The people who took 4 tries to get Smackdown right now bring us Wrestlemania XIX on the Gamecube. Yes it does feel like an afterthought next to Smackdown, and yes Def Jam is a better game, but at least it beats Raw 2. The gameplay itself closely resembles that of the almighty No Mercy. Strong and weak grapples and attacks, plus the game moves at a similiar pace. Still no limb damage though, and counters are arguably a little too easy to pull off, but overall the gameplay itself is solid once you learn the controls (and the game has a great, if long tutorial) Now, the single player, on the other hand... there's an issue. Revenge mode has you going to malls, construction sites, docks etc. trying to cause damage to prevent Wrestlemania from happening. Its more of a beat-em-up than a wrestling game, expect with a wrestling engine where you can lay on the floor for a long time and be picked on by three guards, it just doesn't work. That said, its always funny to throw security guards off of high platforms to their deaths. So just like most wrestling games, Wrestlemania is dependent on multiplayer. One of the game's strong points is the create-a-wrestler. You have a fair amount of control in your wrestler's looks, including the ability to determine where in space something will go. You also have an asortment of...out there items such as a cannon and a shield to give your guy. The best part is the amount of control you have over your entrance. Music aside its better than Raw 2's. You can control what your wrestler does on the way to the ring, when pyro goes off, what camera angles to use, what lighting to use etc. The bad news is that to get more stuff to give your wrestler, you have to buy more with money earned from Revenge mode. If for some reason you absolutely need to have a WWE game now (as in you can't wait a few weeks for Here Comes the Pain), or you just have a GC and something against Def Jam Vendetta and Ultimate Muscle, then perhaps you should get Wrestlemania. Otherwise, a rental will do fine.
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
