Customer Reviews

Showdown: Legends of Wrestling

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I do not admire those gamers who knock Showdown Legends Of Wrestling. For one you got to look at a number of factors. Firstly, Acclaim have modelled a number of deceased and past superstars and as they have since grown old, put on weight or are indeed dead, Acclaim have done very well in modelling these superstars. Also this is nothing compared to previous LOW games, where the arenas were something of an embarressment and the superstars resembled cartoon characters, this time around the wrestlers are more refined and the venues have provided the most impressive I've ever seen. I shall therfore list the advantages and disadvantages of this game to allow you to decide.

1) Enhanced control system - gone is the WWE Attitude style control system when you had to press three buttons in a certain order to perform a suplex. Now, similarly to the Smackdown games, any directional button with circle or triangle will perform a variety of manoeuvres.

2) Alternate costumes and entrance music. Now you can play as each legend from some point in his career i.e. from Hogan's wrestling days in the 1970's to Hogan's Red and Yellow era during his return to WWE. I was particularly impressed with the fact that each superstar has on average 3 entrance themes to further symbolise a different period in that superstars career.

3)Arenas - some of the included arenas comprise the greatest and largest venues in Wrestling history. Of course it would be entirely impossible to scale such venues as the Silverdome and Skydome in exact detail, but in my opinion they have done a very good job at simulating the ring side atmosphere. However, I am a little confused as to some of the screenshots released for this game depicting different rope colours.

4) 8 men in the ring at once - sure it slows down the pace of gameplay, but its considered one feature that hasn't been seen in a wrestling game since Smackdown JBI and it is definitely welcome.

Disadvantages

1) Despite the entrance moves of superstars in this game providing impressive, the winning moves are yet another matter. Like previous games, they just repeat their taunts over and over again. It looks completely ridiculous to see a superstar clime for the gold in a ladder match and miraculously appear on the canvas below. I guess some of these superstars move at light speed don't they.

2)Hogan's entrance - I noticed in Hogan's entrance with his second attire, his moves kept toggling between having his t-shirt on and off, representing some of the inconsistancies in the game.

3)Limited weapon use - a hardcore match is pointless with only 8 weapons with limited use at your disposal. It soon turns into a basic falls count anywhere match.

4) Tag Matches - Incredibly difficult to tag your partner in and your character sometimes stalls as you struggle for 10 seconds to get off the apron and inside the ring.

However, if you're a die hard wrestling fan in need of a game with recognisable talent on it (lets face it, is the SD vs Raw roster worth the effort) then Showdown LOW is the game for you.

I've been playing wrestling games since 1988's WWF Wrestlemania for NES and I've played damn near every game since then for all consoles. I know my wrestling games and this one sucks. Although this game has some improvments over the former legends of wrestling games, it's still way short on moves. Only three Strikes per player! Thats right only three strikes per player...1 2 3!!! Forget about doing an irish whip into the ropes because the person being whipped can get out of it everytime by press square and I mean everytime, attacking from outside the ring, forget that too because it never works. Last time I checked the year was 2004 going on 2005 ..and Akklaim is releasing crap like this? Sad but true. The roster is the only reason I bought this game and its the only reason I gave it two stars. The rosters is awesome!

I personally love the game. I grew up watching wrestling and while I dont watch it much anymore, it is fun to play with all the guys I grew up watching. The graphics are great, and while there are some minor glitches, it is a fun game to watch. I like the controls and the music is cool. The commentating gets a little old but you can turn it down and listen to music ( I have found that listening to 80s rock really takes you back.)I cant say much about the career modes or special features because I mainly play a few matches to break up the monotony of Ncaa and Madden football games. Anyways I wouldn't reccomend buying it new but if you can get it used, as you can here, I would do it. Great for old WWF fans and its at least worth a rent.

the first time i played one of the legends of wrestling games i was shocked and stunned.it was so good i was up all nite even passed my bed time.i liked evrything about it the legends the matches etc. but they could have made the seson a little better.then when i heard showdown legends of wrestling is comming out i told my mom to go the first day to eb games and get me an copy.when played it i knew right away that it was better then the second legends of wrestling 2. the roster they picked was so good i couldnt wait to start a season with ultimate warrior. when played it i liked it alot!!!!!!! i especily liked the commentary by tony and bobby. the good thing about this is that it countians over 70 legends, brand new matches, commentary finish the feud, classic matces,creat a player and many more.its a big improvement and totally worth checking out

Every game should have this roster of wrestlers. These guys are the ones I respect and cheer for. When my son and I play this game, we get engaged in being these guys and living their fights. We love their stories and playing as them. The graphics relay to us the real action and the stadiums for once come to earth in perfect visual flair. Other games don't cater to the type of wrestling fan we are; we want the legends brought to life. This game is fun; its graphics are great; the gameplay makes us yearn for the days of watching fights which kept us glued to our seats week after week.

