Gaming Target - Xbox: Legends of Wrestling

Written by Patrick Geurs on April 11, 2002

First Impressions: A chance once again to wrestle as Hogan.

Wrestling today is much like a soap opera. 90% story, 10% matches. Most of the time, alliances change, wrestlers change music themes, and if you miss just one week, everything you knew is now different. For the shows, its nice as it keeps things fresh and interesting, but what about the games? Most WWF games that are released are designed to re-create the real life counterpart. The only problem with that is usually games take a long time to develop. So what happens is that by the time the game releases, everything has changed. The result is a УrealisticФ wrestling game that is УoutdatedФ.

Enter Acclaim. Acclaim held the throne for wrestling games in the 16-bit era, but then recently has been producing some crap from the bottom of the pie hole. WWF attitude for instance, had photo-realistic graphics and all, but it was a chore to play. Slow, choppy animation, Mr. Roboto walking, and moves that required a minimum of 4 commands before the throw made this game almost unbearable. So, Acclaim took a step back and thought, УWell hmm, since realism isn't working here, lets try to create something that is far from it.Ф Hello Legends of Wrestling.

Legends of Wrestling pits over 40 of the biggest superstars of all time against each other in a variety of modes. This game debuted on the PS2 and got mixed reviews. While some people loved it for its redesigned game engine (bout damned time) and fun to pick up and play style, others dissed it because it wasn't УrealisticФ. What's funny, is that these are the same people who dogged on WWF Attitude for not living up. Some people are just never satisfied, ya know?

Fortunately, LOW isn't trying to be realistic. The graphics are your old-school cartooned look and flair, reminiscent of the SNES era, and like I mentioned earlier, wrestling greats from all over are present. Current stars like Rob Van Dam, all the way to the greatest of all time -- Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, and the Road Dogs, all in their prime time. The new ISP engine allows you to link moves as you would a combo in a fighting game. So much easier than up, down, right and triangle, wouldn't you say?

While this is mostly going to be a PS2 port of the game, with the exception of cleaner visuals that Xbox is capable of, there are going to be a couple changes over it's PS2 counterpart. Aside from the standard career mode, you can select an exhibition fight including either your standard one on one, tag team, triangle and fatal 4-way matches, the Xbox will also include a few extra modes, one being cage matches.

Finally, while this game isn't all about realism, there is a first here. For the first time ever, as you progress through your career, you will get advice and guidance from Captain Lou Albano and the one, the only, УMouth of the SouthФ Jimmy Hart. In depth match analysis, the whole 9 yards. This is actually somewhat cool, as now you have someone in the biz showing you the ropes. Just no Paul Hayman, ok?