All Star Pro-Wrestling (PlayStation 2)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.0 stars Mediocre
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 4.0 (2.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Jeff Gerstmann
• Reviewed on: 06/21/2000
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 06/08/2000
• Originally published on GameSpot: All Star Pro-Wrestling (PlayStation 2) Review

IMPORT REVIEW: Most fans of US wrestling games simply don't understand Japanese wrestling games. While US games focus more on wrestling's superstars, their finishing moves, and raw attitude, the Japanese games are focused more on setting up matches or tournaments and diving right into the gameplay - which is usually slightly more complex than US wrestling games, for better or worse. Square's All Star Pro-Wrestling gets its complexity from slow, sluggish gameplay and an entirely different and unbearably annoying control scheme.

Once you've moved through the numerous options screens - which let you set up matches and tournament brackets, as well as choose what arena you'll wrestle in, who the referee is, and what the time limit is - the match begins with wrestler entrance sequences. These sequences are marked by heavy use of motion blur, which gives them a very surreal look. The entrances make good use of lighting effects, and they generally look neat. Once you're in the ring, the action clears up a bit on the graphical side. In the ring, all the moves are animated fairly well, and transitions between animations are smooth. The walking, however, looks stiff and unrealistic. There are some nice little graphical touches here and there. For instance, when a wrestler's head gets busted open, not only will his face become bloody but also drops of blood will occasionally drip onto the mat, where they'll stay for the rest of the match. Similar to Tekken Tag Tournament, there's a screen-capture option that lets you take a snapshot of the action and save it to your memory card. The game's sound is well executed, featuring lots of nice crowd noise and some decent announcer work. Of course, if you don't understand Japanese, most of the announcing will be completely lost.

Continue reading

Compare prices for All Star Pro-Wrestling

This product is currently not in stock at any of our online merchants.

Email me when this product is available