Showdown: Legends of Wrestling

The legends get much better treatment this time around, but there are still some missing pieces. The third offering in the Legends series reinvents itself for the better but still has a ways to go to be the champion.

The third offering in the Legends series reinvents itself for the better but still has a ways to go to be the champion.

Wrestling games are very much a part of mainstream video gaming. Wrestling itself has rebounded from an industry thought to be on the brink of extinction to becoming a household name again. Part of that has to do with guys like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock getting out on TV and in the movies. The other part does have a lot to do with playing Wrestling video games, then getting involved in the TV shows. Either way, both have become big time again. And when you talk Wrestling video games, usually you only talk about the latest WWE game from THQ. A couple of years ago Acclaim (who at one time actually had the WWE license) attempted to bring a new style of Wrestling game to the market with their Legends of Wrestling franchise. Well, two games came, and two games gone, and Acclaim got bodyslammed by the competition both times.

Overall, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling is a must-have for any old-school wrestling fan. However, if you're a more recent fan of the WWE, or you're just a casual fan, there isn't enough depth to the game, nor is the gameplay solid enough to warrant a purchase. Yes, it's better than it was last year, but perhaps a year off for the series to really re-tool is in order because it just can't keep up with the likes of Smackdown: HCTP.

Wrestling games are very much a part of mainstream video gaming. Wrestling itself has rebounded from an industry thought to be on the brink of extinction to becoming a household name again. Part of that has to do with guys like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock getting out on TV and in the movies. The other part does have a lot to do with playing Wrestling video games, then getting involved in the TV shows. Either way, both have become big time again. And when you talk Wrestling video games, usually you only talk about the latest WWE game from THQ. A couple of years ago Acclaim (who at one time actually had the WWE license) attempted to bring a new style of Wrestling game to the market with their Legends of Wrestling franchise.

Wrestling games haven't been able to wield the same kind of power that they had during the 32/64-bit era. Maybe game developers have lost interest in designing titles that are based on the sport. Or maybe gamers lost interest in playing yearly installments of wrestling games when they fail to include major enhancements. Whatever the case, we don't see enough WWE in gaming anymore.

Everything positive that has been added to Showdown doesn't do anything to counteract the mechanical, artificial intelligence and visual problems that plague much of the game.

In the years since its debut, Acclaim's Legends of Wrestling series hasn't exactly had a storied history. As Acclaim's first wrestling title since the ending of the company's ECW wrestling license, the first Legends of Wrestling was a conceptually neat game that was plagued with major gameplay problems. The sequel that followed it managed to correct some flaws, though, on the whole, the game was still highly problematic. For the third installment of the series--titled Showdown: Legends of Wrestling--Acclaim has shifted development duties to its Austin-based studio, and the result is a game that brings more to the table in terms of wrestlers, gameplay mechanics, and features. Unfortunately, the game still suffers from a number of pacing and polish issues that prevent Showdown from being anything more than a marginal improvement, at best.

The more we think about it the more we realize that 2004 is the most crowded year we've ever seen for wrestling videogames. From THQ's Smackdown vs. RAW and Konami's Rumble Rose, to Eidos' Backyard Wrestling 2 and EA's Def Jam: Fight For NY, the sheer number of grappling titles out there is really quite amazing. But with the majority of those franchises not due out until the autumn or winter seasons later in the year, it's Acclaim's Showdown: Legends of Wrestling that's first to hit store shelves just in time for the summer.

The more we think about it the more we realize that 2004 is the most crowded year we've ever seen for wrestling videogames. From THQ's Smackdown vs. RAW and Konami's Rumble Rose, to Eidos' Backyard Wrestling 2 and EA's Def Jam: Fight For NY, the sheer number of grappling titles out there is really quite amazing. But with the majority of those franchises not due out until the autumn or winter seasons later in the year, it's Acclaim's Showdown: Legends of Wrestling that's first to hit store shelves just in time for the summer.

Showdown was obviously made for fans of wrestling and not fans of wrestling video games. Showdown will give any wrestling fan a good sense of nostalgia, but fans of wrestling video games and casual fans should steer clear of Showdown because it fails to learn from it’s predecessors past mistakes and even makes some new ones. I can only recommend this as a rental for wrestling fans, but once the nostalgia wears off you can see the game for what it is and that is a very average wrestling game that I can only recommend as a rental for fans of the sport.

Overall, I had a ton of fun with S:LOW creating legends and reliving classic matches. Again, if you are a die hard wrestling fan then you will no doubt force yourself to live with the controls and enjoy the game to it's fullest extent. The CAL could have been a little better in terms of the gear you can choose from, but it still does an amazing job making your CAL look like the real thing. If you want to create Ric Flair and relive the Chi-Town Rumble with Ricky Steamboat or body slam Big John Studd as Andre the Giant, S:LOW is your game. But if you want fast-paced, over-the-top wrestling, stick with Smackdown vs RAW 2006.

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.

Showdown: Legends of Wrestling merkt man wie schon erwähnt an, das es wohl nicht wirklich eine Testphase vor der Veröffentlichung mitgemacht hat und das ist schade, denn das Spiel hat riesiges Potential durch den Roster, die Matcharten, die ganzen Arenen und man merkt, das sich die Programmierer dort sehr viel Mühe gaben. Aber die ganzen Bugs und Grafikfehler trüben das Gesamtbild und ziehen den Spielspaß ebenso wie die schlechte KI nach unten.

Wrestling. Hulks of men, single-handedly responsible for making Spandex a profitable business, engaging in no-holds barred grappling action in a squared-ring for an audience that shrieks with every suplex, punch and kick. Violence - like sex - sells, but the continued success of the World Wrestling Federation (since changed to World Wrestling Entertainment) cannot be attributed to the simulated violence alone; no, wrestling is soap-opera for men.

En dépit d'un progrès dans la mise en scène des affrontements, une légère amélioration graphique et un nouveau système de prise (pas au point), Legends Of Wrestling ne convainc toujours pas et ne fait décidément pas le poids face à une concurrence bien rude.

The good news, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling lets you play as Andre the Giant. The bad news, the game’s flaws make playing as Andre the Giant not that great. Not all the wrestlers and game modes in the world could redeem glitchy, repetitive, and just plain bad gameplay. Not to mention a step backwards in the career mode department and lack of any online play. Showdown doesn’t live up to the potential a game with 70 fighters could have.

Many of wrestling's greatest stars gained fame and fortune by their look and gimmick, while not being able to wrestle their way out of a paper bag -- Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, and Superstar Billy Graham come to mind. It's obvious that these individuals are Acclaim's heroes, because Showdown has style in spades but barely any in-ring ability.

Many of wrestling's greatest stars gained fame and fortune by their look and gimmick, while not being able to wrestle their way out of a paper bag -- Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, and Superstar Billy Graham come to mind. It's obvious that these individuals are Acclaim's heroes, because Showdown has style in spades but barely any in-ring ability.

Showdown: Legends of Wrestling does its level best to fend off the inevitable. It's a bad game, but it's a bad game with aspirations, and every so often it manages to entertain in spite of its gaping, hideous flaws.

Showdown: Legends of Wrestling does its level best to fend off the inevitable. It's a bad game, but it's a bad game with aspirations, and every so often it manages to entertain in spite of its gaping, hideous flaws.