The wrestling world is filled with interesting and bizarre characters that continue to entertain fans of pro wrestling since the early seventies with Jerry “The King” Lawler to today’s wrestlers like The Rock.  Paying homage to the legendary wrestlers of old like George “The Animal” Steele to Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Acclaim’s Legends of Wrestling makes its debut on the PS2. 

There are forty-two wrestlers to choose from, each with his own real-life specialized finishing moves, for instance, Hulk Hogan uses his famous Running Leg Drop move and King Kong Bundy uses is trademark Avalanche move.  Still, with all these interesting game characters and game elements, this game is not destined to be a classic or even come close to it.

A big part of the game’s failure lies in the controls that seem so difficult at times that performing any move, no matter how simple, can become a grueling experience for gamers thinking the game’s arcade style makes for easy character control.  Execution of the more complex moves takes practice and a lot of experimentation to avoid repeating the same moves over and over again.

Another frustrating feature comes in the form of the constant button mashing that comes up when an opponent dazes your wrestler, knocks him to the mat or when he’s being pinned.  The appropriate button to smash appear on the upper left with a little gauge that gamers must fill up in order for the wrestler to regain strength or to get back up.  The trouble is that the gauge does not fill up quickly, resulting in tiresome button tapping.

The game does feature four different game playing modes and a few of them do offer some good old-fashioned trashing fun.  There is an Exhibition Mode with Versus (one-on-one action), 3 Way Dance (three wrestler in the ring battling each other), 4 Way Dance (four wrestler in the ring) and Tag Team (two-on-two). Career Mode has gamers choosing one wrestler and pitting him against many others around the States.  In Tournament Mode, up to five players (using a Multitap) can wrestle using the same features as Exhibition Mode.  Create-A-Legend Mode allows gamers to create their own wrestler (male or female) and use them in any match type.

These modes do not offer much in originality, and only a few of them are actually quite challenging and fun.  In Exhibition Mode, the 3 Way Dance and 4 Way Dance proves to be the best matches in this game.  The Create-A-Legend Mode is also a good feature to have, although the actual creative control is minimal. And in Career Mode, gamers can unlock new wrestlers, new moves and attribute points for your created wrestler made in Create-A-Legend Mode.

Tournament Mode has up to five players going up against each another using the same match types in the Exhibition Mode.  Gamers can take on their friends in tag teams or even all out battles such as 4 Way Dance where only where the last man standing wins.  These matches are more fun playing against friends, especially since you’re no longer facing the non-stop onslaught of the CPU opponents.  The multiplayer function could also serve as a practicing mode since the game does not come with a Training or Practice mode.

Sadly, the game’s graphics make each character a badly rendered caricature of the real wrestler.  There are times when the graphics take on a good arcade quality, but the majority of the time the graphics seem sloppy especially the audience that look so flat and two-dimensional.  At times, some wrestler’s bodies take on a shapeless mass look around the chest area.  Although all the wrestlers are slightly recognizable, the cartoon quality they take cheapens the whole experience.

The sound quality is also very poor.  The audience cheers sound looped, occasionally stopping to recycle itself.  And when a well-loved wrestler is announced to the ring, the audience cheers and boos them all at the same time.  In Career Mode, managers often give pep talks that are short and pointless.  Each wrestler has his own theme music that brings the Nintendo’s game tunes to mind.

Unfortunately Legends of Wrestling falls short in many places and quickly becomes irritating instead of fun.  Despite the fact that all the old wrestling favorites are present, this game doesn’t even reach the highpoint of wrestling greatness that WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It! brought to its title. This is definitely a game that should be rented first before considering purchasing it.

Gameplay: 7.0
Much of this game’s failure is due to the exceptionally poor controls that make even the easiest of moves--like slamming an opponent down on the mat--seem so frustratingly difficult.  Opponents are easy to grab, but executing moves require gamers to act quickly or your opponent reverses the grab and turns it against you. 

The more complicated moves require a lot of practice and since each of the forty-two wrestlers have their own unique finishing moves (The Iron Sheik has his famous Camel Clutch and “The Bird Man” Koko B. Ware has his famous Bird Buster), learning them all takes time.

Many gamers will also find the constant button-smashing when their character is dazed, laying on the mat or being pinned to be an annoyance the title could have done without.  The deduction of points for constantly repeating the same moves during Career Mode is also unnecessary.

Graphics: 7.3

Although the graphics aren’t completely bad, there are rough spots in the graphics that are too noticeable to ignore.  The audience are light on the details and look two-dimensional and unreal even though they move.  There are also ten different arenas that have their own distinctive look, however the camera shift its attention more on the mat than the surroundings.

All forty-two wrestlers look like their actual counterparts in an exaggerated animated sort of way. Certain wrestlers, like Hulk Hogan, during their entrance on to the ring loose their shape altogether. 

Sound: 6.0
Aside from the lackluster visuals, the game’s soundtrack is quite possibly of the poorest quality.  From the very beginning the soundtrack--uninspiring rock tunes--goes from okay to very laughable.  It fails to capture the excitement of an actual wrestling event.

The sound effects are also something to laugh about, especially when it comes to the audience, manager pep talks or during a wrestling match.  Audience cheers sound looped and often times the heroes are met with boos.  During a match, accidental kicks to the groin result in a squeaky sound, which takes the reality of out the game.

Difficulty: 7.5
The difficulty level can be changed in the Option Menu to fit the player’s comfort.  There is Jobber (easy), Mid Card (Medium) and Legend (hard).  No matter what selection you choose, nonetheless, the game’s difficulty still remains hard.

Still, the difficulty lies more in making the moves against opponents that never seem to miss a punch or a kick.  In fact, after a second kick, the other wrestler always manages to catch your leg and slam your head in.  Opponents sometimes always escape turnbuckle moves when they themselves get back up at the same moment you jump.

Concept: 7.5
The tragic part is that all the elements of a good wrestling game are here: many flashy characters, different game modes, and even a few secrets.  However, its extremely poor control makes it difficult to pay any attention to the little features this title does have.

Although there are four different playing modes, the modes themselves lack anything unique. Among them, 4 Way Dance (where four wrestlers battle it out) is the only mode that really offers something of a challenge and raw fun.  The Create-A-Legend Mode is a much welcome feature but it isn’t extensive enough to make a radically unique wrestler or give gamers full creative control over the appearance of their creations.

Multiplayer: 7.9
Using the Multitap, five players can battle it out using the same match types from the Exhibition Mode such as Tag Team or 4 Way Dance.  Multiplayer action between other players give the gamer a much better understanding of the controls since most players will be playing at the same level.

The multiplayer games can also be used as a training tool to get to experiment on other players without the CPU opponents getting in the way.  I suggest gamers should try the multiplayer matches with friends before attempting to take on the computer in the other single player modes. 

Overall: 7.0
Legends of Wrestling fail to bring something new and unique to the wrestling mat and this is highly disappointing to gamers anxious to play as wrestling greats of the past like Hulk Hogan or Jerry “The King” Lawler.  Equally disappointing are the difficult controls, which make executing even the simplest moves a frustrating task.

Those looking for your basic arcade style wrestling with very little to offer would find this a worthwhile rental.  Those looking for a good wrestling title will only find a mere shadow of what could have been classic brawling action.