[Xbox] IGN reviews Wrestlemania 21

[Dimmona]

6.1

I am a complete mark for wrestling games, which is why I was so disappointed by the steaming turds that were Raw 1 & 2.  This was supposed to be the game that turns it all around, so it's disappointing to hear that they still haven't quite turned it around.

How hard is it to merge the gameplay from the Cube series with the season mode from the PS2 version?  Oh well, I'll probably end up buying this anyways, so if anyone is up for some online TLC later this week keep an eye out for me...

[AgtFox]

The history of wrestling games on the Xbox have reared its ugly head on IGN before.  They rated both Raw and Raw 2 a 9.1 (both by Aaron Boulding, who I believe works for Bungie or some other developer now...I forget), which goes to prove he was smoking some good weed when he reviewed those games.  With this go around I have a hard time believing IGN for two reasons:

1. Their total disregard for how sucky Raw and Raw 2 were

2. I have no clue who this writer is (David Clayman), although he was the one that gave Jade Empire the 9.9 (whether this is overscored or not is up to everyone's interpretation)

One thing I despise about IGN is that there is nowhere on their site that actually lists their staff (or I haven't found it yet if it is there).  Have no clue how new David Clayman is.

Anyway, I was also hoping this would be a good game...and far better than Raw/Raw 2.  This is one of those times I'd wait for other reviews to see if they corroborate or not.  He doesn't go much into the online component, but talks about it being superb toward the end.

[Dimmona]

One of my biggest beefs for any wrestling game is the amount of stupid AI bugs that seem to exist for any given iteration.  The stomp-pin-stomp-pin of the previous Raw games was one of the most frustrating gaming experiences I can remember.  The fact that the IGN reviewers lists a bunch of similar bugs he experience is already a huge turnoff for me.

Yeah, the 9.0+ for both Raw games remains one of the biggest reviewing debacles I can recall - they might as well have the people in their game forums write the reviews for them.

[JayG]

A pity. I loved Fire Pro Wrestling on my GBA. The XBox on the otherhand has nothing but awful Wrestling games. I had vague hopes that WMXXI might be different, but there you go. The last decent Wrestling game besides Fire Pro I played was Wrestlemania on the PC around 10 years ago. I just hope they produce a Fire Pro for either the DS or PSP.

[Lockdown]

After watching an interview with the games Lead, I am surprised how bad it is said to be.  According to this guy, they were pulling all the things people liked out of a bunch of old games and dropping the weak parts of those games to make this sort of a "Best of the rest" type game.

I will still rent the game to see if it's servicable.  Although a crappy wrestling game can be a big waste of money, a good wrestling game can be alot of fun.

Initial Reaction :  Bummer!  


LD

[ATB]

The Pro Wrestling Game that still rules them all:

[Hetz]

I can't believe that they screwed this game up that badly. The gamer reviews on various forums are rating the game even worse than IGN did. It also sounds like Xbox Live play is completely broken in the release version. Did they ship a beta or something by accident?

*sigh*

Will the Xbox EVER get a good wrestling game?

[Dimmona]

At this point I would take a good WWE game on any system.  Both Smackdown:HCTP and Wrestlemania XIX were great steps in the right direction (in terms of presentation/season mode for the former, and gameplay for the latter) but Smackdown vs Raw and Day of Reckoning felt like big steps backwards.  

Since THQ owns all three games and they all seem to be converging a little bit, you would think they would be a little bit braver on one of the franchises and come up with something completely different than we've seen before.

[JayG]

I know that they are hated, but I would love a EA Sports wrestling game. The Fight Night games are great fun, and they know how to present their games. So far I've played Raw, Raw 2, Legends of Wrestling, Backyard Wrestling, Road to Wrestlemania on GBA, Summerslame on GBA, and they were all absolutely awful.

[AgtFox]

OK...final nail in the coffin, not even going to rent it:

Gamespot: 4.5

Oh yes, according to this review the online component doesn't even work.  It doesn't even allow you to log in...whoops!

