WWE Legends of WrestleMania Review

By Dan Whitehead Published 8 April, 2009

As American as mom's grapple pie.

Version tested: Xbox 360

Legends of WrestleMania is a retro game in more ways than one. Most obviously, it's a wrestling game that diverts from the shiny new SmackDown path and instead wallows in cheesy nostalgia, offering a line up of WWE's biggest stars from the 1980s onwards in one big ol' rumble. Less obviously, it's a game that abandons the increasingly complex and impenetrable SmackDown gameplay in favour of button-mashing and simple combos, a modern day riff on the old Royal Rumble cartridge games of yesteryear.

In some ways it's a refreshing and long overdue change in perspective. SmackDown has become an increasingly bloated and stagnant affair, catering to a core group of fans who no longer seem to care if the actual gameplay is evolving in any meaningful way. By harking back to a less cynical time, Legends of WrestleMania brings back the fun. The wrestlers are fun, with icons like Hulk Hogan and camp horrors like the tassel-covered Ultimate Warrior making a welcome return to gaming, and the gameplay is fun.

Well, maybe fun is the wrong word. It's accessible. And by accessible, I mean incredibly easy. The finger-mangling grapple system that has taken root in SmackDown like a tenacious vine has been ruthlessly hacked away. What you're left with is the sort of control layout that could fit on a SNES pad. One button is for melee attacks, one for grapples, one for blocks and reversals, and one for pins, turnbuckle and rope moves. The move can be modified by the environmental context, triggering different attacks on the ropes than you'd get in the middle of the ring, and also by the directional stick and the length of the time the button is pressed. Hold it down and you pull off a stronger attack.

The action is augmented by "chains", essentially a stealth term for quick-time events, and a hefty helping of button-mashing. That's not quite as bad as it sounds, however, since the button prompts work for all players. If your opponent has you in a headlock, you can reverse the move by hitting the prompts before them. Conversely, miss the prompts for an attack you triggered and you'll muff it up and get slapped down.

'WWE Legends of WrestleMania' Screenshot 1

Ah, the reverse wheelbarrow.

While this welcoming approach bears fruit to begin with, it doesn't do much for the game's long-term appeal. It's far too easy to bludgeon your way through any single-player match with constant melee attacks and submission moves, and while there are a surprising number of unique animations and grapple chains to discover, you soon see the same moves repeated over and over simply because they work too damn well.

In terms of game modes, the retro approach means there are a brace of interesting features for people who can remember when it was WWF. All tucked away under the WrestleMania Tour banner, Relive puts you in a classic WrestleMania match and gives you a series of specific moves or events to pull off in order to recreate the original confrontation. Rewrite Mode, on the other hand, lets you alter the outcome of famous wrestling moments. Redefine mixes up the settings and rules, offering a sort of alternate universe WrestleMania.

There's also Legends, in which you battle through tiers of the best wrestlers, ten at a time. You can import the latest SmackDown vs. Raw roster, and the game also tracks the wrestlers you use most, using them to create a custom Favourite Legends tier to fight through. Of course, there's the usual spread of exhibition bout options, with the expected gamut of match styles to choose from. Cage match, Ladder match, Hell in a Cell, Iron Man, 30 Man Royal Rumble - they're all here, and most are available in the online multiplayer mode as well.

'WWE Legends of WrestleMania' Screenshot 2

"Oh yes, I see. I'll be sure to clean it up next time."

So why does it all feel so flimsy? I suspect that by this point developer Yuke's is damned if they do, damned if they don't. Smackdown is too flabby with complex controls and daunting structure, but when they strip it all down to basics and have some dumb fun, the result feels slight and forgettable. Once you've beaten all the single-player modes, which you can easily do in an evening, racking up overly generous Trophies or Achievements as you go, there's only the diminishing returns of multiplayer to keep you playing, and it's there that simplicity starts to feel like shallowness. The fun of the corny bombastic nostalgia fades away quickly once you have a joypad in your hand.

The ropey game engine certainly doesn't help, with the sort of herky-jerky animation you'd expect from a 1999 wrestling game, plus plenty of wonky collision detection and clipping. Character models, meanwhile, vary from decent to horrible, often in the same match, and some wrestlers look positively deformed. Poor old Ric Flair looks like something out of The Dark Crystal.

Legends of WrestleMania is probably worth a rental for wrestling fans old enough to remember the era of face paint and comedy costumes, and its none-more-simple controls will also appeal to younger fans who won't know who half these guys are, but will still relish being able to make them do impressive things with minimal effort. There's just not enough to it, however. Unlike its glistening, preening stars, Legends of WrestleMania is weak and insubstantial.

6 / 10

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Picture of Dan.

About Dan Whitehead

Dan has been writing for Eurogamer since 2006 and specialises in RPGs, shooters and games for children. His bestest game ever is Julian Gollop's Chaos.

