Legends of Wrestling

"Nostalgia can be a good thing, Too bad Acclaim cares little about it…"

Well, to start this off let me say first of all that I’ve been waiting for this game for quite a long time. The idea of a pro wrestling game based solely around legends is one that I have long fantasized about, and after I initially heard about this game I was extremely excited… an excitement that was quickly dissipated once I learned it was Acclaim making the title. Now I doubt I have to explain in any certain terms the HORRID WWF and ECW games that Acclaim put out in the past few years, chances are if you are reading this you already know. But if by chance you don’t lets just say they were a crime against not only Pro Wrestling, but unto gaming itself, and as sad as it may be Legends Of Wrestling is yet another game with so much potential yet so little follow through. Yet again Acclaim has destroyed what COULD have been a classic, but enough of that… lets get to what it does offer.

Graphics: 7.5

I must say, the graphics in this game are a site to behold if you like cartoony, exaggerated caricatures. The grapplers facial features are a real treat, what with Legends like Superstar Billy Graham waving the trade mark features such as his Mutton chops and massive physique (Thankfully they didn’t go for his 1980 “KUNG FU” look!). Its almost like 1977 all over again, and I could almost imagine Bruno bashing him all over MSG (not that you can, I’ll get to that later)! But unfortunately, despite the pleasing visuals it has many nagging faults such as poorly contrived and rushed animations such as when Sabu and the original Sheik head to the ring. You see, the animations are correct in a sense: Sabu does point to the mysterious voices in the sky but he does it like a FRIGGING ROBOT. Guys like Hogan head in doing what looks like a rough cut animation cupping his hands to his ears in the same android style, and worst of all babyface wrestlers like Bret Hart head to the ring slapping hands with fans… what’s that you say? Its normal for a babyface grappler to slap hands with with fans? Oh you big silly, I knew that! What I don’t get is WHO he’s slapping hands with! Acclaim obviously thought it would be cool to have this animation make the wrestler look like an ass, because they didn’t even take the time to add fans that interact with. The in game animation is buggy and JERKY at times, sometimes slowing up and making clicks on the music due to either heavy graphics or poorly coded animation.

Music and sound: 4.0

Mediocre at best. The music for the most part is slightly inspired by the past and is “in house” sounding, but there are a decent few exceptions such as Superstars Grahams theme having a close feel to his real one. The sound itself is nothing to phone home about, its really low and the wrestlers grunts are minimal and generic. The game’s announcer has a mid 50’s/60’s feel with the ring announcer bellowing out like he’s in the middle of boston garden in its heyday which is a slight positive, but that’s about where it ends due to the generic ring intro’s. When you hear an announcer announce Ricky Steamboat as “Towering in at 5’11” you cant help but chuckle, especially when his opponent such as One Man Gang is HUGGGGGE!

Gameplay: 4.5

Despite what you may think by my score this is not a bad thing, IF you compare it to earlier Acclaim games like Warzone. They dumped the poorly implemented “street fighter” style for a newer grapple system based upon set up holds and old fashioned collar and elbow tie ups. This makes the game much better overall than before since it ACTUALLY FEELS LIKE A WRESTLING GAME! Way to go Acclaim, and it only took FOUR games to get there… good job! But again, more bad news… The control is S-L-U-G-G-I-S-H and U-N-R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-V-E! Ok it’s kinda responsive, but not like one would expect after playing titles like the GODLY Fire Pro Wrestling and Virtual PRO Wrestling. Pulling off a simple move like a clothesline is a task even, it takes being in the right place at the right time so just flubbing moves can be a task. Finishers are done on a “charge” basis, but are confusing and hard to pull off for certain workers as well.

Edit Mode: 1.5

The edit mode in this game is well, Ridiculous. ‘First ever Create-A-Legend (I guess HUMAN were way behind the mighty Acclaim. ^-^) allows for the deepest wrestler customization in the history of wrestling videogames!” was the claim that was boasted on the LOW website, but I didn’t think “Deep” was one(!) face (Yes… ONE.) and a limited color palette. In fact, the Edit mode on this title is something beyond atrocious… It is pathetic that in an age of “edit modes” in wrestling genre titles the genius programmers at Acclaim couldn’t pull their heads out of their butt’s and give us a passable one at the very least. SMACKDOWN for the PS2 has many faults, but when it comes to edits its head and tails over this release (hell, I would wager that ANY of the past Acclaim titles smoke this aspect of the game, and that in itself is SAD INDEED.)

Accuracy: 0.5

Now this is what REALLY gets to me. First of all, this game is ABOUT LEGENDS. LEGENDS… now that is not an issue UNLESS you don’t UNDERSTAND legends. What’s that I hear? “Hulksters Legdrop –O- DOOM is in?” Well you don’t say, those fellas at Acclaim must know what’s going on! Well Guess what else is in? The original Sheik dropping the JACKHAMMER like the mighty Goldberg! SUPERSTAR GRAHAM Laying out the pedigree! Assorted old timers laying out Chokeslams and nodowas like going outta style! Not to be a total jerk here, but I would have expected that they would have AT LEAST given the legends accurate movesets. When I play as the sheik I don’t expect to be using Suplexes and and scientific holds, I expect BLOOD, GORE, CARNAGE and lots of FORKS! When HUMAN/SPIKE have legends in Fire Pro Wrestling you can expect at the very least they will be ACCURATE! I mean No one in their right mind would give Karl Gotch a moonsault, but I fear that if he was in this title he would do far worse than that…

Variety: 4.0

While its nice to see Guys like Harley Race, SUPERSTAR, Brian Pillman and so forth join typical selections like Hogan and Snuka, its REALLY unfair that so many other legends were overlooked. I can understand why Ric Flair did not make the cut (Time Warner contract), But I mean, What about Bruno Sammartino? The legend among legends Lou Thesz? The man who inspired a generation (or two, or three!) Nature Boy Buddy Rogers? Jack Brisco? THE best damned brawler of all time, Bruiser Brody? Ray Stevens? Abby? I guess you can see where I’m going… It’s just not fair that a bottom feeder like Koko B. Ware is IN, yet a bonafied legend like Verne Gagne or Dusty Rhodes are NOT. This game is about legends, afterall if they made a baseball game about legends would you leave out guys who cut the very fabric of their field like for instance Babe Ruth? I think not…

Overall: 2.0

No matter how hard I have tried to like this game it still burns me in the sense that 1.) so much potential was wasted, 2.) It was horribly coded and rushed, 3.) I’m screwed outta 50 bucks. while it was a valiant attempt, it just is not what one would expect from a title holding so many important industry figures and if you REALLY want it as I would at the very least RENT it first. All in all I have to say better luck next time Acclaim, if there is one…

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/01, Updated 12/08/01