Legends of Wrestling II

"All your favorite legends in one game."

I never payed that much attention to Legends of Wrestling I, because seeing as it was developed by Acclaim, i knew that it wouldn't be that good. The first game wasn't that good, but the second game IS good. I only picked the game up because it contained all your favorite legends, from Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Big Daddy, British Bulldog, Bret Hart, Owen Hart and many, many more. Want to know more? Here's my review on Legends of Wrestling II.

Graphics
Well, i must admit, some of the wrestlers don't look that real, but you can easily tell who they are. They're not modeled as accurately as in WWE Smackdown!: Shut Your Mouth obviously, but some look great. In Career Mode in the game, you can talk with different owners of promotions, and they look like real people nearly, and the arenas and everything look quite nice. Average graphics.

Sound
I love the audio featured in Legends of Wrestling 2! When you are in a match, there will be background music, but it isn't that boring background music like in WWE Smackdown!: Shut Your Mouth. In LoW2, real music will be playing in the background in your matches! This is great, especially with songs like 'Superstar' by Saliva (which also featured on WrestleMania 18 in real life), and many other excellent songs. At least something will make you addicted to the matches.

Well, onto the Theme Music. Now, it's not all great, but some themes are. Such as Hulk Hogan's 'American Made' theme. But if you are expecting real music which they used for every wrestler, then you're wrong. Because they are all composed by Jimmy Hart. I'm quite impressed by some of them though.

When you make your entrance to the ring, the ring announcer sounds sweet. It's like Tony Schiavone in his old WCW/NWA days. Something will go like, ''Making his way to the ring, from Blah Blah, weighing in at Blah and a height of Blah.. Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka!', it's great. Note, i put ''Blah'' in there because i don't know Snuka's height and weight, sorry about that, but i don't know everything, i admit. It's really neat, and quite effective.

Gameplay
Legends of Wrestling II features an all-new Storylines mode in career, where you can pick different regions, about 5 different regions, and about 10 storylines for each! Amazing! It'll take you ages and ages, and ages, to complete them all. Hell, even one storyline takes quite long to complete, so hell knows how many about 30 storylines will take! Career Mode is great. An example of a storyline is Ted DiBiase is the champion, and your goal is to beat him for the title, and you will also get one million dollars! But before you face The Million Dollar Man, you'll have to win a huge 15 man Battle Royal match. Truly great.

Onto the Create-A-Legend mode. Yeah, it's great. I bet you're thinking now; ''Is it as effective as Smackdown!: Shut Your Mouth's Create-A-Wrestler Mode?'', well unfortunately it isn't. But it's still great. You can choose from loads of moves, and quite a lot of different styles for your CAL. It is quite good, and you can also take your Created Legend through the Career Mode.

Also in the game, an interview section! With many interviews from 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Hart, Bam Bam Bigelow and many more! This adds something else to the game, if you want a time out, you can listen to the legends, and it's amazing. Find out about their lifes, and get closer to your favorite wrestlers. A lovely addition from Acclaim.

Onto the modes, there isn't as many modes as Smackdown!: Shut Your Mouth, but there is quite an addition from Legends of Wrestling 1, with Cage Matches, Ladder Matches, New Tag Matches and more coming into the game. I personally love the Cage match, because you can break the door and escape the other way, instead of climbing up the cage and escaping over the top. The cage door has an energy bar and you have to beat it down, when the energy gets lower, it will become battered, and eventually, fall off. Some nice modes in the game, and the Ladder Match is also quite good, the 'Prize' lowers down every minute or so, and when it gets to the lowest it can, you have to grab it!

Controls
If you're extremely used to WWE Smackdown!: Shut Your Mouth, then you will find this game really awkward at first. You'll get used to it, but it will take time, be patient. The controls are a lot different from Shut Your Mouth, and you'll have to play a few Exhibition matches before entering the Career Mode.

Buy or Rent?
If you're a huge wrestling fan, you've got to buy Legends of Wrestling II. I mean, a wrestling game including MOST of your favorite legends, what more can you want? It's definitely worth getting. If you're kind of new to wrestling, i'd recommend that you rent it first, because you might not like it as much, and you'll probably need to stick to Smackdown!: Shut Your Mouth.

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I love this game. All of your favorite legends in one game, truly amazing! It brings back nice memories from the past, and it's good to see people like Owen Hart (R.I.P) in the game. Well done Acclaim, for your best effort yet, and keep it up!
Overall: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/01/03, Updated 03/01/03