EA changed up a few things for
KK 2002, including the game modes. For this year's version, there are only three main modes: Exhibition, Tournament, and Career. With any of these modes, you can be one of 45 different boxers, and fight your way to glory. With Tournament, you basically set up a bracket, and keep fighting until you're the champ, or until you lose. The highlight of the game is obviously Career, where you can either select a boxer already on the game, or create your own. You then fight your way up the ranks, building up your attributes (Power, Speed, Stamina, Chin, Heart, and Cut) after each victory. However, if you lose three matches throughout your career, you'll end up retiring sooner than you'd like. By the way, you can also use your created boxer for either Exhibition or Tourney, but make sure he's suitable to fight, and not just a lame duck.
Gameplay itself, if you haven't already figured it out, is awesome beyond belief. This is a game you and your friends will be playing for hours on end, talking trash before, during, and after the match. There are so many different types of boxers, you'll have no trouble finding one that suits your fighting style. Maybe you want Ali, who will kill anybody that steps into the ring. Or maybe you want a challenge by taking Butterbean, somebody that can take a punch, but takes an hour to deliver one himself. No matter what, this game rocks much better than last year's version.