Showdown: Legends of Wrestling

It's a pretty solid wrestling game but if you don't really care about the "legends" you'd probably be better off going with a game from the Smackdown series.

But it's a general rule that when you knock down your opponent, you should be able to stomp on them, pin them, or something like that. Well, not here. Unless you actually knock your opponent down and stun them, you can't grab them or anything until they get back up on their own.

Showdown isn't a terrible wrestling game, but it isn't a very good one, either. It's an improvement, though, so if using the stars of your youth is a draw, this one is worth a rental.

The best of the Legends bunch, but Showdown – a title packed with potential – is a disappointing letdown.

A significant improvement on its predecessors, but for many gamers the bugs that are still present in the series three games in will be enough to put them off the title for good.

The game should be fun for wrestling aficionados, but non-wrestling fans and gamers looking for current superstars won't have much interest in this title.

Everything positive that has been added to the game doesn't do anything to counteract the mechanical artificial intelligence and visual problems that plague much of it.

It's fun but the difficulty is weak, almost to the point where button-mashing can create instant success. That kind of thing can't be entertaining forever.

You may be thinking that this all sounds very familiar, and it is, but in terms of enjoyment, Showdown is a vast improvement on its predecessors.

After two failed games it might be too much to ask for an excellent follow up, but a playable one would have been nice.

It's a nice homage to wrestling's past, but just can't compete with the wrestling games of the present. [Aug 2004, p.96]

The gameplay is uglier than Paul Bearer in the nude.

A game meant for fans of wrestling and Not for fans of wrestling videogames. Despite what some may think, there is a difference. As fans of wrestling will no doubt enjoy the nostalgia and history of the wrestlers involved with Legends, while fans of wrestling videogames will likely find it too clunky, damaged, and dumb for any long term value.

All we're left with is an arena full of great classic wrestlers, still wishing they were in a better game. [Aug 2004, p.83]

The downsides are hard to ignore (or even tolerate sometimes), but the fun multiplayer, huge roster of wrestlers, and better-looking graphics than previous installments, make it a weekend rental for a hit of wrestling nostalgia, rather than an outright purchase.

The missing tag instructions, flawed control system, serious lack of a story and the number of glitches in this game should be embarrassing for Acclaim.

One of the most forgettable games I have played in a long time. The series refuses to follow in the foot steps of the great and innovative Smackdown series on the PS2 or evolve much at all for that mater.

All of these touches are implemented adequately enough, but they just can't make up for the broken gameplay.