Legends of Wrestling Preview
Acclaim is trying something pretty big here: they want to bring back all the legends of wresting; the 40 year old couch potatoes who now sit around, but had previously enjoyed their time in the ring and made the sport immensely popular (Hulk Hogan anyone?) to the masses. Acclaim intends to re-enact a lot of the old school wresting, so there probably won’t be as much table smashing and chair crashing that’s really apparent in the WWF these days. So who are these “legends” that I speak of? Ever heard of Hulk Hogan, Jerry Lawler, the Iron Sheik, and Bret “Hitman” Hart? I’m sure most of these names will bring a tear to a fan’s eye as they relive the moments that they experienced some time ago. As far as I know, these names are only a quarter of what we’ll see on this game (up to 30 more wrestlers!).
The graphics aren’t pretty yet, but they’ll be up to par once the Gamecube comes out. You can pretty much expect the textures to be up to par in this game. I only hope Acclaim can ditch the paper thin crowd and make them part of the action; egging your computer opponent on, or even throwing stuff at you! That would be ultimate realism.
No one knows much about what the gameplay is all about, but…it’s there somewhere at Acclaim’s studios. There’s some really neat features being experimented here, such as the ability to string together moves for death dealing combos to your opponent (who will also have an equal opportunity to deliver them to you). If you’re a customization kind of guy, then the Create-a-Wrestler is for you, featuring a very deep editor. There is also a Create-a-Stable mode, in which you can create your own ring, and Create-a-Stencil, in which you can design your own logos.
Legends of Wresting also features some nifty play modes, including Single, when you have the chance to win the title with over 30 players, and Tag Team. Expect this list to boom by the time the game is out!
Overall, I thought THQ would bring out a game like this, but Acclaim has the honors this time around. The only wrestling game I’ve spent any time on is Smackdown for the N64, and that was a fabulous game! The legends in this new wrestling game will be great for diehard fans, but people like me won’t really appreciate it! Expect this title to layeth the Smackdown sometime in February 2002!
Final Score: 8.5