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The primary concept behind the fighting game hasn’t really progressed from its humble roots: each fighter tries to take the other person out with a series of moves, feints and attacks. Most of the time, the characters are virtually the same, with a few minor style differences, and the set of moves available to you remain the same throughout the entire game. What if your brawlers were more customizable and more unpredictable to fight against? Even better, what if you could influence the outcome of every single fight, making losses against your opponents into potential wins? Welcome to the shady underground fighting world of The Con, from SCEA and Think and Feel.
 
The main thrust of the game lies within the Story Mode, which casts the player as an ex-con recently released from prison. However, your release is apparently less than legit, as your character is left in the hands of a woman named Reina in the back of an alley. Reina happens to be a fight organizer who also fixes matches to her benefit in an illegal realm of street matches. Deciding to be your “benefactor,” Reina (or Momma, as she’s wont to call herself) shows you the ropes of the underground circuit, including how to fight your opponents, make some money and train your warrior. One of the things that should stand out to players is the incredibly deep character creator in the game. Players will have the chance to choose one of the ten pre-created warriors, or you can create your own brawler with either the basic or advanced character editors. While the basic editor basically allows you to pick and choose between one of the 5 fighting styles in the game, such as wrestling, Tae Kwon Do, street boxing, Jeet Kune Do kickboxing, the advanced editor lets you customize just about every facet of the character. This includes everything from the space between a character’s eyes to the kind of musculature they have. You won’t be completely confined to these choices, as you’ll be able to pick up additional clothes and accessories to distinguish your character from other warriors. Even cooler, you’ll be able to tweak the way that your fighter pulls off different moves thanks to the included combo editor. This means that you can reasonably change your tactics based on the potential opponent that you might face, such as more kicks for a grappling enemy.
 
Although battles in each round of a fight will be one on one, you’re not necessarily walking into the arena alone. Shortly after the tutorial that runs you through the fighting basics, you become the head of a gang of three people. To be successful in an arranged match, you’ll need to take two out of three fights. But you’re not going to have your fights dictated to you either. You’ll get the chance to select who your squad goes up against, and how many weeks you’ll take to prepare. Preparation is important, because you can heal your fighters, rest them from battle fatigue or train one of their five skill traits to become hardier fighters. What’s more, once you’ve finished prepping your brawlers, you can outfit them with a number of items to boost their stats and give them a stronger chance in the “ring.” Granted, you’ll want to come out ahead in your fights; however, if you can make a little extra money off the situation, you might as well, right? Players can choose to place a wager on a match based on their odds presented for each fighter. You’re not restricted to solely betting that your fighter will win, however. You can actually bet against your character, essentially throwing the bout before it begins. You pick an amount and a period of time to pass before the bet goes in, and then you attempt to bait the crowd into betting more as the fight progresses, increasing the stakes that you could potentially receive based on the output. Of course, you have to make it look somewhat convincing; otherwise the crowd will pull their money off the table and your take won’t be as large. This will involve the use of a specially marked “Con” button that you can use to throw glancing blows or lean into incoming punches to make the other fighter look good. Once the bet has been finalized, you need to make sure that you punish your opponent and win or you make your loss seem believable, otherwise you’ll lose both money and respect.
The game looks rather impressive on the PSP, with a wide number of animations for each fighting style and for every character. In fact, you’ll go through a large number of opponents before you run into the same moves. You’ll also fight your way across a number of environments, including back alleys, warehouses and parking lots. The Con also comes with a driving soundtrack and plenty of heavy sound effects that makes every punch and kick that connects feel as painful as it looks. This brawler should be a knockout when it comes to shelves later this month. Check back soon for a full review!
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