Legends Of Wrestling Review
Legends of Wrestling was a highly anticipated game. I remember trawling the bulletin boards just as Smackdown: Just Bring it was released and seeing how many comments were made about LOW. The idea behind the game is a good one, you get to wrestle as one of your favourite old time wrestlers, such as Ted Dibiase, Bret Hart and Rick Martel among many others. Unfortunately the game falls down in almost every way possible.
The first thing that you notice with the game (especially for those that have played the most recent Smackdown game) is the lack of game play modes. In fact there are only four modes of play in exhibition mode, versus, tag team, three way dance and four way dance. Also there is a career mode and a tournament mode.
In career mode you choose a wrestler and guide him through fights in an area of the US. Whilst fighting you have an excitement meter. This meter will fill up as you perform certain moves such as pin breaks and finishers. At the end of a bout this gets added to your popularity meter.
The graphics in the game are way too average for a next gen console, they are just way too plain too create any interest.
Fighting itself can only be described as boring and tedious. The fighters move sluggishly and it always feels like you only have three or four moves at your disposal. Most moves are carried out from the tie up. Once you have tied up with an opponent using circle you then push any of the face buttons to execute a move. So really you only have four moves. Once your wrestler starts to perform a move your opponent will get the chance to counter the move. This is done by a swinging green and red meter under the characters health bar. The meter swings a long and a certain button has to be hit whilst the meter is within the green section, if this is done the move is countered. Some wrestlers will get a chance to turn a move into a combo. So if a move is uncounted the swinging bar will appear under the health bar of the wrestler carrying out the move. The wrestler must hit a button to add a move, such as a pin. This system falls way short of what is expected from a wrestling game and makes the game feel extremely shallow. Unfortunately the controls are very unresponsive, there is a delay between hitting the button and the move being carried out, and simple things like running or climbing a turnbuckle are extremely hit and miss.
Like most current titles that are released the game has a create a mode tacked on. Fortunately this is not to bad, with its biggest let down being the fact that there is only one face available. The create mode though does hint at the depth the game was supposed to have. The wide array of moves from different positions are all there, unfortunately 90% of them will never be seen.
The game in general is a let down and brings nothing new to the genre at all. If you want to see wrestlers of old buy Smackdown:JBI and make them in the create mode.