| Legends of Wrestlemania -- MSXBOX-WORLD goes to Wrestlemania |
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The weekend of Friday April 3rd to Sunday April 5th 2009 is one that I’m going to remember for a long time. THQ’s Legends of Wrestlemania released on March 20th in Europe and March 24th in North America and the company invited MSXBOX-WORLD to Wrestlemania 25 and the 7th annual THQ Superstar Challenge in Houston to interview actual talent that appears in Legends.
Legends really had a tough act to follow. The Smackdown vs. Raw series has done very well, and it was only natural to worry somewhat if the market could support two wrestling games released in fairly close proximity to each other. The recession hasn’t spared publishers anymore than it has any other business in the United States so THQ really did have a lot riding on Legends doing reasonably well. They really shouldn’t have worried as the game appears to be selling briskly.
I personally find this no surprise. First off, as has been mentioned in many reviews Legends of Wrestlemania has a far more “arcadey” control scheme which makes it more accessible for causal gamers. The arcade control scheme is also appealing to the older audience that grew up on wrestling arcade games in the early 90’s. Given that a significant portion of the audience purchasing Legends of Wrestlemania will be guys old enough to have both played in those arcades , it really seems that THQ managed to hit the sweet spot between nostalgia and playability.
While in Houston we got to meet with Senior Designer Paul Edwards who shared his thoughts on the game. Paul admitted that Legends was doing far better than they initially had expected (much to his relief I am sure!). The game was purposely geared towards non hardcore gamers many who came of age in the 90’s, wrestling fans that remember many of the Legends and played simpler (control wise) games back in those days. With that said there was a lot of trial and error. Originally the game followed a control scheme more similar to Smackdown vs. Raw however market research with gamers indicated people preferred a much more simpler approach. It seems that listening to gamers worked as Paul indicated that assuming Legends continues to sell well there is the possibility of Legends appearing every year much like Smackdown Vs. Raw.
Many gamers complained about missing favorite Legends in the game and we learned that this was often a case of not being able to secure the rights to use the Legend in the game in time for release. Paul indicated that while there are no guarantees, DLC of some fan favourites may certainly be a possibility in the future and he wanted us to make sure all of you know that no wrestlers were left out on purpose. Sadly DLC in licensed titles requires more than just the technical work, there are contracts that have to be signed and rights secured which can often leave the game developers as frustrated as the fans when launch deadlines have to be met.
After chatting with Paul we were hit with a big surprise. Ted Dibiase, Kofi Kingston, Shad Gaspar from Cryme Time and Shelton Benjamin showed up in the media room and answered questions about what they thought about the game. First off Ted stated that he was thrilled with how he appeared in the game although he admitted with a chuckle that he didn’t think he ever looked that good back in his prime. All of the wrestlers indicated that the moves in the game are dead on when compared to what they actually do in the ring. Shad mentioned that he had done motion capture before and knew first hand the intricate process by which these moves are painstakingly transferred from real life onto a video game screen. It was neat to hear from people who actually do these moves on a regular basis that what we see in the game is fairly authentic. While Ted admitted that he doesn’t really play games, he said that the realism in the game impressed him.
Shelton and Kofi both admitted to playing the game in their very scarce spare time … something about having a rivalry to settle between each other at the 7th Annual THQ Superstar Challenge. We discovered what they meant 20 minutes later when a tournament began with Superstars playing Legends of Wrestlemania in front of a massive crowd. It was pretty neat to see the crowd roaring while watching the matches on huge plasma’s, just as they would at any other wrestling event. Even more to the point it drove home how far wrestling games have come graphically since the they first started appearing on consoles back in the NES days. Kofi eventually won the challenge taking home both a big trophy as well as bragging rights, taking down Shelton in a grudge match.
Overall the weekend was a blast. While the media was treated to the 7th Annual Superstar challenge, the Hall of Fame ceremony featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin and box seats at Wrestlemania 25 itself, I personally found the interview with Paul Edwards the most fascinating part of the event. Media is generally invited to preview games, it was a unique opportunity to be able to talk to a developer after their game is released and have them share their thoughts on the how’s and why’s of the game’s success.
Those of you who haven’t bought Legends of Wrestlemania yet definitely give the demo a try. It’s a different animal from Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 and the game may surprise you. I’m not a big sports game fan myself, but even I found myself drawn into the prospect of being able to relive some of the best moments in Wrestlemania history.
Posted By: Scott Strickland
Date: 2009-04-09
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