Read more articles from Dan by visiting the Dan Whitehead archive page.

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Comments (35) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • DAN.E.B #1 3 years ago

    if randy savage aint there forget it!

  • Wastelander #2 3 years ago

    It's great fun, anyone can pick it up and play.
    I can't play Smackdown because you need three hands, a turbo fire controller and I don't know who any of the bastards are.

    I'm currently working my way through the legends killer mode with my lovingly crafted CAW and enjoying it muchly. The setup clips in the Relive modes are fantastic.

  • Krelle #3 3 years ago

    "Return of the one page review day. Luvin' it."

    this!

  • SharksInYourMouth #4 3 years ago

    Regardless of this review said, it's got Big Bossman and Ultimate Warrior in it, that's me won over!

  • Wastelander #5 3 years ago

    I'd like to know why Superfly looks so deformed, it's quite funny he's not even the right race in the game, the portrait especially is weird.
    Flair I thought looked ok, he looks like a younger NWA Flair.
    The Davey Boy Smith model looks really good, as does Bret Hart and JYD. Bundy and Andre have had their fat replaced with muscle, but it works well with the 'superhero' style of the other models.

  • jaxon58 #6 3 years ago

    I've enjoyed playing this since I bought it, the review seems a little harsh. Me and my mate used to play Wrestlefest in the arcades a lot and this reminds me so much of that.

  • jaxon58 #7 3 years ago

    But Brutus Beefcake IS in it. Where did you read he isn't?

  • Genji #8 3 years ago

    "Well, maybe fun is the wrong word. It's accessible. And by accessible, I mean incredibly easy. The finger-mangling grapple system that has taken root in SmackDown like a tenacious vine has been ruthlessly hacked away. What you're left with is the sort of control layout that could fit on a SNES pad."

    Given that the SNES pad actually had 6 buttons on it (not counting start and select), this doesn't seem so bad.

  • Sid-Nice #9 3 years ago

    This game is a 10 cause "Stone Cold say's so and that's the bottom line." Dan Whitehead is a donit.

  • Wastelander #10 3 years ago

    Like jaxon58 said, Brutus is in it complete with garden shears and pink elbow-length gloves \o/
    No Steamboat, Macho or Foley, which is a pretty big omission.

    Still a great roster though, with Rick Rude, Jake the Snake (with Damien!) the JYD, Bundy, Andre, Road Warriors etc. Just Fantastic if you're a fan of the era.

    Who the hell is Kamala though? He's pretty obscure for a 'Legend'
    I'm guessing he was a last minute replacement when McMahon fell out with Foley and pulled him from the game.

  • siro #11 3 years ago

    Return of the one page review day. Luvin' it.

  • caligari #12 3 years ago

    I had this game for a few days - it was worth it, if only for the fact that you could play as The Ultimate Warrior and Jake the Snake.

    \o/

  • Vin #13 3 years ago

    Generous score. It's a vile game, no matter how you slice it.

    Back to No Mercy for another ten years.

  • stampax #14 3 years ago

    Demo was utterly rubbish. Shame, would love a really good wrestling game.

  • Sir_TimAlot #15 3 years ago

    No Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake = No Sale!
    Back to Wrestlemania on the NES for some Beefcake action.

    EDIT, whats with the comments posting in the future and stuff, oh and i was mistaken he is in it, very tempted!
    Edited by 1 at 08/04/09 @ 12:37

  • TheGoose126 #16 3 years ago

    Rubbish review the game is brilliant and the graphics are really good. The create mode is awesome to!

  • Entity #17 3 years ago

    I rented this only because they included The Ultimate Warrior. The crowd at the end of the matches are giant fucking pixels (I mean GIANT). Was this another retro hook they used, or were they just to damned lazy?

  • IneptPercy #18 3 years ago

    "Ric Flair looks like something out of The Dark Crystal."

    There is quite a varied set of characters, so do you mean a gelphling or other?

  • stevetuck #19 3 years ago

    bring back the AKI wrestleing games :/

    WCW vs NWO revenge huzzah!
    Edited by 1 at 08/04/09 @ 14:20

  • LiamK #20 3 years ago

    Seriously, Yukes. Day of Reckoning. New version. I will have your babies if you make this happen.

  • zisssou #21 3 years ago

    anyone who says this game is great i have this for you...

    Whilst playing the stone cold vs bret hart match did you manage to climb the turnbuckle to do a high flying move?! because no matter what i did i stunnered the bastard he went on red...but no he always got up in a good 3-4 seconds which is a joke I only made it once out of 30 tries out of luck. This game is so poorly made its laughable! The controls suck so badly...you actually have to push the stick away from the opponent to do certain things...i mean try getting a chair outside the ring in again that stone cold/bret hart match...took me at least 20 minutes.

    This was the first time i ever brought back a game and ive been buying them since the SNES days.

