Review: Legends of Wrestling

GRAPHICS (8.5)

The graphics are exceptionally well done, although there are some major clipping bugs. As Terry Funk, I attempted to climb out of the ring, Funk went through the motions of stepping over the top rope, only to remain in the ring; walk through the ropes while falling through the ring apron to the floor. Another major bug I noticed was in a four way match. While I had Jerry Lawler in a sleeper on the canvas, another wrestler pinned the 4th wrestler in the match, this caused Terry Funk to remain on the canvas in the sleeper hold position. You ask what the problem with that is? Well, Jerry Lawler disappeared. After eliminating the other guy, which would have left myself as Funk and Lawler in the ring to battle it out, where ever I walked Funk would jerk to the right as if there was a ghost hanging around. The only way to end this match was to enter the pause menu and select quit game.

Another thing you will notice about the graphics, is that some of the wrestlers are overly exaggerated. King Kong Bundy is a lot larger than One Man Gang, when in reality in the 80's they were of similar size. Wrestlers are also a lot more muscular than you will remember them. It looks as if Acclaim was going for the 80's cartoonish wrestling look, but that is not to say that the game is at all cartooney.

The create-a-wrestler mode does have some positives, going in all I could remember hearing about it was all negative. There are a bunch of masks to choose from, they all look good. You can change the color on every item that you choose. You can select an elbow pad for each arm, they can be identical or different; the same goes for knee pads, boots, wrist items, etc. A real plus comes in that you can design an entrance look, this is a feature that I have wanted in every create-a-wrestler mode.

The entrances are a nice touch, although they get a bit repetitive, easily skipped by using the start button. There are some load times that you won't find in SmackDown, but they're not too bad.

SOUND (7.5)

The ring introductions are nicely done, and gives the game a 1980's NWA feel. Both wrestlers standing in the ring, the ring announce introduces the guys one at a time, where he is from, how tall he is and his approximate weight. These can also be skipped, but you need to press the start button about five times on the first one then all after that are also skipped. The music that plays during entrances is basically generic music, although, in the short time I played, Rob Van Dam seems to have his music he used in ECW. Surprisingly, Ricky Steamboat and Jerry Lawler have generic music, even though there music is widely used for other things. Steamboat for instance used a song by the rock group "The Alan Parson's Project" which was entitled "Sirius" and has been used for numerous years by NBA teams as they introduce their players at home games. As for Jerry Lawler's theme, I was shocked that it was not used either as I believe it is free to use. The themes are still nice, even though they are not authentic.

There is no commentary to be found in the game, at least I have not heard any. As you wrestle, there's background music that plays. After matches, which seems to happen randomly, you will get advice from your manager, as Funk, I got advice from Jimmy Hart on two occasions. The voice acting in the game is really good.

CONTROL (7.5)

The control in the game is easy to get used to. It may take only about five minutes before you get a hang out of what each button or button combination does. To run you use R1, striking moves (kicks, punches, stomps) are done with the square button. Using the directional pad, you have access to two other striking moves. Just square is a minimal move, up/down with square would be a different level of damage move, and left/right with square would be another level of damage. This is the system that they use when you use any other attack/grapple buttons. L2 exits/enters the ring, L1 spins your opponent around. The control didn't seem to responsive at first, but it seemed to improve as I got used to the game.

This game is not as fast as the other wrestling games out there, and it makes it much different. It might take you a while to get used to the slowness, if you are used to the speed that SmackDown uses. Even though it is slow, a nice feature is the ability to link moves, and they look fluid, not all chopped up. Another good thing is, if your wrestler does not have top rope moves in his arsenal, he cannot go up to the top rope. You can also select individual moves in the CAW mode, which is also a nice touch.

FEATURES (8.0)

The game is not as boastful in the features department as SmackDown: Just Bring It. You have several modes of play to choose from, these include: Exhibition (versus and tag team); versus matches you can select from a regular one on one match, a 3 way dance and a 4 way dance (these are elimination matches). Tag Team is just what it says, a two on two match up. There is no customization of the matches, other than selecting the arena. There are no count outs or ring outs.

The career mode is nice, as you select your wrestler and you try to take him to that areas championship title. This is all based on how the crowd likes the match, and that effects how they like you. After the match, you'll see that your approval rating will grow. The more you do in a match, the more the crowd will like it. However, you will be penalized if you keep repeating the same moves.

Tournament mode allows you to play in versus, tag team or title belt modes. These are short round robin tournaments that comprise of anywhere between two and six participants; one to three rounds. You can also hold simulated tournaments, CPU versus CPU.

The Create mode allows you to create your own legend. There are numerous options, although it is not as customizable as many CAW modes have been, though, it does have the one feature that has been missing for along time. You start with the appearance of your wrestler, is he fat, skinny, muscular? It's your choice. Is he 5 feet or 7 feet? Again, it's all up to you. Customize the head, add a mask or headband anyone? How about the mid section, everyone needs a shirt, some elbow pads, how about some brass knuckles on that left hand and a glove on the right one, well, it's all up to you. The lower body, grab some trunks, put on some knee pads or a knee brace, select your boots and we're all set to go (you can even select flip flops). How about your ring entrance, want to make it different than your pals? Let's go for it, we can select a robe, we can select a jacket or tee shirt. This is what all games will need in the future, and it is a welcome addition. Style, everyone needs style. Are you a brawler, a high flyer, a technical wrestler? Let's go and design some tattoos, some logos, just enter the stencils and design away. Then we go onto the profile. Your masterpiece is nothing without a name, give him one that fits his look. Is he a face or a heel, it's time to choose now. Next it's time to select the entrance theme, this has to be good too. Do you need a manager? If so, it's time to select one. Choose a move set from a legend, or make your own, which ever you want to do. Divide up the attributes and the abilities and we're ready to save the ultimate wrestler.

Options menu includes save, load, credits (who made this game), difficulty (jobber/easy, midcard/medium, legend/hard), blood (on/off), managers (on/off), entrances (on/off), vibration (on/off), TKO (on/off). Volume adjusters for the sound FX, speech and music are included with an option to select stereo or mono setup.

There's a legend in this game for just about everyone that grew up watching in the 80's. The legends included in the game are: Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Jimmy Sunka, Jerry Lawler, Road Warrior Animal, Road Warrior Hawk, Rob Van Dam, Jimmy Hart, Tony Atlas, Capt. Lou Albano, King Kong Bundy, Ted DiBiase, Kerry Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich, David Von Erich, Mike Von Erich, Fritz Von Erich, Ricky Morton, Robert Gibson, Terry Funk, Dory Funk, Jr., Mr. Fuji, One Man Gang, Eddie Gilbert, Billy Graham, Ivan Koloff, Rick Martel, Don Muraco, Bob Orton, Dynamite Kid, Brian Pillman, Harley Race, Ivan Putski, Sabu, The Sheik, The Iron Sheik, Tito Santana, Koko B. Ware, Ricky Steamboat, George Steele, Greg Valentine, and Nikolai Volkoff.

OVERALL [Not an average] (8.0)

You can purchase the game online at Amazon.com or GExpress.com.

Erik Roth, Webmaster - Designer, Inlewd.com