Of course this was all back in the 80's when Stamps were a Quarter and you could buy gas for a Dollar and some change.
E3 2008: Legends of WrestleMania First Look
Hulk slams Andre again in THQ's upcoming retro wrestling game.
If you're of a certain age--above 30 years old or so--and you're a wrestling fan, you no doubt remember WrestleMania III. March 29, 1987. The Pontiac Silverdome. Detroit, Michigan. 93,173 fans. Andre the Giant versus Hulk Hogan. The Hulkster picking up the Giant, slamming him down, and the torch passing from one legend to the next. It's that nostalgic atmosphere that fuels THQ's latest wrestling game, Legends of WrestleMania. We had a chance to check out the game for the first time at E3 2008, looking to see if this retro wrestling game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 brought back those old memories of classic matches of yesteryear.
While you can expect to see approximately 40 classic characters on the Legends roster, only three have been announced so far: the aforementioned Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and Andre's manager during WrestleMania III, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. The character models shown during the game were exaggerated versions of the famous wrestlers we all idolized as kids and, it should be noted, are still works in progress. The Hulk Hogan model, for example, still featured the 24-inch--wait, make that about 40-inch--pythons and lats wide enough to make the Hulkster look like a turtle from behind. The virtual Andre was still his 7-foot-4-inch, 500-pound self, with more defined musculature than was the case in real life. Producers told us that the look of the wrestlers has been purposefully designed to represent the "ideal" versions of those wrestlers--the Hogan and Andre we remember, not necessarily the sometimes less-than-heroic realities.
Though Yuke's is developing Legends, and the game is running on a modified version of the SmackDown vs. Raw engine, the game is going to play much differently than the SmackDown series. While THQ's foremost wrestling series is full of complicated moves designed for the more hardcore crowd, Legends looks to pare down the interface and control scheme for more streamlined action. The controls have yet to be finalized, but as of now, all moves are controlled with the face buttons. There's one strike button (tap for a light strike, hold for a heavy punch or kick), one grab button, and a defense button (tap to reverse a move, hold the button to block). Of course, all of the moves will be context sensitive with regard to the position of the wrestlers and their individual wrestling styles.
The interface in Legends is similarly stripped down. There's no location-specific damage meter like in SmackDown, and the many HUD elements found in that game--such as for reverses and submission minigames--are nowhere to be found in Legends. There will be some new wrinkles, however, including a three-tiered level meter that will change your available moves depending on what level your wrestler currently finds himself in. For example, a level-one grab might be a rake of the eyes, while a level-three grab might be a vicious choke on the mat. You'll have access to your finisher only by getting your wrestler to the level-three moves.
Another new feature is the idea of a chain system. By stringing together a number of attacks against an opponent, you'll enter a minigame where time briefly slows down. At that point, both you and your opponent will have the opportunity to do a move on the opposition. The first person to initiate the move will get an advantage and be able to pull out an additional attack on the opponent. For multiplayer matches, the person who initially began the combo will have a slight edge on timing. We're curious to see how the chain system evolves over time.
While managers don't play a big part in the modern WWE, they once were nearly as important as the wrestlers they looked after. During the match shown between Andre and Hulk, Bobby Heenan was active outside the ropes, moving around, climbing up on the apron, and making his presence known every chance he got. Managers will be able to interfere during matches in Legends and even offer advice to their wrestler, which will give him a small boost to his attributes. We're personally hoping for some classic Heenan shtick in the final version of the game, but we'll have to see how it evolves over time.
As with nearly any wrestling game, a big part of Legends' success is going to ride on that all-important roster. While none of the following are official, it wouldn't surprise us at all to see big-name WWE talent like Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Junkyard Dog, and Randy "Macho Man" Savage in the game. Nor would we be shocked to see more recent WWE superstars, like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Triple H--all of whom have had illustrious WrestleMania moments--find their way to this game. Look for Legends of WrestleMania's release next spring, coinciding with WrestleMania XXV, which will be held at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. We'll be bringing you the latest on the game up until then, so stay tuned.
68 comments
I hope they have Undertaker with Paul I'll never forget watching wrestling after my saturday morning cartoons went off.
NO Owen Hart! No McFoley! No Macho Man! wtf this isn't legends without OOOOOOOOHHHH YEEEEAAAHHH! and HOW THE hell do you not add Foley?
This game better have Create a Finisher. I hardly know any of these guys! So, I plan to make this game the last wrestling game I'll every buy that has "WWE" on it! Because the WWE today SUX!! If anyone is interested in discussing wrestling, go to this website: http://www.wrestlingroundtable.com/
I'm waiting for this game with impatience he looks very great can't wait to play with "the great one, the people's champ, the brahma bull" the one and only THE ROCK.
When are they gonna make a game that has Nick Bockwinkle, or Abdul the Butcher, Midnight Express? Meh
I might actually like this game since it has the good wrestlers. the show now is complete crap and I cannot watch it because the personalities and acting are weak.
Yokozuna!!! And If they don't have 'Jake the Snake' this game is CRAP! Has a lot of potential, hopefully they don't mess it up with all kinds of glitches. Hopefully.
hope to see bret hart, old skool HBK, ultimate warrior, ted dibiase, jake roberts, LOD, british bulldog etc...they gotta have the big names in the 80s and 90s of the old WWF wrestling...
i hope the Ultimate Warrior is included, also Demolition, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Tito Santana, The Texas Tornado, Mr. Perfect, Big Boss Man, Ravishing Rick Rude, Honky Tonk Man, The Million Dollar Man and many others!
