WWE: Legends of Wrestlemania
Posted: 2009-04-07 07:48pm
So, every now and again, a wrasslin' game comes out that isn't a mindless button-smasher or graphic's shitfest with a convoluted control scheme that only the most drunk mullet-sporting rednecks dare master.
Weird that Legends of wrestlemania is neither of those things. Instead, it plays more like an interactive wrestling match than just about any other wrestling game I've ever played. the whole control scheme is The Left Stick or D-pad and the four face buttons - that's it - Weirdly, though, it's enough. many of the moves come down to a RTE - which, in most instances, I would hate, but here it works somehow. You never REALLY know what is going to happen during these games. Maybe you reverse a facelock into an inverted armlock. Or maybe a suplex.
Perhaps I should know what's going to happen, but I don't. Also, you cannot simply memorize the RTE buttons - they'e different every time. Also - if you "lose" the RTE, it means your opponent wins - so pay fucking attention. Also - get knocked down, you can smash buttons to get up, Or, you can hold all four buttons until your indicator is in a tiny area on the other side of the graph - miss it, and it's surely game over.
now - let's getto the really cool shit - replaying famous wrestlemanias. Man, I remember beng in like 2nd grade, right after wrestlemanis 3, and all ANYone could talk about was the fact that Hulk Hogan BODYSLAMMED Andre The Giant. Who Wasn't in awe? Remember the first time you saw Hulk Hogan lose for REALZ (Not by cheat)? For me, it was when the Ultimate Warrior beat him in WM8. I was devastated. He was as close to invincible as anyone I'd ever known. You can Relive those moments, relive those matches, Do the things that your heroes did (Meet challenges), and Become Hogan, Bret Hart, HHH, whoever. Or, you can rewrite Wrestlemania history by beating the guy who actually did win. Cool stuff. It even comes with short retrospectives of the main events.
Then there's legend killer mode. Much as I hate to admit it - I demolished hulk hogan with my created superstar. (only took like 12 tries, too!)
Anyway - I won't bore you all with more review. Bottom line is: If you're looking for a more cinematic wrestling game, don't mind randomized RTEs, and despise five button combinations to do a fucking headlock - Legends of Wrestlemania is about as close to awesome as you can get without actually being an awesome game. At it's core - it's still a silly wrestling game, which limits the audience immediately, but this is nostaligia, too. It's aimed at old farts like me who remember Big John stud, Arn Anderson, Hulk Hogan in his prime, Andre the Giant, Junkyard Dog, Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff (Remember how much fun it was to hate him?) and therefore I dig it - definitely a rental right now, when the price droped to 39 bucks you better buy it.
And that's the bottom line - cause Chardok said so.
7/10
Weird that Legends of wrestlemania is neither of those things. Instead, it plays more like an interactive wrestling match than just about any other wrestling game I've ever played. the whole control scheme is The Left Stick or D-pad and the four face buttons - that's it - Weirdly, though, it's enough. many of the moves come down to a RTE - which, in most instances, I would hate, but here it works somehow. You never REALLY know what is going to happen during these games. Maybe you reverse a facelock into an inverted armlock. Or maybe a suplex.
Perhaps I should know what's going to happen, but I don't. Also, you cannot simply memorize the RTE buttons - they'e different every time. Also - if you "lose" the RTE, it means your opponent wins - so pay fucking attention. Also - get knocked down, you can smash buttons to get up, Or, you can hold all four buttons until your indicator is in a tiny area on the other side of the graph - miss it, and it's surely game over.
now - let's getto the really cool shit - replaying famous wrestlemanias. Man, I remember beng in like 2nd grade, right after wrestlemanis 3, and all ANYone could talk about was the fact that Hulk Hogan BODYSLAMMED Andre The Giant. Who Wasn't in awe? Remember the first time you saw Hulk Hogan lose for REALZ (Not by cheat)? For me, it was when the Ultimate Warrior beat him in WM8. I was devastated. He was as close to invincible as anyone I'd ever known. You can Relive those moments, relive those matches, Do the things that your heroes did (Meet challenges), and Become Hogan, Bret Hart, HHH, whoever. Or, you can rewrite Wrestlemania history by beating the guy who actually did win. Cool stuff. It even comes with short retrospectives of the main events.
Then there's legend killer mode. Much as I hate to admit it - I demolished hulk hogan with my created superstar. (only took like 12 tries, too!)
Anyway - I won't bore you all with more review. Bottom line is: If you're looking for a more cinematic wrestling game, don't mind randomized RTEs, and despise five button combinations to do a fucking headlock - Legends of Wrestlemania is about as close to awesome as you can get without actually being an awesome game. At it's core - it's still a silly wrestling game, which limits the audience immediately, but this is nostaligia, too. It's aimed at old farts like me who remember Big John stud, Arn Anderson, Hulk Hogan in his prime, Andre the Giant, Junkyard Dog, Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff (Remember how much fun it was to hate him?) and therefore I dig it - definitely a rental right now, when the price droped to 39 bucks you better buy it.
And that's the bottom line - cause Chardok said so.
7/10
