User Rating: 7.5 | Showdown: Legends of Wrestling PS2
I had been looking forward to Showdown: Legends of Wrestling since they first announced it shortly after Legends of Wrestling II came out. I usually disagree with what certain websites have to say about the series, as I find that they are superior in many ways. First off, Showdown has an amazing roster. Inarguabley the best I have ever seen in a game. It has wrestlers from mostly the 1980's, however, a few like Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas range from the 1960's to 1970's. The graphics to this installation of LOW have been tamed a bit from the last two games to give a more realistic look. In Showdown, commentary can be heard, which I think is something missing from other wrestling games like the Smackdown! series, or Wrestlemania. It's pretty decent, but, like the gameplay, is pretty slow. It seems to me that when I press a certain button it takes a second before it actually gets maneuvered. This has caused some frustration with me as it has resulted in me getting beat up. Another problem is clipping. I was playing a cage match against my brother, who was Abdullah the Butcher, and while he was half way over the cage, he immediately ends up outside to win the match. Another thing that adds to the gameplay are the controls. The controls felt very strange to me with what button does what action. It took me a little while to learn, so it is not the simplest controls. As for the season mode, I give it a thumbs down. It has been heavily reduced and it is way too short. Despite flaws that ruin the game, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling is an entertaining game. It may not take a long while before you get bored of it, but there are certainly good things to say about it. Hopefully, Legends of Wrestling 4 will have these mistakes fixed, and it can be the most talked about wrestling video game.
