Giant Gram 2000: All-Japan Pro Wrestling 3

"Giant Gram 2000: Laying the smackdown on...hang on..."

There's something about American sports and entertainment that make it so...mainstream. Maybe it's because of commercialism. Maybe the body slams look too fake, or the presentation too glamorous, maybe the fans don't have sophisticated tastes when it comes to heavyweights knocking each other around a ring. That same sentiment is carried over to its video games, and I've found that games based on the WWF/WWE or WCW tend to focus too much on being anti-institution and more on showmanship than tradition.

Which is great for American wrestling and entertainment, but on the other side of the world, Japan maintains its traditional scheme of wrestling. Granted, the Japanese side hasn't been without its schisms, but games like Giant Gram 2000 bring together the best of Japanese wrestling onto the Dreamcast with a much more conservative and workable gameplay than American wrestling games. Bringing together an extensive AJPW roster featuring names such as Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuhara Misawa and Giant Baba along with others such as Bruno Sammartino and even Virtua Fighter's Wolf Hawkfield, Giant Gram 2000 combines solid gameplay with innovative game modes.

The core gameplay of GG2K isn't that much different from other wrestling games. You have your typical punch and kick attacks, grapple moves and reversals. GG2K simplifies attacks by keeping them straightforward button presses with minimal directional input. However, the game makes the moves more extensive by using numerous ring positions to determine what move is executed. A suplex in the middle of the ring might become a giant throw from the turnbuckle or a hanging suplex against the ropes. Certain moves can only be performed while initiating a grapple, and each wrestler has combo chains and branches, allowing players to pull off a variety of devastating holds and throws. Additionally, dishing out punishment increases the wrestler's “Burning” meter. When full, the wrestler becomes more powerful and can pull off their signature move, such as Giant Baba's juurokumon kick.

Players operate on a health-meter system, which obviously depletes as players take more and more damage, allowing them to be pinned easier. Complementing this health system is an interesting skeletal damage system: certain moves can cause permanent damage to a wrestler's arms, legs or neck. Get struck by too many arm breakers and your wrester will scream in agony after each punch you deliver; take a few piledrivers and any move you make will be greeted with pain.

And players will know when that happens thanks to outstanding presentation. Graphically, the wrestlers are superbly modelled. While the stadia are generic with cardboard audiences, the wrestlers look detailed and the animations are smooth, although it's hard to believe that a wrestler with extensive neck damage can get up quickly after several power bombs. The sound, on the other hand, is unbelievably well performed and executed. The ambient noise is loud and the wrestler's moves are thoroughly accompanied with grunts, painful screams and glass-shattering bone-crunching damage effects. This is accompanied by superb Japanese commentary, delivered as fast as the action unfolds in the ring. The commentator sounds almost as if he's doing everything on the fly instead of being scripted and with an extremely high amount of gusto. It feels awesome to wrestle to the sounds of “Panchi! Panchi! Keeku! Whoa...EXPLOIDA!”

Presentation aside, GG2K offers a remarkable number of game modes to go through. Most time consuming is Creation Mode, which allows players to customise their own wrestler and train him. Initially, players only have access to a few moves, but by selecting real wrestlers as mentors to train with, created wrestlers can learn new moves. Unfortunately, the process is quite tedious, as players basically have to wait until the mentor decides to perform the move you want on you, and there's a random chance of learning it, making it a long and painful experience. Creation mode doesn't equate to the Career mode found in many sports games, and customising a character only goes so far.

Historical Mode is a fascinating concept that could have been fixed up. Players can select important matches in Japanese wrestling history and recreate them on GG2K. This isn't just about pitting two wrestlers against each other; rather, GG2K provides a set of moves based on the wrestling matches and players must perform those moves in the required order in a certain amount of time. This move set is an ingenious method of being an accurate historical battle. However, it also makes these historical matches difficult due to players being forced to perform the next move in the set, which often requires positions that the player will struggle to get to. A body slam or a lariat in the middle of the ring is easy enough, but when moves require the player to throw their opponent out and perform a move from the top turnbuckle, it's pretty hard to actually get it all done while the opponent is trying to do everything to frustrate you. Successful completion unlocks short clips from the matches themselves.

All in all, Giant Gram 2000 is an interesting game and a great alternative to WWF games or Fire Pro Wrestling. It shines in its great presentation and extensive roster as well as innovative game modes and solid, simple gameplay. However, the game modes can be frustrating to play and do leave quite a bit of room for improvement. GG2K is a great to pick up and play, and doesn't really have anything bad about it, and that's saying a lot.

Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 10/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Replay: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/19/06