The damage you dish out is at an all-time high – though it can be altered with sliders – and matches will match usually in the 3-5 minute range unless you are fighting in a tag-team match or 15-minute Iron Man Match. Incorporated into the gameplay are Quick-Time Events where you must press the correct button to continue on with a succession of moves or even pull off your finisher. Your opponent also has the chance to counter by beating you to the punch and pressing the button before you. While it certainly is a departure, it’s a change that is gladly welcomed due to that it gives players a chance to make the game less predictable when it comes to the progression of the match. How about the graphics you ask? Well visually, it’s a nice looking game that suffers in a few tight spots such as when there are six people in the ring or transitioning from outside of the Hell in a Cell match back into the ring.
The animations are fun to watch and help bring the characters to life, but the only issue I had was that almost all the wrestlers use the same animations in the limited Royal Rumble mode when they can only execute strikes rather than grapples. I understand why they didn’t implement grapples in the Royal Rumble mode, but the strikes they’ve given to the wrestlers can only go so far when trying to eliminate your opponents in the Royal Rumble match type. Lastly, there are at least two dozens of videos that WWE has created themselves of footage from matches that players are able to “Relive, Rewrite, or Redefine.” These videos are the highlight of the game and are incredible to look back at the feuds of the wrestlers before the match occurred and draw your interest in the match once again. If there were one reason to buy LOWM, it would have to be for the WWE Tour Mode to play through several of your favorite matches from WrestleMania 1-15.
In the end, WWE: Legends of WrestleMania is a perfect start to a franchise that looks to have a bright future. As it currently stands, the current game isn’t the most in-depth fighter on the market nor does it have a plethora of game modes to offer to wrestling game veterans. What it does well is recreating the history and recapturing the glory days of WWE when it was at the top of its game. For WWE and wrestling game fans, this is a must-have game that should be added to your collection as long as you know its limitations. If you aren’t a part of that crowd, it’s recommended you try out the demo and see if the gameplay appeals to you first as there aren’t a heaping amount of game modes or match types for non-fans.
