Wrestlemania 21 review

WWE wrestling (formally the WWF) is one of the videogame world’s most enduring sports-entertainment franchises. Since first appearing on the Commodore 64 back in 1987 with Microleague’s representative Wrestling WWF Superstars, the videogame arm of the official WWE has travelled a decidedly uneven path. Notably, its history culminates in the undeniable highs of 2002’s WWE Smackdown! Shut your Mouth, and the critical lows of 2003’s WWE Raw.

With the combined emergence of Wrestlemania 21 and the heightened capabilities of current videogame consoles, fans of the genre are once more granted the opportunity to perform all their favourite moves, with all their favourite stars, on all their favourite shows. Indeed, Wrestlemania 21 offers gamers an enviable experience through its expansive package of content, but how does it fair against its more revered franchise stablemates?

See the Action

Graphically, Wrestlemania 21 is a noteworthy achievement in integrated motion capture and joyously overstated animation. The superstars holed up in the locker rooms—and it’s pretty much the entire franchise roster, including classic characters no longer with the organisation—are all lovingly captured, from facial intricacies all the way to bone crunching finishing moves.

And from an animation standpoint, whether it be a neck-destroying DDT, or a ligament-tearing reverse figure-four leg lock, every grapple, slap, kick, flying elbow, and head butt is executed with faultless timing and perfect shriek-inducing weight. The more complex moves are immensely satisfying when performed correctly, and thundering a top turnbuckle drop kick into a dazed and staggering opponent is quite possibly the game’s physical highlight.

Hear the Pain

Game sound is thoroughly decent across all disciplines and adds an assured extra dimension to the general wrestling atmosphere. Commentary is rapid, colourful, and varied, offering plenty of well-timed emotion for those particularly devastating specialty moves; and it’s all delivered by stalwart microphone stars of the sport for an expanded flavour of authenticity.

Cutscene character bravado and posturing is well acted by the franchise superstars (though that’s almost a contradiction in terms), and their unfailing banter and belittlement only further serves the sensation of actually playing an on-air episode of Raw or Smackdown! Actual wrestling effects consist of largely generic grunts and groans, coupled with the incessant creak and bounce emanating from the ring itself. Crowd noise is admirably observed and individual superstars evoke varied reaction and chants depending on reputation and charisma. For example, Kurt Angle, who occupies the niche for arrogance personified within the WWE, receives wave upon wave of “You suck!” from the surrounding crowd as he attempts to address them or while beating down on an opponent.

On a strictly subjective note, the game’s soundtrack largely consists of insipid rock tracks, though this may sit well with devoted fans of the genre, especially as the entrance music accompanying wrestlers to the ring is mostly in a similar vein. Thankfully, for those not keen on derivative rock, the game does offer a custom soundtrack facility…so slapping opponents around to Beethoven is still a possibility.

Bitch-Slapping Beauties

The game’s main menu interface perhaps lacks a little in finesse as its blocky buttons thump and stomp across the screen, but behind this minor want of grace is stored a vast selection of in-game options and play modes. Exhibition matches are the first order of business, and arrive with a range of sweaty encounters that easily surmount the usually lacklustre offerings found in sport simulations.

Of course, the simple one-on-one contests are available against almost all of the WWE stars, but the opportunity to deliver focused pain through Tag Team and Fatal Four Way bouts, Ladder and Table matches, Caged and Hell in a Cell contests, as well as the infamous Royal Rumble and Battle Royal events truly opens the door to wrestling variety. On a more derisory note, Wrestlemania 21 also includes the relatively tasteless and thoroughly shallow Bra and Panties matches against the top-flight WWE women wrestlers.

Entertaining as they are, these contests amount to little more than base titillation designed to thrust forward marketing ideals and pump both the crowd and the consumer for swollen profit margins. In this case, the videogame could certainly have done without their inclusion, though wincing as two enhanced females take turns spanking each other and tearing off clothing doesn’t detract too much from the game as a whole.

Making his way to the ring…

If embarking on a single-minded quest to become undisputed champion of both Raw and Smackdown! is your wrestling dream, then Wrestlemania 21 has a career mode to deliver on that fantasy. After carefully and studiously designing a wrestler of choice, players are then free to begin their assault on the annuls of WWE history.

