A Good Idea That Falls Short...

Before I get to into this, I would like to say that I am a wrestling fan and have been since I was a kid. That said, when I heard that there was going to be a WWE Legends game, I was reasonably excited. I like the Smackdown v. Raw series and the controls for those games are some of the best in a wrestling game since the old N64 days. But, I must say that the controls are where this game falls short for me.

The control system uses the 4 face buttons and features a chain system that is similar to chain events that take place in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Spider-Man 3. It's cool and all to be able to make chains like that and pull of finishers through that means, but it just doesn't hold up to the controls in other WWE games. Sometimes the controls work great, and other times they lead to large amounts of frustration. I understand that they were aiming to make this game simple to just pick up and play, but is the sacrifice of a good control scheme necessary just to try and gain a few more players, especially when the control system for the other games is simple?

Controls aside, the roster is awesome. Finally, a game that features a large assortment of legends, as opposed to the 4-5 that are unlockable on the Smackdown v. Raw games. Even better, you can import rosters and created wrestlers from Smackdown v. Raw 09 and use them in the game. This leads to a massive roster and also allows for some matchups that are unable to be made just on the 09 iteration of Smackdown v. Raw. While it would have also been cool to be able to import the legends into the other game, it is understandable why they chose not to do this.

Game modes feature the Wrestlemania Tour, Legend Killer and Exhibition. In Wrestling Tour, you can relive, rewrite, and redefine classic Wrestlemania matches such as Hogan/Warrior, Austin/Michaels, Austin/Hart, Austin/Rock, Hogan/Slaughter and most fun of all, Hogan/Andre. In relive, you essentially relive the match and feature an assortment of objectives that, if met, will gain you a medal. In rewrite, you rewrite the match and change the outcome, and in redefine you can add in different match types to change the set up of the match completely. For Legend Killer, you take a created wrestler through the gauntlet and beat legend after legend, while earning experience along the way.

Overall, this game is a great premise, give the fans a game featuring nothing but legends of the WWE. But it is in the execution that this game falls short and leaves a lot to be desired. Hopefully, they can make enough to build a sequel, but make the changes to the control scheme to make it an overall better experience. Then and only then will it be a true Legend of Wrestlemania.

Wombat Score: 3 Wombats