davie murphy

Although I enjoy playing this now and again, I can't give it top marks. It feels like a fighting game with wrestler skins rather than a pure wrestling game. I mean it just doesn't take advantage of wrestlings own quirks and in jokes (throwing wrestlers on the Spanish commentary table, outside interference) but rather fits the WWE wrestlers into the games own quirks (motorbikes, alligators and helicopters). The cut scene intros are a missed opportunity I feel and the royal rumble is a huge let down (only four in the ring at a time). Kayfabe doesn't exist at all and all the wrestlers are treated as faces, nobody comes across as a heal in any way. I would have preferred to be able to custom set this myself - as much as I love big Andre, I want to see the crowd boo him when he slams Hogan on the canvas. Only a plus side,I really like the 'action figure' art direction of the wrestlers themselves and the moves are fairly easy to master. You do have to 'earn' wrestlers but it's fairly easy to put a few hours in to get who you really want in your roster. All in all an OK-ish game that could have taken advantage of wrestling own in built traditions and in jokes, instead of trying to fit wrestling into what the devs were able to produce in the game. As such it doesn't hold my interest for long intervals at a time.