Bush vs. Kerry Boxing
Encyclopedia
Bush vs. Kerry Boxing is a boxing
video game developed and published by Sorrent for mobile phones
. It was released in North America on August 22, 2004.
The game allows the player to choose to play as either George W. Bush
or John Kerry
to fight out the 2004 United States presidential election
; the candidate chosen must fight through a number of preliminary rounds against the opponent's supporters in order to eventually fight the opposing candidate. Bush vs. Kerry Boxing garnered mostly positive reviews from critics. As of 2009, Bush vs. Kerry Boxing has received a 75.5% from GameRankings.
boxing
game; the game is seen from behind the player's gloves. The game's view is filled by the opponent, as they dodge, punch, and counter against the player. Both the player and the opponent have a stamina meter, which as they perform actions is slowly drained. The character is KO'd
after the stamina meter runs out unless the player can press the 0 button on the phone enough times to make a recovery.
Bush vs. Kerry Boxing features many prominent politicians from around the time of the 2004 Presidential election. The game gives the player the choice between playing as George W. Bush
or John Kerry
, the two main candidates from the 2004 United States presidential election
. The opponents the player faces change depending on which candidate he chooses to fight with; if the player chooses Bush, the player faces Democratic
opponents such as John Edwards
and Ted Kennedy
, while if the player chooses Kerry, the player faces Republican
opponents such as Donald Rumsfeld
and Dick Cheney
. Hillary Clinton
is the game's referee
, and Ralph Nader
is the ring girl
.
The game contains a national polling system, which tracks online how many times each candidate is beaten by players. The game keeps track of both local and national results.
's Steve Palley felt that the game struck up a good balance between humor and gameplay. IGN
's Levi Buchanan thought that the game was a "great goof".
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
video game developed and published by Sorrent for mobile phones
Mobile game
A mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, tablet computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable....
. It was released in North America on August 22, 2004.
The game allows the player to choose to play as either George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
or John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
to fight out the 2004 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
; the candidate chosen must fight through a number of preliminary rounds against the opponent's supporters in order to eventually fight the opposing candidate. Bush vs. Kerry Boxing garnered mostly positive reviews from critics. As of 2009, Bush vs. Kerry Boxing has received a 75.5% from GameRankings.
Gameplay
Bush vs. Kerry Boxing is for the most part a re-purposing of another Sorrent boxing title, Fox Sports Boxing, with election characters instead of more standard pugilists. The game is a first personFirst person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
game; the game is seen from behind the player's gloves. The game's view is filled by the opponent, as they dodge, punch, and counter against the player. Both the player and the opponent have a stamina meter, which as they perform actions is slowly drained. The character is KO'd
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
after the stamina meter runs out unless the player can press the 0 button on the phone enough times to make a recovery.
Bush vs. Kerry Boxing features many prominent politicians from around the time of the 2004 Presidential election. The game gives the player the choice between playing as George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
or John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, the two main candidates from the 2004 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
. The opponents the player faces change depending on which candidate he chooses to fight with; if the player chooses Bush, the player faces Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
opponents such as John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
and Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
, while if the player chooses Kerry, the player faces Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
opponents such as Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
and Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
. Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
is the game's referee
Referee (boxing)
The referee in the boxing is the individual charged with enforcing the rules of that sport during a match.-The role of the referee:Referees have the following roles:*Gives instructions to both boxers before the fight...
, and Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
is the ring girl
Ring girl
A ring girl is the common name for a woman who enters the ring between rounds of a combat sport event such as boxing, kickboxing, or mixed martial arts, carrying a sign that displays the number of the upcoming round.-Boxing:...
.
The game contains a national polling system, which tracks online how many times each candidate is beaten by players. The game keeps track of both local and national results.
Reception
Bush vs. Kerry Boxing garnered positive reaction from critics who praised the game's humor and light-hearted approach to the election; it received a 75.5% from GameRankings. GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Steve Palley felt that the game struck up a good balance between humor and gameplay. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Levi Buchanan thought that the game was a "great goof".