series of mini-games (both on and offline) that go towards making your character[s] better boxers and athletes all round (or by proving you’re the best with an online leaderboard for each of the fitness games which include a rhythm-based jump rope mini game, the speed ball, punching bag, shuttle run and more).

Above that, you’ll also be forced to face certain challenges based on actual stories and supposed legends told by the best in the business (including Don King himself) such as boxing with a busted hand (meaning you’ll have to attempt to win with your good hand), gaining a knock out to thwart a biased judge or to even deal with having your vision blurred (inspired by the urban legend Ali had to face with the same thing).

All of these challenges are written dynamically into your rise to the top and are equally talked about by the many stars and legends who make up your “gameumentary” (yep, I just coined that).

We’re told there’ll be some 80 boxers of which 30 are licensed, current fighters (including Australia’s own Vic Darchinyan) while there are 10 legends (with the likes of the aforementioned Larry Holmes, Ken Norton as well as James “Cinderella Man” Braddock, among others) which leaves another 40 unaccounted for. Given the game is being developed by Venom, who brought us Rocky 1 and 2, it would be cool to see The Italian Stallion make it in there, but that’s likely just wishful thinking. Still, 40 is a rather large number, it will be interesting to see how they flesh out the 80 figure.

From legends and current fighters, you'll also be able to 'stick and move' in some of the most well-known rings and arenas in the boxing world. Currently we’re aware of Madison Square Garden, Trump Taj Mahal and Boardwalk Hall as well as a number of fight gyms and the like. 2K Sports and Venom have done a lot to make this experience as close to the real thing as possible, beyond the physical act of boxing, by also bringing in the glitz and the glamour, which can be seen through the magnitude of just a handful of the fight environments.

Speaking of “real thing”, commentators Emmanuel Stewart and Jim Lampley (HBO Boxing) make up the on-the-fly audio colour for added authenticity.

After being run through the game (in presentation form) by Seymour, yours truly squared it up in the ring with a bunch of wannabe heroes from the Aussie gaming journo league, including IGNs Narayan Pattison, who I’m not afraid to say can talk it up with the best of them. If it were down to trash talking at a weigh in, he’d be the clear leader, the world over. Unfortunately for Naz, he tends to run his mouth a little too early in the game and I showed him what life growing up on the streets outside of AusGamers Gym is all about. (Actually, it was a pretty even affair, but I did finish him up good in the early throwings of our constant match-ups).

The controls at first felt a little mechanical, with less of an emphasis on organic free-form movement. The more we played and worked out our combinations though, the more fluid it all became. It’s still not as easy to play as Fight Night 3, but it’s close, and like Top Spin 3, more likely a case of having to have some serious time with the game.

You can hit left or right hooks high, or work the mid section in the same manner. There’s left and right jabs and connecting combinations, jabs and hooks will work toward building up an adrenalin meter. Once the meter has enough points, you can attempt to perform a “Signature Blow” that has been modelled off most of the real-life players, or, if it’s your own character, added from a list by you.

Player faces get more and more battered down with each round, and the sweat and fatigue looked absolutely stunning (almost too real in some instances). Camera flashes along with ring lights look amazing against the insanely detailed player models and when they do sweat, each bead glistens on their bodies making you feel like you’ve just gone the actual rounds you have.

Still, I felt there was something missing from the product, which I’m hoping we’ll be able to find once we have more extensive time with the game. The Career Mode coupled with the awesome online stuff looks as though it will keep this game alive for quite some time though, which in itself is a good thing, and I’m also keen to see just how creative Venom and Seymour have been with the gameumentary style narrative as well. We’ll have a Q&A with the executive producer up tomorrow, as well as a few words from Aussie representative, Vic Darchinyan, so stay tuned for more Don King Presents: Prizefighter right here on AusGamers.