Normally I don't do video game reviews since I'm not a big video game fanatic past the WWE SmackDown vs. RAW series but after seeing how they didn't release "Legends Of WrestleMania" for PS2, I thought I'd check this game out. Now I've never played the previous "Legends Of Wrestling" games so I can't compare this to the rest of the series but I'll say that overall, this is a very enjoyable game for what it is.

The basics about this game are that there are around 70 different wrestlers to play as...including various wrestlers you have yet to see in a WWE game (at least since 2004 when this game was released) such as "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Bruno Sammartino, Owen Hart, Sting, Brian Pillman, Steiner Brothers, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, Sid Vicious, The Von Erichs (Kevin & Fritz & Kerry), The Koloffs, Rock 'N Roll Express, Dynamite Kid, Andy Kaufman, Capt. Lou Albano, and the only PS2 game you'll find the Ultimate Warrior on. With each character, you get to choose from four different costumes...some are the same costume in different colors, some are four different outfits, and others represent different eras of their career. For example, Hulk Hogan's four outfits represent his early pre-Hulkamania run, his Hulkamania run, his nWo/Hollywood Hogan run, and his latest run. Along with various costumes comes different theme music to represent that era such as Sting's "Crow" & "nWo Woflpac" outfits come with the dark phantom theme while his other 80's & 90's looks had music similar to his theme during that era of time. Speaking of the theme music, it was composed by Jimmy Hart so he was able to secure some of the WCW theme music that he created such as HulK Hogan's "American Made", Randy Savage's theme, Paul Orndorff's "Mr. Wonderful" theme. Along with classic wrestlers, you can compete in classic areans as well. Madison Square Garden, Pontiac Silverdome (WrestleMania III), The Omni in Atlanta (home of many NWA/WCW classic events), Philadelphia's Spectrum, Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, Tokyo Dome, Toronto's Skydome (WrestleMania VI & X8), Mid-South Coliseum, Texas Stadium (WCCW's David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions), L.A. Sports Arena (WrestleMania VII), Wembley Stadium (SummerSlam '92) are a few examples. Commentary here is done by the old "WCW Nitro" crew of Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, and Larry Zbyszko. This also comes with various matches past your normal one on one & 4-8 man regular & elimination tag matches, 3-4 Way Dances, Handicap, Battle Royal, First Blood, Hardcore/Falls Count Anywhere, Ladder, Tables, 2 Out Of 3 Falls, and the Steel Cage.

This game is filled with positives & negatives. Depending on how you prefer to play, the movesets are very simple & not very complex...and they even have it where you can get assistance from the game. The career mode isn't a "storyline mode" like you get with WWE & TNA's game but it's just you fighting through each decade against the most popular/well known wrestlers through that decade (70's, 80's, 90's). There's another short challenge mode where you wrestle classic matches from the past. This game isn't perfect as it has it's flaws as well like the create-a-wrestler mode is very limited. This game seemed rushed as it does have various bugs & glitches that freeze the game at times.

Honestly, this game doesn't compare to the SmackDown vs. RAW series (well, maybe except the 2008 edition) but it has more replay value to me than TNA Impact does. The game is around 5 years old so for the heavily cheap price you can get this for used (under $10), it's worth the price but this isn't something I would buy for a new price.

