"The Best Portable Wrestling game ever"

Fans of wrestling will love this game. Period. There is no way that you can be a wrestling fan and not like this game and the ability to play it anywhere.

So lets break it down :

The Good things about this game

Every wrestler from the PS2 version is included. This is a huge roster available in the game and there are some great unlockable wrestlers such as Bret Hart, the Rock, and Junkyard dog. The entrances are great and all of the wrestlers look great and are incredibly detailed. Even on the PSP.

The games attention to detail is very good. When you are coming out to the ring the ring announcer stands in the ring announcing you. The referee is around. When the second wrestler comes out, the first wrestler is standing next to the ring! Little details like that make the game extremely enjoyable.

There is a great system in this game of momentum and stamina. You have the ability to do many many moves. You can even take the turnbuckle covers off! Also there is a great reversal system and a good finisher system.

General Manager mode gives you the ability to manage the roster from a management perspective and is a great addition to this game.

There are mini-games added in to this game as well - One of which is Texas holdem poker where you get to play with the wrestlers. This is actually very cool and even gives you the ability to control your facial expressions.

There are creation modes for everything- create a wrestler, create a stable, create an entrance, create a title. And this is transferable with the ps2 if you have one.

There is just about any match type you can think of including Buried Alive, Elimination Chamber, Iron Man, Hell in a Cell, Tables Ladders and Chairs, Ladder, Tables, Hardcore, Backstage Brawl, Diva Fullfill your fantasy and more.

The bad :

If you are impatient you will have a hard time with this game as the load times are horrible. If you are using a CAW (Create a Wrestler) they are UNBEARABLE. This can be improved by turning off the wrestler entrances, but this does not seem to work in season mode.

When you are playing against multiple opponents you need to choose who you are fighting. Usually you can do this by pressing a button to change focus, but this game uses an Auto-focus system. I find this somewhat lacking in control and this is probably my biggest complaint about the game.

Did I mention the horrible load times? Also sometimes in the game while you are playing, there is lag where the game freezes for half a second or so.

There are no commentators in the PSP version (which is not a big deal for me) and also for some reason they decided to take the announce tables out. That is a little annoying, but not to detracting from the game. Another problem is that when there are 6 players in the ring and one of them steps outside the ring, it will zoom out so you can see everything. On the psp screen this can get very small.

And a minor quibble - in gm mode it is played as though you are the real gm (ie: eric bischoff) and as though it is all real. It would be nice to have an option where you also plan the outcome of the matches as though you were an actual booker.

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All in all the good outweighs the bad in this game. The wrestling is great, thre are tons of moves and match types and you can play it anywhere! Every wrestling fan should have this great game!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/21/05