Legends of Wrestlemania

"This Game Captivates the History of Wrestlemania Flawlessly"

The usual Smackdown vs. Raw game series has been decreasing in quality gradually every game. Just when we thought wrestling games couldn't get any worse, THQ and Yukes throw WWE Legends of Wrestlemania into the public. This game features a roster of WWE Legends and Hall of Famers accompanied by old Arenas and the ring announcing of the great Howard Finkel. Just how good is this game? I'll tell you.

Roster - 9.8/10

What better roster can there be than one full of WWE Legends? From Hulk Hogan to Bret Hart to Steve Austin and everyone in between, it truly is an all-star cats of wrestlers. Sadly though, Vince McMahon and Randy Savage aren't exactly best friends so the Macho Man is not in this game. While that doesn't bother me because I knew it wouldn't happen, I'm puzzled as to where Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and George "The Animal" Steele are. Either way, it's a great lineup.

Controls - 9.5/10

Legends of Wrestlemania is very different in its control scheme. Unlike the complex gameplay of the Smackdown vs Raw series, Legends of Wrestlemania used a simpler, arcade-styled control scheme. While most people see this as a bad thing, I find this scheme good when you get used to it. Gameplay consists only of the four face buttons and d-pad/analog stick. There are also chain grapples that you initiate when you grapple a groggy opponent. This involves pressing a random button that appears on the screen faster than your opponent to execute a move. There are three chain levels. As you perform moves, you increase the chain meter. As you go up more levels, your grapples become stronger. You can also perform taunts that deplete your chain meter for a temporary bonus. When your chain level reaches level 3, you can perform a finisher. Your finisher is a special chain grapple that if executed successfully, you can pick up the win after it. A very odd control scheme, but not bad either.

Graphics - 9.3/10

Though the graphics are detailed and look good, the game uses a cartoonish look for the wrestlers. While looking at it knowing that Hulk Hogan was not a statue given life, If fits the arcade-styled gameplay well.

Sound - 9.7/10

From the crowd cheering and booing to the announcing done by the Fink, every sound is clear and accurate. The only sad thing is they couldn't get the rights to all the wrestlers themes, and had to make some up for wrestlers that never had one.

Gameplay - 10/10

This is where the game really shines. Legends of Wrestlemania features three main modes as well as the ability to play exhibition matches. The first and most important is the Wrestlemania Tour mode, where you play historic Wrestlemania matches in order to Relive, Rewrite, and Redefine history. Before each match you see actual footage of the events leading up to the match, and highlights of the match itself. These videos can get you really excited for recreating the match. Play Hulk Hogan and redo the famous victory over Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania III? Relive the last Stunner in Stone Cold's match against the Rock at Wrestlemania XV. Change the famous Ironman Match at Wrestlemania XII by crushing Shawn Micheals with Bret Hart. Or maybe see if Yokozuna could have won the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania IX if it was a Steel Cage match. Then there's the Legend Killer mode, where you can pit your created wrestlers against Tiers of Legends consisting of 10 each to raise his attributes. And then there's the Hall of Fame mode, which is really a mode, but it keeps track of all the wrestlers statistics from you using them in the matches and keeps track of medals that you win in Wrestlemania Tour and Legend Killer modes which in turn unlock match types, costumes, and highlight movies.

Replay Value - 10/10

Are you kidding? You could play this game for eternity!

Overall -10/10

Rent or Buy? Definitely buy.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/16/09

Game Release: Legends of Wrestlemania (US, 03/24/09)