Legends of Wrestling: Showdown Review

You can almost feel the fakeness.

Fleshing-out the package is the now-obligatory Create-A-Legend (CAL) mode. All the usual options are present, and in a nice touch Akklaim have added more names that you can select to feature in commentary. There is scope for you to create the wrestler of your dreams, or attempt to create a real wrestler not included within the roster, although strangely you cannot alter your fighters' attributes. Overall you'll find the CAL mode is competent, nothing more.

On paper, then, all seems well. Here we have an easy to play wrestling title, which can be played as a button-masher by the casuals, or provide some more strategy for the hardcore. Matches can be fairly to-and-fro affairs, and against a human opponent you can have engaging bouts. However, there are problems, starting with the game modes. Whilst being a nice idea, the 'Classic Match' fights (which pit you in a perilous situation from which you have to win) are too brief and samey to excite, but at least act as an alternative to the woeful storyline mode, which comprises of sixteen matches split between the 70's, 80's and 90's. What passes as a story is read out to you between bouts, but the less said about it the better - it really is that bad. The net effect of this is that the wrestlers' personalities - such a big feature of WWF - are inconsequential, and there is no connection between each bout. Not only are these modes disappointing, they won't take you long to work through either; the 'Showdown Challenge' can be completed in maybe two or three hours, with the 'Classic Match' mode only lasting maybe another hour or so. And with no rewards for completing these modes, the only incentives for playing through again with a different character would be see some slightly different moves and wrestler attire.

Showdown is best played with friends

And there are further niggles, too. Extended play shows that some of the animations are untidy, there are clipping and collision detection issues (wrestlers will pass through the ropes and each other), and on a purely superficial level none of the finishing moves have a look befitting that of an ultimate power move. There is also a motion-blur effect that kicks-in too frequently and is distracting. Ultimately you just do not feel that your console is being pushed at all by the game. And then there are the bugs; wrestlers will occasionally warp halfway across the screen for no apparent reason, react to a punch that was never thrown, or get stuck in a spot on the ground. In general the AI is competent (though prone to fall for a cheap trick that can grant victory within moments of starting a match), but nothing more - meaning Showdown is a game best played with friends, of which up to four can play. It is not without merit, though; it is a more arcade-like experience, and is more accessible than many other wrestling games, which in turn isn't a bad place for new fans to start.

The TV-style camera work is good

In the end, with a graphical overhaul, new grapple system and additional game modes, Akklaim certainly is trying to move the series in the right direction, and the addition of the 'Classic Match' mode shows that they are at least trying to introduce new ideas to keep things fresh. Showdown is a promising game, hidden behind a lacklustre and occasionally unrefined exterior. Fans of the series will enjoy the new content and newcomers will find the game easy enough to play, but there is that nagging feeling that if Akklaim had spent a little extra time ironing out the bugs, beefing up the storyline mode and adding some incentives for replaying the game, that Showdown would have been easy to recommend. As it stands it is a mildly entertaining but unremarkable addition to the world of console wrestling games, and your decision to buy will more than likely come down to whether or not the thought of wrestling as The Ultimate Warrior floats your boat.