P.S. This could very well be the end of Studio Gigante.  Two flops (I know Ron likes Tao Feng) to start off your career is not a good jumping off point.  Maybe Tobias will go back to Midway (it is Tobias and not Boon at Gigante, right?)

[Hetz]

Wow, this is just sad. I played a bit of it today and it has the potential to be great, but is just RIDDLED with tons of bugs.

I love the slower pace of the game and there are a ton of moves to pull off. The graphics are of course amazing and the sound is pretty good as well.

Unfortunatily, the bugs in the game are numerous and unforgivable. I was playing as HBK vs RVD, every single time I was knocked down onto my back, RVD would just go nuts and start running in and out of the ring, until I got back on my feet. It was the strangest thing. The AI is really brain dead. I thought the AI in RAW 2 was the worst I had ever seen in a wrestling game and it couldn't get any worse. I was wrong.

Also, there was a horrific stuttering bug that occurs when you win the matxh and the replay starts. It the video stutters so bad it's like you are watching a really badly scratched DVD or something. It also sometimes freezes the whole XBOX up, during this stuttering nonsense.

Shame on THQ and Studio Gigante for this mess. This is a travesty, which is made worse because you can see there is a very good wrestling game just wanting to burst out from under the horrific bugs.

 

[Graham]

P.S. This could very well be the end of Studio Gigante.  Two flops (I know Ron likes Tao Feng) to start off your career is not a good jumping off point.  Maybe Tobias will go back to Midway (it is Tobias and not Boon at Gigante, right?)

Ed Boon is still with Midway.  Tobias is the one who left Midway to form Gigante.

[Dimmona]

Hetz, were you able to try the Live mode at all?  I'm curious to hear if it is really broken or not like GSpot claims.

Does this game have any redeeming value whatsoever?  I still want to rent it just to check out the graphics/presentation, but nothing kills a wrestling game for me like AI bugs.

[AgtFox]

I stopped at Blockbuster today (before I knew about the GS review) and the copy or copies were already out for it.  Same goes for Unreal Tournament 2, so I guess I won't be playing either one this weekend.

[Hetz]

Hetz, were you able to try the Live mode at all?  I'm curious to hear if it is really broken or not like GSpot claims.

Does this game have any redeeming value whatsoever?  I still want to rent it just to check out the graphics/presentation, but nothing kills a wrestling game for me like AI bugs.

I was not able to get on XBOX Live at all, it is broken.

As for the any redeeming value, well yeah it is fun when the bugs don't rear their head. I really like the slower pace of the game when the AI isn't going nuts, like that in and out of the ring nonsesne. Of course the graphics are the best I have ever seen in a wrestling game. The animations are also very good. It looks like a real wrestling match. Quite impressive. If  you are not counting on XBOX Live support, I'd give it a 6.5. If XBOX Live support is a big deal to you, I'd agree with Gamespot's 4.5. I actually like it more than Raw 2, but not by much. At least it doesn't have RAW 2's endless pinning bug. Ugh that was awful.

I'd say it is worth a rental.

[Hetz]

Update from XBOX.com:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/wrestlemania21/autoupdate.htm?level1=enushome&level2=ticker&level3=wrestlemaniaautoupd

Dear Valued Customers:

It has come to our attention that, due to a manufacturing error at the disc replication facility, gamers may experience problems utilizing the online feature in WWE WrestleMania® 21.

We are currently working to issue an auto update that will be available for download on Xbox Live as quickly as possible. Please be assured this is a isolated issue and we apologize for the inconvenience.

We appreciate your patience while we work to address this situation.

Regards,
THQ Customer Service

Hmm...that could also explain the stuttering at the end of the match during the replay...

[Hetz]

A patch is out now. It fixes the XBox Live issue and the stuttering/freezing in the offline game during replays!

[AgtFox]

A patch is out now. It fixes the XBox Live issue and the stuttering/freezing in the offline game during replays!

Bottom line...does it make the game as a whole any better?