We reviewed Creed Rise to Glory on PSVR back in September 2018. With the release of a new movie, Creed III, Rise to Glory has been upgraded to the Championship Edition, featuring a new campaign, new fitness modes, new arenas, and new fighters to entice newcomers to the franchise.
A new, hour-long campaign called Legacy adds a similar gameplay loop to the original story. Running on a treadmill, beating up a dummy, hitting pads with your trainer, and striking and avoiding a ballbag will all be part of your training. You gain stamina by completing these tasks faster and more accurately. As you punch out, Rocky will make an appearance in the ring with an opponent from the new movie. After each fight, you’ll need to train again to determine your stamina for the next fight, so this formula continues throughout the campaign. Despite being enjoyable to play, it’s repetitive and exhausting.
Although the PSVR2 provides improved visuals, we still found ourselves having occasional issues with its improved hand tracking. In quick punches, our hands would get caught or not return to their resting position in time to throw the next one. Even though it’s an improvement over the old PS Move controller, it’s also disappointing that headset haptics aren’t available. You constantly take hits to the head in boxing, so you would expect this feature to be utilised, but it isn’t.
Apart from the two stories, Freeplay lets you pick and choose opponents or training minigames as you like. You can also compete online, or set yourself calorie or time goals to put your body through its paces. Creed can also be used as a form of daily exercise instead of a form of entertainment if you choose this option.
As a result of the addition of extra content, Creed Rise to Glory: Championship Edition improves on the controls, visuals, and content spread of its predecessor. The omission of headset haptics, short campaigns, and occasional tracking issues still keep it from being a knockout.
Pros:
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Boxing gameplay
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Modes are great
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Enhanced control
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Workout perfect
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Visual upgrades
Cons:
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Campaigns with short duration
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Tracking issues occasionally
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Harmless headset
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Slightly unstable
The overall score is 7 over 10.
