It’s 1991. It’s Saturday morning. I’m 10 years old. Am I watching cartoons? No, cartoons were for pussies. Real 10 year olds watched Saturday Morning Superstars. Since you had no idea who was going to show up, you went ballistic when Hogan, or The Ultimate Warrior, or the Legion of Doom would come out and beat the living shit out of some jobber. These are the memories that WWE: Legends of Wrestlemania tries to bring back. They succeeded immensely in the nostalgic factor, but as far as the game play, not so much.

The first thing you will notice is that the roster is deep. Very deep. There are some noticeable omissions, like the Macho Man, but there are still plenty of other wrestlers that you will instantly reminisce with. The character models are superb, almost too good. Andre the Giant looks like he was in the best shape of anyone who ever walked the Earth and Hulk Hogan has a beautiful head of hair. Truth is Andre was obese and Hogan was balding at a young age. What you will notice is the text graphics from Wrestlemanias of old and this is a great touch. You will get the chance to Relive, Rewrite, or Redefine past events. This is a great idea but also has it faults. The matches are not scripted, but to complete the goals to get a Gold Medal which unlocks costumes (yeah, thanks), you sort of have to follow the events because most of them are interrelated. An example is for Hogan to hit a Crimson Leg Drop, he must be bleeding first. So, you must get hit by a chair or stairs or what have you to complete this objective. Most objectives are easy enough, but some require perfect timing, scenario, and location as your opponent is not so willing to let you grapple them next to the stairs or be groggy against the ropes.

The control scheme is completely different from the Smackdown vs Raw games. They are much, much simpler, but can be very frustrating. You have to build your aggression meter enough to raise your level from 1 to 2 and then to finally 3. Each level has varying moves and the higher the level, the more damage you cause. You can only use your finisher in level 3, which is great, but they are only achieved by entering a button sequence just like God of War. Now, your opponent can steal your finisher if he hits the appropriate button first. This is fine, but can be extremely frustrating. Also, the move sets are very limited. You only have 2 strong grapple moves for each level. A strong grapple with L or R direction results in an Irish Whip.  If you have a favorite character, you will see his move set over and over.

There a plenty of game modes and you can create your own wrestler and complete the Legend Killer mode where you take on 10 straight Legends at a clip. One of the coolest aspects is that you can import your SvR 2009 roster, but they will use the newer control scheme. That John Cena/Junk Yard Dog match can happen after all. The game is fun, but can get stale. The controls are supposed to be easier but we are all so used to the way THQ controls their wrestling games, it actually made it harder. The roster is complete and the wrestlers bring back some great memories. A deeper career mode, larger move set and tighter game play would have made this a must have. This is a definite rental for any wrestling fan, but once you get past the nostalgia, the game loses some of its luster.

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