Showdown: Legends of Wrestling should quench the thirst of wrestling fans who long for the weekend wrestling days of yesteryear where grudges lasted months (or years in some cases) and storylines were compelling and memorable. Showdown does an admirable job of placating the jaded old-school wrestling fan in all of us. Virtually all the major wrestling territories from the 70's and 80's are represented in some form. Legends such as the Von Erich clan, Andre the Giant, Abdullah the Butcher, and "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert are among the seventy-plus wrestlers appearing here in digital glory. As noted in previous reviews, Showdown also features meticulously-replicated versions of many famous areans and stadums. From Texas Stadium to the Omni in Atlanta, to Madison Square Garden (it would be awesome if ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta used the classic "descending microphone" in the latter arena, but alas it is not to be). Game play is solid for the most part. There is not alot of convoluted button combinations to memorize, and finishers can be performed fairly easily when the time is right. But, as previously noted on this site, Showdown is not without its glitches and general annoyances. While bearing some physical resemblance to their real-life counterparts, the digitized wrestlers appears blocky and cartoonish with exaggerated features. However, this can also add to the novelty of the game as well. Wrestler detection-collision issues can be particularly annoying at times. For example, if Andre the Giant is wrestling an opponent of smaller stature like, say, comedian Andy Kaufman (yep, he's in it too), Andre will "chokeslam" him by hoisting his hand a good distance over Kaufman, thus making it appear as though Kaufman is levitating before being hurled to the mat. Magic or a glitch? You decide. There also appears to be a major glitch in the cage match mode. Several times during gameplay, a wrestler will seemingly fade into the mat and then begin bouncing like an invisible speedball all over the arena. Seriously. This glitch has been noted on other sites, so take heed. While the selection of wrestlers in Showdown is vast and impressive, I can't help but feel as though this game is slightly flawed with it's lack of certain legends and it questionable inclusion of more contemporary stars (ex: Sabu). For a game that markets itself as giving one the ability to recreate classic feuds, several notable wrestlers are nowhere to be found (more on that below). Newer and younger fans are likely to grew increasingly bored with Showdown. WWE games such as those in the Smackdown series have spoiled fans with their faster gameplay and sharper graphics, thus making Showdown appear antiquated and prodding by comparison.
Should Acclaim opt for a fourth version in this series, I suggest the inclusion of the The Midnight Express (with Jim Cornette), Brusier Brody, The Fabulous Freebirds, Kamala, Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Tommy Rich, Skandar Akbar, The Missing Link, and perhaps Dick Murdoch, Nikita Koloff, or Magnum TA. Until such a day comes however, this game is a must-have for old-school fans and wrestling purists alike.

Yes, the game is not perfect, but the huge roster of wrestlers (73) is very impressive, especially since it includes a lot of guys you won't see in a WWE game. Granted, there are some omissions, mostly due to those wrestlers still being employed by Vince McMahon (Ric Flair, Sean Michaels, and others), but a lot of those guys can be created with the "create a legend" option. If you put the right names together using the "pick from the list" for first and last names, the announcers will still say those names. And certain moves, such as Austin's Stone Cold Stunner are there (in the case of the Stunner, it's called the Stinger), certain clothing options are there (like Austin's vest, RVD's clothes, or Kane's old red-and-black outfit), so you can get around the WWE-copyrighted problem rather easily. "Freebird" is also one of the nicknames for those of you who remember those boys from "Badstreet, Atlanta, G.A."

There are tons of moves to pick from, so the wrestlers can be made to do different moves, and again, the huge number of wrestlers that are there is extremely impressive. But there are glitches. Yes, it's very annoying when you get up from the mat and are not facing your opponent. But those glitches are minor.

I like having a wrestling video game that is unrelated to the WWE, since I hate what McMahon has done to the industry. I grew up with Gordon Solie and the Georgia Championship Wrestling-controlled World Championship Wrestling program (prior to WCW breaking off from the NWA as its own company), so I probably enjoy this title more than those who grew up on the 90s and later WWF/WWE.

Finally, since I'm a little greedy, I wish the game would have also included the Midnight Express, Ronnie and Jimmy Garvin, the Valiant Brothers, Johnny Valentine, Magnum T.A., and all of the members of the original Four Horsemen -- Ole Anderson, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and (even though he's with the WWE now) the greatest wrestler ever, the Nature Boy Ric Flair.

But even without his presence, this game gets a big Wooooooooo!!!

I got the game a few days ago, and I was wondering if the empty boxes on the character select screen were for hidden characters. If it is for hidden people can somebody tell me how to get them

thanks

I love this game. It features the best wrestlers of all time and makes me nostalgic for the great afternoons watching wrestling with my family. I enjoy all the great fighters with amazing graphics and great stadiums. And, for me the game play and controls were top notch and I had a great time playing with all my favorites of all time. This game is fantastic in almost every way.