"How does the first Wrestling game make its mark on the Gamecube system? Read to find the in depth report on Acclaim's "Legends of Wrestling""

This is a review which is over three sentences long (unlike others), for all the people who actually want to know about this game from a wrestling ''mark'' (fan).

The first wrestling game for Nintendo Gamecube has come out, 'Legends of Wrestling'. Now, I first of all bought the Nintendo Gamecube for its excellent history in marketing the best wrestling games. My friend (James, deserves to get a mention) bought this game for me as a birthday present and this became the first step in my own resolution to own every wrestling game on the Gamecube however bad or good they were and review them fairly.

Now how do I feel in this first step for pro wrestling games on the Gamecube? Well....

Acclaim is the producer of this game and on the Nintendo 64 produced other wrestling games, such as:
-WWF Warzone
-WWF Attitude
-ECW Hardcore Revolution

Acclaim's wrestling games are known for its repetitious style and no real advancements from its past games. This can be seen in some aspects on Legends of Wrestling.

Legends of Wrestling first of all does not have the WWE license and does not have wrestlers such as Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bruno Sammartino and other legends of the pro wrestling business. But Acclaim were lucky enough to have gotten the rights to the names of Hulk Hogan and RVD when they were free agents, before they got hired by the WWE. This is a huge pro in the game as you can wrestle as the immortal Hulk Hogan and a future wrestling star Rob Van Dam (not related to Jean Claude Van-Dam). Other wrestlers you can grapple with are Sabu, Terry Funk, Bret Hart, Koko B.Ware and many more. There are a total of 30 wrestlers and you do not start off with all wrestlers. They have to be unlocked by doing career mode.

The graphics on this game are average. The bodies on some of the wrestlers are bulky and very unproportioned. Its got more of an arcade feel than anything else.

There are 4 match types: Singles, Tag match, 3 way match, 4 way match. Not many choices but it does include a career mode where you can take the wrestler of your choice and make them compete in the US territories for championship belts. When they get popular enough (there is a popularity meter which you gain percentage by the things you do in matches) they will then compete oversea's in Japan and Canada for the world title. You will also be guided by either Jimmy Hart (if you're a ''face'' - good guy) or Captain Lou Albano (if you're a ''heel'' - bad guy) the game's managers. Your wrestler wrestles in arena's such as Barns, gyms and stadiums. How glamorous!

The sound in this game is not too crash hot. Sometimes it skips sounds and is silent, for example, when you do a bodyslam. This is only on occasions though. But when the sounds do pitch in its superb. The rumble of when they're spiked into the ground is excellent. Just imagine hearing the ECW canvas sound effect. Loud and Clear.

Another feature is the 'Create a Wrestler'. This is excellent as you have so many choices to make your very own wrestler. The moves list is huge, too many to choose from and write about. You can also edit the appearance of your wrestler eg. what they wear, face type, body type and even head size (golfball to beachball size). Also you give them attributes such as strength, recovery, stamina etc. When finished making your own wrestler, you save and can load them to play with. You can even do a career with them. Excellent feature. By the way there is no 'Create a Stencil'.

The combo system in this game is its main pro. The combo meter is under your health meter. When your in the 'Tie-up' of the move there is a red bar with a section of green. An arrow then goes along the meter and you press either A or B when the arrow gets to the green section and this turns into a combo of wrestling moves. Excellent attribute to the game.

Overall here is what the game has to offer.

Pro's:
-Legends of Wrestling (A big plus to nostalgic pro wrestling fans)
-Sound (When it does not go silent after the camera angle changes)
-Combo System
-Create a Wrestler
-The ECW feel of the game

Cons:
-Sound (When it goes silent)
-Lastability
-Wrestlers (The non-legends that are included in this game just for the sake of it)
-Lack of Match types
-Koko B.Ware

Hopefully Legends of Wrestling 2 will expand on this game and have more gameplay modes!

Overall this game is for the real wrestling fans out there, more for fans of the old time wrestling. For people who are unfamiliar with wrestling, this should be only for rental.

It gets 6 out of 10!

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/07/02, Updated 09/07/02