K-1 World Grand Prix is a realistic fighting game that allows you to choose from more than 20 real K-1 fighters and attempt to take them all the way to the World Grand Prix. Each fighter is modeled accurately and sports their real life counterpart’s signature moves. Konami went all out to try and make the game realistic by using real rings and fighters on this Playstation 2 title.

The replay value on K-1 is actually pretty high. The game features many unlockable modes and other fun stuff. After taking one of the fighters all the way through the Grand Prix mode, I was rewarded with a new costume, a new fighter, a new fighting mode, videos, and a toy block version of one of the fighters. So, as you can see, there are lots of things to unlock and lots of reasons to play the game with everybody.

There are quite a few ways to play K-1 World Grand Prix. The two main modes are Grand Prix and Champion’s Revolution. The Grand Prix mode follows your chosen fighter as he makes his way to the top and fights to become the champion of K-1. Champion’s Revolution mode is kind of like an RPG mode. You’re trainer will give you tips and help you along, you can train and rest between fights, and training will actually improve your fighter’s stats. There are even short little interviews after the fights that you can respond to.

Exhibition mode is a single fight for one or two players where you pick the fighters and the ring. Trial contains both Ironman Fight and Time Trial modes. Ironman is basically survival mode; you try and defeat as many opponents as you can. Time Trial mode times how long it takes you to defeat 12 opponents. Revival mode allows you to relive epic battles from K-1 history. Extra Games contains unlockable mini games that aren’t available right away.

The graphics in K-1 are great. Fighters are modeled and animated realistically, but some of the other people in the game such as trainers and the round girls don’t look quite as good. The fighters are very detailed and look just like the real life fighters they’re modeled after. A cool blur effect is used in the game when your or the other character is hit exceptionally hard, making a lot of the hits look real painful. There’s no doubt that during the game you’ll have some bone shaking knockouts.

K-1 is easy to get a hang of. There are buttons for right-punch, left-punch, left-kick, and right-kick and a button to block. It’s that simple. For more experienced players there are plenty of moves to learn for each fighter that will give you the advantage, but it’s not too tough to beat the game by button mashing.

The music in K-1 World Grand Prix includes rock music to get you pumped…and it isn’t too bad. You don’t really notice it, so it doesn’t get in the way at all. The cheering crowds and crushing blow sounds add to the experience. I got really involved with a lot of the fights partly because of the sound.

K-1 World Grand Prix is an excellent fighting game. I don’t play too many of the realistic fighting games, but this one was a lot of fun. The graphics are great and the hits are believable. The action can get really intense making for edge-of-your-seat fights. Paired with all the extras and fun stuff to unlock makes K-1 a fun game to play on your Playstation 2. 

Gameplay: 7.5
The fighting is easy to get a hang of with only four attack buttons. Characters have lots of moves each including signature moves. Each mode adds a new twist on the gameplay and is different enough to not feel like the same thing over and over. Sometimes Grand Prix mode can start feeling a little long, though.

Graphics: 8 
The fighter models are detailed and animated excellently. Even things like beads of sweat coming off of the fighter’s face when hit are there. Unfortunately the other characters aren’t as detailed, but you don’t see them that much anyway.

Sound: 7.6
Nothing spectacular, but nothing to complain about either. The sounds of the crowds and the hits definitely add to the experience, but it would be hard to screw those sounds up.

Difficulty: Easy
You can easily beat the game without learning a single move. All the moves are simple anyway – high punch is up+punch. If you want to learn the moves, they’re there, but it’s definitely not necessary.

Concept: 8 
Fighting games based on real championships are becoming more and more popular lately, and Konami went with one that no one thought of doing. They even got licensing and more than 20 real fighters.

Multiplayer: 8.2
There’s only one way to play multiplayer, but that doesn’t hurt it one bit. It’s really fun to play with another human, especially when the fights get really intense. Nothing beats virtually knocking out your best friend.

Overall: 7.8
K-1 World Grand Prix is a great addition to PS2’s growing library of realistic fighting games. Real fighters with real moves fighting in real rings; it’s like the Gran Turismo of fighting games. A few things could use slight improvement like the sound and the graphics, but with so much to unlock it should keep you busy for quite some time.