    Anyway else also find it funny this review is like 2/3 weeks late? COUGH MONEY COUGH
    Edited by 1 at 08/04/09 @ 14:55

  • zisssou #22 3 years ago

    They probably thought if they made an arcade game it would be all cool and retro...
    Edited by 1 at 08/04/09 @ 16:18

  • Gouki #23 3 years ago

    what ever happened to having reviews of games before the actual release date... rather than weeks later??

  • Wastelander #24 3 years ago

    I was watching Best of Starrcade the other week and Rick Flair looked about 65 years old even back then.
    My theory is he lives purely off the souls of other wrestlers - which would explain a lot of strange deaths in the business.

    I'm onto you Flair... ¬_¬

  • Jonny5Alive7 #25 3 years ago

    I have to say its a bit of a lazy review. The fact that the game has been out for over 2 weeks and we're only just getting a review now shows it was never really going to get a fair crack of the whip. The review doesn't even mention any of the classic video packages which build up to the Relive modes, they really add something I think.

    I think the game is great for some old school wrestling fun. I agree it is a bit easy, but this review does not really do it justice.

  • ronuds #26 3 years ago

    "Andre have had their fat replaced with muscle"

    The young Andre was pretty built.

    However, if that pic of him and Hogan on the front page is how they made him look in the game - that's a fail. :p

  • Wayne #27 3 years ago

    "Anyway else also find it funny this review is like 2/3 weeks late? COUGH MONEY COUGH "

    Surely if there was money involved then it would've taken priority, and it wouldn't've got a 6 either. Don't be so cynical.
    Btw, this game is apparently good for the old cheevo hos! An quick and easy 1000.

  • Lamb #28 3 years ago

    Well you know Mean Jean, me and Andre go back a long way! So wanted to get this for nostalgia but wheres Macho and Elizabeth? In a DLC presumably?

    The best storylines were back in the day Ted Dibeasi, Andre, Macho, Hulk and Warrior. R.I.P. WWF

    Yeah I got the F out as I grew up and the storylines were lacking interest. There are still some quality wrestlers Undertaker, HHH, Mysterio. But I liked it better when I thought it was real, when I was a kid.
    Edited by 1 at 08/04/09 @ 22:05

  • Iain815 #29 3 years ago

    The Rock is cooking lasagna.

  • smelly #30 3 years ago

    "Surely if there was money involved then it would've taken priority, and it wouldn't've got a 6 either. Don't be so cynical. "


    Games reviews CAN BE (not for any moment suggesting this is the case here) rigged in 2 ways:

    1) Publisher : "If this game only gets 8, then its not worth us spending advertising money. But if it got a 10, then our advertising department would LOVE to promote this game and spend 20k on ads"

    2) Publishers know the reviewer is going to give the game an average or shit score - so pay them to delay the review (usually again in advertising)
    Edited by 2 at 08/04/09 @ 23:43

  • 3william56 #31 3 years ago

    Scripted fights mode???!

    Finally: a game that recreates the true spirit of WWE!

    Hum... simplified sounds good for the non gaming mates over after the pub. But really, that would be a downloadable tenner a pop title. This sounds like it's stuck in between; too simple to justify a full price purchase, too costly for a occasional p*ssed mates homoerotic lycra clad manslapathon. Bargain bin, here we come.

  • LawrenceArms #32 3 years ago

    Do you really think Randy Savage would be involved when he was so intricately involved in the WWE's main competitor TNA until 2005? I doubted it as well.

  • TRUTH #33 3 years ago

    WWE Legends seems good and responsive compared to mass over complicated unresponsive controls of Smackdown vs Raw...I hated smackdown vs raw - the controls felt detached, esp when your on the receiving end. It felt as you had to wait until a break or a long gap appears for you to recover, also it takes forever for you to get up, and qte for reversal moves only give you a fraction of second to respond. The game is ok if your attacking, but if your defending your feel as if you have no control. It always felt if your getting attacked it's more to luck then direct control when trying to counter, recover or get out the way!

    For fun with mates this is better, for single player and events Smackdown Vs Raw is better - though the controls let it down big time with no obvious response or control, esp when trying to get out of getting attacked.

    Edited by 1 at 09/04/09 @ 11:11

  • Jonny5Alive7 #34 3 years ago

    Macho Man isn't in it because Vince McMahon hates him. Allegedly because of what he did with Steph McMahon!

  • Lamb #35 3 years ago

    Wheres Macho? DLC?

    Quote from Wiki:

    A DVD produced by WWE called Macho Madness: The Randy Savage Ultimate Collection will be released June 9, 2009. It is not said to be a documentary, but rather a three disc collection of some of Savage's matches

    http://en.w ikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Savage
    Edited by 1 at 09/04/09 @ 21:31

  • DAN.E.B #36 3 years ago

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!