Legends of Wrestling
Score: 78% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Acclaim Developer: Acclaim Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 5 (Multitap) Genre: Sports
Graphics & Sound: As great as the concept is of creating a game starring the Legends of Wrestling, the developers at Acclaim hopefully go home every night and beat each other with guitars and steel chairs. If this were the first wrestling title of the 128-bit era, the graphics and sound would still be below standard. But when trying to follow up THQ's WWF Smackdown! Just Bring It, the eye and ear candy of Legends is about as pleasant as taking a flying elbow smash to the groin! I'm torn between completely ripping on LOW's character graphics, or accepting what appears to be a larger-than-life representation of some of your favorites. Instead of realistic body figures, the wrestlers in Legends of Wrestling seem almost cartoony. Is this bad? Mostly, yes. On the other hand, for those of us that remember watching these guys perform, recall the cartoony nature of greats like Hulk Hogan, King Kong Bundy, and 'The Mouth of the South' Jimmy Hart. The biggest problem is that all of the wrestlers appear much bigger than they ever were when we loved them. I mean, even Koko B. Ware looks like he weighs 350 pounds (...and where's his parrot named 'Frankie' anyway?)! However, there is no excuse for the incredibly worthless background music and mediocre sound fx. I mean, come on! How hard would it have been to jazz up Hogan's entrance with a little I Am A Real American or Eye of the Tiger? Even legit intros, such as Nikolai Volkoff's Soviet National Anthem are poorly done. While in the ring, sound fx are a bland minimum, and really drag LOW's gameplay down.
Gameplay: Fortunately for Legends of Wrestling, the game uses an innovative control scheme that allows gamers of all types to compete without the button-mashing mayhem that most wrestling titles offer. Legends calls this one-button combination pressing ISP (Intermediate Start Position). Essentially ISP allows for a single button press at the different moments of a move following a grapple, using the four face buttons. For example, upon grappling, you hit one of the face buttons, which triggers your wrestler to put his opponent's head between his legs. You will then be able to press another face button to perform moves like a pile driver or power bomb. Finally, hit a third button to pin or lay the smackdown on your opponent. Different wrestlers perform different moves and use different button combinations to do them. This ISP system is all made possible with the inclusion of the meters that appear on screen for timing purposes on your button presses. Press the button within the green area, and your wrestler begins a combo attack and another meter pops up. But watch out, because if your opponent presses his button before you, the move will be reversed and the tide will be turned. This meter system in LOW is a bit tricky to get used to because sometimes the meter will appear under your name while other times it's under your opponent's. Although not that difficult in a Versus match, finding the correct meter with four players wrestling can get as hairy as George ' The Animal' Steele. Legends of Wrestling offers only a few modes of play compared to what we are used to with other wrestling titles. Of course there's the Exhibition Mode, but it only includes a Versus match, a 3 or 4 Way Dance, and a Tag Team match. There's also a Versus, Tag Team and Tag Belt option in Tournament Mode. Finally, LOW's meat 'n' potatoes is the Career Mode. Here you can start a new career with any wrestler and you have to work your way through the ranks in different areas around the country (and world) to win its belt. Defend the belt, move on to another area, and continue on to become World Champion. It is also in Career Mode that you will be able to unlock new wrestlers and be able to enhance the Create-A-Legend experience. The Create-A-Legend offers a vast array of options including the ability to customize your own face paint or tattoos! Using a crude 'paint' program within the game, you will be able to create virtually any custom wrestler you want too. Although you will be able to create virtually any of your favorite wrestlers that aren't in the game, it's unfortunate that Legends of Wrestling doesn't include some greats like 'Macho Man' Randy Savage and Andre 'The Giant.'
Difficulty: Legends of Wrestling has a very quick and easy learning curve, allowing gamers of all ages to pick up the controller and body slam their opponent to the mat. Of course human opponents will vary with difficulty, but computer characters will increase in difficulty as you work your way through the ranks within your Career. You also have the option of three difficulty settings: Jobber (easy), Mid Card (medium), and Legend (hard). But the new ISP design makes for an interesting new way of controlling your wrestlers with relative ease.
Game Mechanics: There is very little in the way of button-mashing in Legends of Wrestling. (There is some, but it wouldn't be a wrestling game without a little.) Although it could use a few touch-ups, the revolutionary Intermediate Start Position system of controlling moves may pave the way for a new type of wrestling. And for the first time since 'Battle Royale' on the ill-fated TurboGrafx-16, Legends allows up to five human-controlled character on screen at one time! Unfortunately, the fifth player has to be the referee, but at least it's a step in the right direction. And for those wrestling buffs that want to find out a little bit of the history behind your favorite wrestlers while also having access to every players' moves at your fingertips, you may want to pick up Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Legends of Wrestling is a solid title that could use some polishing. Hopefully next year's game will include more wrestlers and have a more 'realistic' look.
-Woody, GameVortex Communications AKA Shane Wodele
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