Fire Pro Wrestling

"Hits you like a Tiger Driver '91 as the electrified cage explodes"

Heaven must be missing a Game Boy Advance game, because we've got Fire Pro Wrestling right here! If you're not familiar with the Fire Pro formula, let me explain why this game is so good. The original creators mixed the purest essences of wrestling, fun, and a benevolent God, and released it on the public as the greatest wrestling simulator ever. Game can't begin to describe this series, save the word ''game'' for the Smackdown! franchise.

Graphics: 6 out of 10
Sure, they're not the greatest, but this IS a Game Boy Advance, and a game with nearly 200 built in characters, hundreds of moves, dozens of game modes, the finest Create-A-Wrestler feature this side of Smackdown! 3, and 4 player link compatibility built right in. Graphics are the last thing you should be thinking about here! They're good enough to show some detail of who you're using, but be prepared to strain your retinas trying to find the difference between seemingly identical parts in the Create-A-Wrestler feature.

Sound: 6 out of 10
But who needs sound? Sound is for games that are so boring you need something to listen to in the background to keep you awake. When playing this game, you'll be concentrating on how to weaken your opponent's legs so he'll submit to your next Figure 4 Leg Lock, not what the track ''Meltdown'' sounds like.

Gameplay: 10 out of 10
I only put down 10 out of 10 because that's as high as the scale goes. Otherwise, believe me, this thing would be in the mid teens. You want wrestlers? Try out nearly 200 of them from all around the world! That not enough? This game comes with 73 slots for creating wrestlers of your own! You want moves? You'll find just about every move in the world in here, or at least something that resembles it. You want to know how long it would take Stone Cold Steve Austin to knock Vince McMahon unconcious in a UFC Octagon cage style shoot fight? It took me under 5 minutes! You want to compare America's hardcore with Japan's hardcore in an electrified exploding cage death match? Mitsuhiro Matsunaga tore down Sabu with no mercy to spare. The game does so many types of wrestling flawlessly.

Replay: 10 out of 10
I got this game last August, and I'm still playing it religiously today! Every day brings a new challenge. What should I make my Brock Lesnar CAW's finisher? Can I beat Giant Baba in under 10 minutes using Ultimo Dragon? Can I get my plancha's aim right today? This game is that addicting.

Bottom line: Get this game! Now!

Pros:
Deepest wrestling game in America today, much less on a handheld
So many types of matches
With 73 CAW slots, you'll get close to 300 total wrestlers

Cons:
Electrified cage deathmatch is kind of limiting
Fewer buttons than Playstation or Dreamcast controllers mean fewer moves
Fire Pro 2 will be coming out later this year and totally eclipsing this game

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/02/02, Updated 06/02/02