Is this what Legends are made of? Maybe…
Iāve already played WWE Legends of Wrestlemania at 2 preview trips to THQās offices and if you read them, youāll know I have been keeping a close eye on it. Itās a more simplistic game, which will open the series upto newcomers, but maybe the price it has to pay is that long-term fans may be dismayed that itās become more mainstream, which is understandable.
Combat is condensed into just a few buttons, which makes it incredibly easy to play. The AI offers little challenge, especially if you create your own monster wrestler as I did. I did the same with the preview code, but this time I dominated the opposition without much effort. Itās a shame that a non-fan like me can come along and completely own the game, but I guess thatās what the team were hoping for.
So, there are multiple modes of exhibition matches as well as a nice single player campaign in forms of Relive, Rewrite and Redefine. Relive lets you tackle old fights and try and get the same outcome while Rewrite is the opposite and Redefine lets you pick either side, but changes the rules of the match itself. So it could originally have been a standard match, but has been changed to a cage match.
The fights are introduced with old film footage of it and the build-up, which is just hilariously over-the-top. I was too young to see all this, and it just made my sides split…Itās that cheesy.
Then thereās the chance to āCreate a Legendā with the most insane amount of customisable items I have ever seen. Iām not just talking about changing nose features and making the wrestler tall, Iām talking about all that and the mad clothing accessories like Santa hats, Horns, Tattoos, Scars…the list goes on and I saw even more in the final version then when I played it recently. Itās good to see some new items and itād be nice if more comes available via DLC, although Iām not expecting any.
With your created Legend, you can enter the āLegend Killerā mode which sees your new fighter take on the classics one after the other, while gaining EXP. The fights come in blocks of 10, so youāll have to fight 10 times to win one of the tiers. I did it under 30 mins and got a nice bunch of achievements, speaking of which…there are 19 in total to grab. All of them earned just from completing single player modes, although you can also earn them online…itās just easier to nab āem solo.
There is a bit of a crutch in the form of quicktime events during fights which can reverse a move from your opponent. It does cheapen the fights a bit and makes it easier for you to recover, although I rarely came across this as I just dominated the opposition with my 7ft Evil Santa with red eyes and gold teeth. He is seriously twice the size of any wrestler and about half the size of the ring itself. Itās hilarious really, Iād highly recommend that you make some crazy creations for the single player; itās perhaps the gameās biggest highlight.
The visuals are great, although some graphical layers overlap, although thatās really only noticeable with my Evil Santaās layers of fat. The rest of the game looks just fine, character models are great and the detail to them is impressive, even little details to sweat are a nice touch. Voice-work is funny and fits in with the feel of the genre quite well.
The Verdict
WWE Legends of Wrestlemania may have made itself far too easy to play and beat, but it has a great level of customisation and modes that any wrestling fan should enjoy. Itās not without its problems, but they are easily overlooked when you have a big fat Santa smacking the crap out of Hulk Hogan…
