OMG muscles!
So this game has got a demo newly out and it's actually a hell of a lot of fun. Go try it, the download's not very long.
The game centers around the Wrestlemania event, obviously. In the demo you get to either play the Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan match from like the mid-eighties or something or the Stone Cold vs. The Rock match from the.. late nineties? Anyway, for the latter match, you must play in the "Relive" mode. In that mode, you get to see a nifty video recap of the match, and the events leading up to it, then you must try to recreate the circumstances and the correct outcome of what really occurred. You get bonus points for completing little objectives within the game. For example, if you (as Stone Cold) put The Rock through the red table (just like in the real-life video!) you get a score. I guess this will all mean something in the full retail version. It should add a lot of replayabilty and challenge as you go for that perfectly recreated match.
The controls are REALLY simple too. Kind of too simple, but oh well. You're never really sure which grapple or kick you're doing but it doesn't seem to matter because there is no deep fatigue or limb injury system like there is in Fight Night Round 3 or in Fire Pro Wrestling, for example. You just try to fill your meter, keep your health up, and connect a few special finishing moves.
I haven't played a WWF game since the Nintendo 64, and I know there are more in-depth versions out there (Smackdown vs. Raw or whatever) but this game is so simple that its fun. The Relive mode played out more like Stuntman: Ignition than it did a sports game, which was reaaaally fun and challenging.
Also, in the last podcast, Duke said something about there being a few more modes like that (one called "Rewrite" and I can't remember the other) so gimmicks like that might get me to buy this game.
I haven't watched wrestling since I was 14 or so, so this should really bring back some memories (Macho Man Randy Savage and Rick Flair better be in this!) of jumping off the bed and pretending I could take a hit from a chair. Go grab the demo and tell me what you think.
