Showdown: Legends of Wrestling (PlayStation 2)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.5 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Alex Navarro
• Reviewed on: 06/22/2004
• Updated on: 06/08/2008
• Released on: 06/22/2004
• Originally published on GameSpot: Showdown: Legends of Wrestling (PlayStation 2) Review

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.

If nothing else, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling does feature one of the best rosters you're ever going to find in a wrestling game, especially if you're at all an enthusiast of classic grapplers. From Hulk Hogan to Sting, from Dusty Rhodes to Jake "The Snake" Roberts, from Bruno Sammartino to "Macho Man" Randy Savage, the game's roster of 70-some-odd characters is quite something to behold. Each wrestler looks and moves pretty much identically to his real-life counterpart. The Ultimate Warrior runs around and shakes the ropes during one of his taunts, the Hulkster does all of his famous hulking up moves, and even minute details, such as the way Randy Savage delivers his deadly elbow drop, look wholly accurate and true-to-life. The signature movements and various styles of maneuvers for each wrestler help Showdown create what often looks like highly realistic action. Unfortunately, the gameplay itself doesn't quite hold up its end of the bargain in this regard.

The four main buttons on the controller actualize different types of moves for each wrestler. These buttons include strike, grapple, block, and "ready move." Ready moves are basically quick grapple moves that can be performed without actually having to press the grapple button beforehand. While these are effective, they're easy to counter. The countering system is timing-based, and by pressing the block button at the right time, you can block an attack. The control scheme is basically what you'd expect from a modern-day wrestling game, but where it begins to falter is in terms of its timing. The older Legends of Wrestling games suffered from some sluggish controls, and Showdown, while mildly quicker, still feels pretty slow and off-kilter. Pressing a strike button will sometimes require a one-second pause before the actual strike is performed. The same goes for grapple moves. Ready moves seem like they don't have quite the level of lag between button press and execution, but they can still be a bit unwieldy. What this essentially leads to is a lot of mistimed moves and clunky action that just doesn't feel quite right.

Momentum shifts during a match are handled by a momentum meter that sits beneath your wrestler's health meter. This meter fills up when you perform successful attacks and taunts against your opponent, and it's depleted when you're getting your ass handed to you. For the most part, this meter works well, because when it is up, it becomes easier for you to reverse attacks, and it helps build you toward performing your wrestler's signature finisher. The only quirk about it is that the moves that help build your meter don't always make sense. You tend to get the most bang for your buck when you simply hammer on the strike button. Big-time slams and suplexes actually only fill your bar about half as much as a simple punch or stomp. This essentially makes it possible for you or your opponent to simply punch your meter all the way up if you're in a stunned state for long enough.

Another problem with the action is that your opponent's artificial intelligence is generally a bit on the lackluster side. During basic single matches--played without any sorts of gimmicks--your opponent will generally stay on the proper course. When you get into situations like a tag team match or, say, a cage match, things tend to break down a bit. AI-controlled players are fine at calling in their tag partners for help (almost a little too good at it), but when they're being pinned or are in an otherwise dire situation, partners suddenly tend to become stone statues, seemingly unable or unwilling to move for help. The same goes for your own partner in the reverse situation. Cage matches and ladder matches are also somewhat problematic. For example, when in a cage match, you can either climb up the side of the cage or go out the door. However, you will quite literally never make it out either way unless your opponent's health has been completely depleted and you've managed to stun him for the full extent of the game's stun meter. Apparently, your opponent is always well aware of this, because he will never, ever try to escape until you're completely worn down, and even then he'll be a little spotty about trying to get out. As it is, the game is pretty easy, even on the hardest difficulty level, so it's very, very hard to lose a gimmick match against the computer.

In terms of play modes, Showdown features the basic quick play and match play modes, along with brand-new story and classic match modes. The story mode, titled "showdown challenge," isn't especially deep. Basically, you select your grappler and work your way through the three most recent eras of wrestling--the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Each era features five matches, with a title match at the end. Once all the eras are cleared, you fight Hulk Hogan, and beating him earns you the coveted "Legends of Wrestling" title. Unfortunately, that's about all there is to it. None of the titles are actually tangible outside of the story mode, and the few scant bits of story thrown in between matches are barely noticeable. All told, it will also only take you a couple of hours of play time to blast through the whole story mode.

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Showdown: Legends of Wrestling (PlayStation 2): $5.75 - $39.99

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