Legends of Wrestling II

"A vast improvement over the first game."

Ah, Legends of Wrestling. I really have to give Acclaim props for the series. They realize that not everyone is into classic wrestling, and that the games will only reach a small amount of hardcore fans who either were watching wrestling during the 1980s or fans who didn't but went back and relived them via videotape.

Anyway, Legends of Wrestling II is a vast improvement over the first game in nearly every way, shape, and form. There are more wrestlers, more modes, more extras, prettier graphics and sound, and some nice wrestler interviews.

Graphically, the wrestlers look great. In the first Legends of Wrestling game, all of the wrestlers looked pretty generic. Some of them looked realistic, like Hulk Hogan and Jerry Lawler, but outside of that, they looked bland. That's not true with Legends of Wrestling II. All of the wrestlers look true-to-life, albeit sometimes a bit exaggerated. They still have that ''action figure'' look and feel to the character models. The arenas look better than last time, and there is much more arena variety. One of the major improvements are the entrances. Each wrestler has an elaborate, WWF-style entrance, complete with theme music (which I'll get to in a moment), pyro, and taunts. Hulk Hogan's entrancs is almost 100% like his WCW entrance. The only bad thing graphically is that the framerate drops quite a bit at times. While it has yet to actually mess me up during the game, it's still an annoyance that should not be in the game.

The sound has also been improved. No longer is the backgroung music your generic stock music, but music from the band Saliva. While I'm not a fan, it's still better than the music in the first game. But the real improvement in the sound department lies in the entrance themes. While most of the themes aren't 100% like their WWF or WCW counterparts (with the exception of Hulk Hogan, who has his WCW ''American Made'' theme) they are very good rip-offs. The British Bulldog's music and Ted DiBiase's music are prime examples. Roddy Piper's music is also great, as is Bret Hart's. You'll actually want to watch the entrances in this game as opposed to turning them off like in the first Legends of Wrestling.

The controls and basic gameplay are exactly the same as last year's installment. You still have the ISP system, which allows for the player to easily link moves together as well as reversing the moves of your opponent. You have four basic positions: suplex, belly-to-belly, scoop slam, and head-between-the-legs for piledrivers, powerbombs, etc. The game engine has been sped up a bit from last year's to make the gameplay faster. The controls have been tweaked a tad to make them more comfortable. Climbing the turnbuckle is no longer an ordeal like it was in the first Legends of Wrestling. The controls are quick and responsive about 90% of the time. Sometimes it seems that the controls just don't want to respond, but that happens maybe once for every three or so matches. It really is not that big of a problem overall. It's still sad that it made it past testing, but oh well.

The roster has never been better. All of the legends from the first game are back (with the exception of Rob Van Dam) and they've brought along some new friends. Off the top of my head, some new legends in the game include Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, Sid Vicious, the Steiner brothers, Eddie Guerrero, Roddy Piper, and Andre The Giant. While a few legends are still missing, (Ric Flair, Randy Savage, the Ultimate Warrior, Sting) I'm sure that Acclaim tried their best to get those legends in the game. Oh well.

The modes have been improved as well. New improvements include a ladder match and a very fun steel cage match. The career mode is very much like the one last year: you go around winning regional belts before you make it to he big leagues.

The Create-A-Legend mode has been vastly improved. While it still can't rival the create mode in, say, Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth, it can get the job done. Don't expect in-depth creating, though. You can easily create a bare-bones wrestler with relative ease, so get crackin' on that Ric Flair CAL.

There are some very nice extras in this game, including wrestler interviews. What's great is that all of the interviews are, for the most part, off the record. The wrestlers aren't in character except at the the end when they are asked to cut a promo. It's really neat to listen to candid interviews with Hulk Hogan, Ted DiBiase, George Steele, Jimmy Hart, Jim Duggan, and many more. It's for this reason that I recommend this version over the Gamecube version, which doesn't include wrestler interviews.

Overall, this is a great game. While it still has its faults, it's a lot better than the first. If you didn't like last year's game, then you might want to rent this game first, or avoid it altogether. Don't expect a wrestling simulator like the Fire Pro series or No Mercy, and don't expect fast-paced arcade action like the Smackdown games. But if you want a great game that's a blast from wrestling's past, pick up Legends of Wrestling II.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/12/03, Updated 05/12/03