When compared to last year's Wrestlemania X8, this game SEEMS to be light years ahead of it's time....but that is only because X8 was awful. The main reason for this is because there were only 4 moves from the grapple position for each wrestler, most of which weren't even the wrestler's moves of choice. WM XIX has fixed this inexcusable flaw with the insertion of weak and strong grapples (much like WWF No Mercy for N64). This new system allows for over 10 moves per wrestler from the grappling position alone, plus a host of striking, turnbuckle, and mat maneauvers combining for a rich move set for all of your favorite WWE Superstars. The revamped finishing move mode is a nice touch as well. Most wrestlers have 3 or 4 finishers ranging from grapples like the Stone Cold Stunner to off the top rope moves such as the Super Angle Slam and of course mat submissions like the Crippler Crossface. If you're quick enough, you can rattle off 3 or even 4 finishers with one Special icon, which is very cool and fun to do. As far as the graphics go, they are crisp and bright, but the wrestlers look very cartoonish and over-muscular. They look and move great during matches, but the intros leave a lot to be desired. The Superstars walk to the ring slowly and in a robotic fashion. I don't understand why this is because they move so fluidly in the matches. It just seems like THQ settled for sub-par looking intros in favor of a stronger wrestling engine. The sound is good, but not great. Unlike last year, most of the wrestler's current theme songs are present with the exception of only a few (Matt Hardy, The Dudleys and RVD have alternate or older themes). The sound effects are well done, from the sound of the mat slams to the cage-slamming effects of the Hell In A Cell, you feel like you are in the match. However, THQ needs desperately to ditch that grinding sound heard when a submission move is used, it is so annoying and has been for years now. Other than that the in-ring sound is superb. The story mode is nothing short of ludacris. You are hired by Stephanie McMahon to sabatoge all of Vince McMahon's projects which requires you to beat up construction workers and security guards (who can WRESTLE as good as you....huh?) on your way to cancelling Wrestlemania. Stephanie claims this will be the ultimate revenge on Vince, but somehow it won't affect her even though she is the GM of Smackdown! and 25% owner of the WWE. THQ severely dropped the ball on this idiotic premise because the only enjoyment in the game is playing exhibition matches. Having no story mode or championship belts to compete for takes a lot away from the overall experience of this game. Plus there are only 5 arenas to compete in, and they all look the same except for the stage. The crowd is identical in every arena and is poorly rendered. They just bop up and down with their signs over and over again, but you don't really notice the crowd when you are wrestling a match, so this doesn't pose much of a problem. Overall, Wrestlemania XIX is a solid wrestling game with little depth. If you just want to lace 'em up and whoop some tail, then this game is for you. If you are looking for a deeper wrestling experience, or you own an XBOX, then skip this one and pick up WWE RAW 2. Thanks for reading. What? I said thanks for reading. Peace.
WWE Wrestlemania XIX is alo better then last years Wrestlemania 18. The graphic's in this game are well done and the control's are well done in this game to. There are many match type to chose from like Hell in a cell an... Read Full Review
Wrestlemania XIX - Review Gameplay: The gameplay is probably, 9/10 it's brilliant but i admit it does lack at some parts, it's not reached it's full potential, example, sometimes it looks like a microsoft powerpoint ... Read Full Review
