Real Steel: World Robot Boxing Review

While the movie "Real Steel" may not have been all that great, it certainly has made for a pretty good premise for a video game. After all, people would much rather control fighting Rock‘em Sock‘em robots than actually watch Hugh Jackman control one. The first Real Steel game enjoyed over 10 million downloads on the App Store, but what about its follow up, Real Steel: World Robot Boxing?

Real Steel: World Robot Boxing is a more refined version of the first game. Many of our favorite fighters from the movie and the first game return for the sequel, and the controls are made a little more transparent and look a lot cleaner.

However, there are some major differences from the original that users may not appreciate. The game is very heavy with in-app purchases, as well as limited in the amount of things players can do in a given time. To avoid some of the IAPs, they'll have to compete in Time Trials or Free Sparring, essentially grinding out for currency to upgrade their robot. There are also some features missing from the original, such as tag team boxing and creating one's own robot. Instead we have paint jobs, the only real customization one can do to their robot, which are nothing more than pre-determined schemes for a given fighter that offer a pay out bonus at the end of a fight.

Even with all those issues, however, Real Steel: World Robot Boxing is actually quite enjoyable. The presentation and cinematics might be a little silly, but they work with the nature of a Robot vs. Robot cage match. The graphics are surprisingly slick given the amount of animation within a fight; anything from a regular old punch to the finishing move render smoothly. Even the special punch, which is a quick time event that boils down to how fast one can tap on the screen, and offers a bit of a break from the norm mid fight, looks fantastic.

Real Steel: World Robot Boxing does exactly what one would expect it to do, giving players the fun and excitement of robot vs robot fisticuff action. It may not be the best game on the app store but that doesn't mean it isn't a fun experience, even if it did take some things away from the first Real Steel mobile game. Players will enjoy smashing the AI to bits, and even have the option to fight against friends in localized multiplayer. Even if they've never experienced the real Rock‘em Sock‘em robots, they'll agree that the mobile version is light years better.