I must say that the premise of this game could have great potential, but I just went over the supposed roster that someone posted earlier, and you can't have a game like this and omit alot of the legends from that time. I agree with some of the others here that say Vince needs to get over himself and his personal issues with older wrestlers and just deliver a game with all the people who should be in it. I don't know if he has problems with all of these people, but I would like to see: Randy Savage, L.O.D., The Nasty Boys, an option to play as Marty Janetty/Shawn Michaels as the Rockers, Vader, Greg Valentine, Rick Martel, Razor Ramon, Demolition, Jim Duggan, Dusty Rhodes, Big Bossman, Lex Luger, and maybe Bob Backlund as an unlockable just to be funny. Probably too many listed here, but they all were in wrestlemania several times except maybe Vader.
the buttons sound like my fav wrestling buttons of all time from THQ, the WCW World Tour, WCW vs The World, WCW NWO Revenge, No Mercy and Wrestlemania 2000... MY FAVS! Lets go, im in! THQ thank you... btw DefJam Vandetta used these buttons too!
Vince needs to get over his personal problems and give the fans what they want. and we want Macho Man Randy Savage.
Here is a link to the rumored roster: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2008/1211/372951/mick_foley.shtml
I have 0!! intentions of supporting THQ on any wrestling game ventures ever again...just speaking for me, sorry. :(
We also shouldn't forget MANKIND I think he has easily earned the honor to be a mania legend
I heard Vince and Bret are on good terms again so I hope they put him in if they don't I will be very disappointed. I am already disappointed they didn't mention him with the rest. The Rock and Stone Cold better be there too. Oh yeah also The Ultimate Warrior and Undertaker. If they get all the key wrestlers the game should be ok.
Hmmm interesting. I just searched on imdb.com as it lists people linked to games as well as films and the following people are apparently contributing via archive footage at the very least - Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, Undertaker, Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Jerry Lawler, British Bulldog, Ted Dibiase, Brutus the Barber Beefcake, Yokozuna, Jake the Snake, Mr Perfect, Rick Rude, Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, Haku, Animal and Hawk (GOOD GOD PLEASE LET THEM BE PLAYABLE!), The Iron Sheik, Honky Tonk Man, Sgt Slaughter, Ricky Steamboat, Earthquake, Jimmy Hart, Gene Okerlund, Gorilla Monsoon, Tito Santana, Virgil, Howard Finkel, Joseph Marella and Mr Fuji... that's only about 25 of the 40ish wrestlers... plus commentators and managers. If most of those end up in the game it should be well worth the money.
Hopefully it will have a great roster but you know Vince isn't on the best terms with some former superstars so I'm sure we will be missing a couple of favorites...
It better be better than the last legends of wrestling games, i guess it explains why so many "legends" left out of smackdown vs raw 09 with the expection of ric flair, who funny enough just bought out his name rights from wwe, much to vince's dismay, he isnt happy,this information from powerslam magazine.
The Ultimate Warrior, Jake the Snake, Ted Dibiase, Sgt. Slaughter, Rick Rude, and tag teams Demolition, the Rockers and L.O.D just to name a few definitely need to be included in this game!
the roster is key to the game. but its set to come out in march and theres no screen shots or videos or even recent news on it. so im a little sceptable right now about this game. legends of wrestling for ps2 was pretty good the roster was a little shotty with like 15 von erich's in the game that took up like 40% of the roster
The Roster is definitely important, otherwise this game's gonna be a disaster like the Legends wrestling games we saw in the past... Stone Cold is a must have, ain't no way they can omit the Texas Rattlesnake... And the bad guy Razor Ramon is also a good bet...
yo man i hope this has the original undertaker an paul bearer in it, plus i agree this game definatley needs the LOD macho man and and owen hart although i am a foley fan i dont think he was an impact on wrestlemania like savage, the taker and ultimate warrior i hope this game does great because im losing intrest in modern wrestling and the smackdown games get dull too fast
hopefull Vince will get over himself and put Savage, Road Warriors, Mick Foley, and Owen Hart in the game. Vince is so full of himself he wont get passed his personal issues and give the fans what they want. All these people deserve to be in the Hall of Fame but are they? No.
Ooh, but there is 'Create a Legend'... with any luck they'll have the good sense to include templates for the fan-favourites they're forced to leave out!
At first I was very excited about this, but it all depends on the roster... already without Savage I'm less interested and I'm betting Ultimate Warrior will be omitted too. Why does Vince McMahon always have to ruin things... he already destroyed WWF/WWE with ridiculous story lines and pointless real-life feuds. The 'simplified' control system is also a worry, but I guess they know what they're doing. If it's as good as it *could* be I'll be buying a PS3 or 360 next year!
why are they making 2 different wrestling games, they should just slap all this in the 09 version , also if they are doing this why aint they giving wii a version , we always get shafted regardless, gc got shafted bc it did not sell we ll, but wii is selling well so there should be a version for every game out for wii regardless of power,
I hope it has Owen and Savage, Because Showdown Legends of Wrestling had them and Showdown was my favorite Wrestling game.
i think the boxshot should be a big pic of the rock and stone cold there the best everyone knows that
This looks interesting. I would love to use some of my old favourite wrestlers "back in the day".
I hope they recreate each wrestler as close to the real thing as possible. One of the worst things about the lame-ass Legends of Wrestling series was the exaggerated character models. It's a terrible idea to cheapen the game that way because it just ends up looking bush-league.
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Review Scores
| Platform | GameSpot | Metacritic / User Score |
|---|---|---|
Game Info
- Release Date: Mar 24, 2009 (US)
- ESRB: TTitles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older.
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