4The GeekNU.com: NYC Comic Con 09: Gameplay Impressions of Legends of WrestleMania

NYC Comic Con 09: Gameplay Impressions of Legends of WrestleMania

Posted by Kevin C. Monday, February 9, 2009

Here are a few gameplay videos of THQ’s upcoming Legends of WrestleMania game, which we caught at Comic Con this past weekend. We also got a chance to sit down with the title and much to our surprise it played nothing like the popular THQ / Yukes franchise SmackDown vs Raw.

It seems that Legends was designed for the casual “pick-up and go” gamer, with its overly simplified controls and single button grappling system. Speaking of controls, the characters moved slightly slower than SmackDown, but it still had an “arcadey” feel. And for gamers who enjoy d-pad controls, they will be happy to know that you are no longer forced to only use the analog stick.

Grapples are now based upon your momentum level, and as you inflict more damage upon your opponent, your momentum level increases. As you move up from level to level your moveset changes from simple headlock takedowns to running power slams and suplexes.

Another notable change was the addition of God of War like quick time events, required to execute advanced moves and combos. As a player performs a move, button icons are flashed onto the screen, and if pressed correctly the move or combo is completed. You can see this below in the Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant video, when Hogan performs his signature leg drop finisher.

Graphics wise, this game is beautiful. The colors are vibrant and the character models are large and highly detailed. The crowd and ring side area looks awesome, and gives you get a real sense of being inside a huge arena. However there is one detail the game is lacking, and that’s the inclusion of a referee inside the squared circle. While this is a minor omission, the referee would have added more gameplay interactions with classic managers like Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Mr. Fuji. It’s possible a ref could be added to a later build of the game, but we’ll have to wait and see.

While SmackDown and FirePro vets may be put off by the game’s “lack of depth”, overall we enjoyed our brief time with the game and are looking forward to its release. Legends of WrestleMania hits stores March 24, 2009 for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Stone Cold Steve Austin VS. The Rock