However, character creation is a drawn-out process that details every wrestling facet from basic grapples and specialised finishing moves, down to facial structure, costume preferences, entrance music, and arrogant taunt poses. Simply rushing from option to option is ill advised if successfully hitting the WWE mat is your intent. Creating a balanced wrestler with an armoury of technical skills and punishing moves is of paramount importance when it comes to overthrowing some of the game’s more challenging and unforgiving opponents.

Career or Sideshow Circus?

When fully prepared to tackle it, the Career mode itself casts your finalised character as a cocksure rookie desperate to make his mark on the WWE platform and secure its most coveted of titles. Through small initial bouts on the WWE’s lesser shows, your impatient starlet begins his slow but irresistible climb to the top of the wrestling food chain, and the entire process plays out like an extended version of primetime Raw or Smackdown! Backstabbing, cheap shots, betrayals, ambushes, and false allegiances, it’s all you’d expect from the WWE rolled up in a mixture of heartache and eventual glory.

All the highlight superstars make an appearance throughout the Career mode, and at some point they face off with your protagonist as he sets his lofty sights on consuming everyone and everything in his path. However, the price of success is often high in the WWE, and as notoriety snowballs so do emergent threats from franchise bad-boy unit Evolution, and nefarious general manager Eric Bischoff—sadly über evil Vince McMahon only offers a token showing. Wrestling history awaits your arrival but, be warned, reaching the pinnacle may be your destiny, but there are some things that one man cannot accomplish without outside assistance.

Hey, Stupid!

Which brings us to you, the player. You are the aforementioned outside assistance. And it’s here where Wrestlemania 21’s dynamic posturing and rigidly carved muscle tone sags and fractures beneath the sheer, unstoppable force of tainted gameplay. The impressive armoury of wrestling moves assigned to the WWE superstars are truly fabulous when correctly asserted, but execution often lapses into clunky trial and error button selections and arbitrary stick leaning as opponents gleefully weave your face into the canvas.

This is never more apparent than when embroiled in Triple Threat Ladder, Table, and Cage matches, which become frenetic festivals of button mashing mayhem as your chosen wrestler fends off more than one opponent. To make matters worse, the A.I.—particularly in Tag Team matches—is woefully stunted. Enduring a beating from opponents illegally double-teaming your wrestler is frustrating, but this is further compounded by delayed concern from the referee—who looks on oblivious—and also your seemingly blind partner who often doesn’t respond to your unfair punishment and eventual pinning.

Tap Out! Gameplay Submission Hold

Perhaps most apparent in terms of clunky controls and failed A.I. are the Triple Threat Ladder matches, where a championship belt is suspended over the ring and the winning wrestler is whoever successfully climbs said ladder to retrieve it. Of course, the ladder can be used as a weapon to substantially damage your opponents before attempting to erect it and climb to victory—and using it as such is advisable.

Problems arise, however, when dealing with punishment from one wrestler while another ascends the ladder. In effect, the wrestler doling out destruction on your weary body should react immediately to the third opponent reaching for the belt. After all, it’s his defeat as much as it is yours. But no, your beating continues unabated and the match comes to a swift halt.

This faulty A.I. means that you’ll undoubtedly face rematch upon rematch until good fortune smiles upon you and you’re the lone third wrestler. Various instances of crippling A.I. and clumsy control mechanics intermittently blight an otherwise impressive wrestling experience than can offer plenty of fulfilment before suffering abrupt moments of delay and frustration.

Here’s your Winner?

In terms of aesthetics, Wrestlemania 21 is awash with lavish graphics, polished presentation, and astute sound design. In its essence the game does more than successfully capture and convey the frantically violent soap-opera atmosphere inherent in the WWE sports entertainment mandate.

Those players keen on living a double life as a virtual wrestling star need look no further than Wrestlemania 21’s wonderfully involved character creation tool and the in-depth career mode. For those more attune to the frenetic pick-up-and-play experience, the game also offers a wealth of quick matches, as well as considerable on-line and off-line multiplayer choices. The presentation package itself is outstanding but, despite its consuming immersion and array of intuitive modes, the simple fact of the matter is that here, in sport simulations, gameplay is always the heavyweight champion.

Wrestlemania 21’s outrageously flawed A.I. and emphatically clunky control integration sully an otherwise outstanding display of wrestling prowess. Whether watching the show on television or playing the videogame, the basic selling mechanic remains the same: outside of the visual glitz and gloss, and the exaggerated character posturing, it’s what happens in the ring that truly counts, everything else is merely window dressing.