Overall Rating

Legends of Wrestling II (GCN) - story 1On this "Extended Play," we step into the squared circle with "Legends of Wrestling II," the follow-up to Acclaim's retro-fueled brawler from last year. Once again, rather than license an existing roster, Acclaim has worked with individuals (and in some cases, their estates), to put together its own lineup of grapplers, spanning different eras of sports entertainment.

An all-star team

"Legends of Wrestling II" features 66 grapplers, including many of wrestling's most famous names such as Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bret "Hitman" Hart, Jerry "The King" Lawler, "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner, and many more.

Recently converted wrestling fans may not recognize many of the names, but for hardcore wrestling fans the game also contains many all-time favorites like Bruno Sammartino, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, King Kong Bundy, Sabu, George "The Animal" Steele, Terry Funk, and Bam Bam Bigelow. Tag teams of old like The Road Warriors, British Bulldogs, and Rock-n-Roll Express are also playable. Fans of the '80s era WWF will also be pleased to see familiar faces like the Iron Sheik, Captain Lou Albano, and Nikolai Volkoff.

Compared to THQ's recent wrestling titles, which focus only on the current talent signed to the WWE at the time of development, the wide selection of characters is a welcomed change.

Wrestle-enthusiasm

This year's game centers on a lengthy career mode. You compete in five regional wrestling promotions in an attempt at winning matches and exciting crowds. As you deal with different promoters for each territory, the game unfolds against the backdrop of these smaller operations and you're forced to deal with the politics and rivalries between competitors.

There are also myriad single and multiplayer gameplay options, which include elimination bouts, battle royals, and more obscure matches like table, ladder, and cage matches. There's also an all-new body slam challenge.

The create-a-legend editor is back and improved over last year's effort. This time around, it allows players to create and develop their own superstars. Fans can also re-create fairly accurate versions of many wrestlers not included in the game. If you name them accordingly, you'll tap into an extensive collection of recorded names that allows the commentary to acknowledge them during gameplay.

Legends of Wrestling II (GCN) - story 2Babyface turns heel

Unfortunately, the action fails to live up to the game's impressive feature set once you enter the ring, regardless of which type of match you choose. The gameplay favors the nuts and bolts of wrestling over showmanship, relying on a fairly basic set of moves. There's a decent selection of grapples, strikes, holds, locks, aerial moves, foreign object attacks, and finishers to choose from, but none are particularly gratifying. The biggest challenge is pulling off smooth combinations and quick reversals, which rely on proper timing.

Those fascinated by the more technical aspects of wrestling may enjoy the back and forth intricacies of the matches, but most gamers will find the gameplay to be both frustrating and tedious. More often than not, the animations lag behind the game's controls, giving it a somewhat unresponsive feel that hinders any sort of intensity. Collision detection issues also rear their ugly head, adding unnecessary challenge to the game.

Playing to the crowd

Animation problems aside, the visuals in "Legends of Wrestling II" show some improvement over last year's game. There is a fair amount of detail in each 3D wrestler, and while each has a larger-than-life look that resembles an action figure more than its real-life counterpart, it works in the game's favor.

The same goes for the game's voice acting, which is a good fit with professional wrestling's sweat-laden soap operas. The accompanying music selection has its hits and misses, with some of the wrestler's theme songs licensed for the game, and others accompanied by similar-sounding tracks or completely different music.

It should also be mentioned that "Legends of Wrestling II" features a fair amount of DVD bonus footage, highlighted by excellent interviews with many of the game's wrestlers. Unfortunately, it's only included on the Xbox and PlayStation2 versions, so GameCube owners will have to do without. Wrestling fans that own multiple console platforms will surely want to take this into consideration if they decide to rent or purchase the game.

A shoulder shy of a pin

"Legends of Wrestling II" aims to be the ultimate console wrestling game. Even though its list of features, modes, and wrestlers outshines most, it lacks a solid gameplay engine to provide a firm foundation. Because of this, most players won't find enough here to compete with the more rewarding action found in THQ's WWE titles. Serious wrestling fans may find the overall experience enjoyable, highlighted by the plethora of unlockable costumes, objects, and characters within the game. By completing various tasks, you can play as Big John Studd, the late Owen Hart, or the late Andy Kaufman, amongst others. If you know a bit about the Hart wrestling dynasty or understand Kaufman's connection to wrestling, you are probably well-versed enough to enjoy most aspects of "Legends of Wrestling II."