Let's play: Legends of Wrestling

BBC Sport Online reviewer David Gibbon says the latest addition to the wresting ranks fails to hit the heights.

Thanks to the crazy storylines and painful moves of the World Wrestling Federation, this most theatrical of sports has proved a global smash.

And in the world of video games, last year's PS2 game WWF SmackDown: Just Bring It On proved the sport's popularity by becoming one of the biggest-selling titles of the year.

  Legends of Wrestling

Format: PlayStation 2

Price: £39.99

Publisher: Acclaim

Genre: Wrestling

Also Available: GameCube (TBA)

To fight back against SmackDown publishers Electronic Arts, Acclaim have brought back all the old stars of the ring and put them up against each other for this latest wrestling fest.

Legends of Wrestling features 42 of the greatest wrestlers ever to grace the squared circle, including such heroes as Hulk Hogan, Bret "Hitman" Hart and Jerry "The King" Lawler.

As the wrestlers enter the ring, the player is actively encouraged to taunt and show off his signature move the crowd.

The in-game gameplay is centred on a new system Acclaim have developed called ISP, or Intermediate Start Position.

When locked in a grapple the stronger player can force the opponent into one of four other positions and, once there, further moves can be applied using a single button press.

Disappointing

Finishing moves are made by following an on-screen meter, and weapons can be used as part of a special attack mode, such as the double chair shot or the triple trash-can hit.

You can pull off a variety of moves

But while some of the control system is unique it's also disappointingly slow in operation.

When you press a button to pull off a move there's far too long a wait for any action, and the game actually builds up a queue which can mean you are waiting for moves to happen before you can continue.

Modes of play include Single, Tag Team, Three and Four way dances and there's a rather nice single and tag-team career mode where you battle across the US and all over the world to win wrestling's greatest trophies.

On the graphics side of things, those playing this for the first time will be surprised by the large size of the characters.

The developers have gone overboard to make these legends look nastier than ever, but the size does slow things down and poor player animations only add to the disappointment.

The camera angles can also prove annoying, sometimes moving when you don't want them to and often resulting in a failed move.

The crowd is also rather dull, with repetitive animations and little to get excited about.

  Gibbon's verdict

Graphics: 74%

Playability: 43%

Sound: 53%

Realism: 58%

Overall: 56%

While the game has a nice create-a-wrestler mode and even allows players to add stencils and tattoos to their 'monster', there really are not enough game modes here.

And - most surprising of all - there's no in-game commentary.

While the career mode in Legends of Wrestling is a great one, as is the whole concept behind the game, this really isn't worth buying when compared to the brilliant SmackDown.

If Acclaim can improve the gameplay, controls and add more variety in the next version - should there be one that is - then this could become a world-beater in the future.

Until then, forget it...