Oh you didn’t know? Your ass better call somebody! I mean it, seriously. Not just because it’s a wrestling pun in a review of a wrestling game, but you should really call someone and go out because this game is that bad. As wrestling fans, we have had to put up with a lot over the years: Ridiculous story lines that should’ve never seen the light of day (Mae Young giving birth to a hand), extraordinarily high ticket prices, the amount the arenas charge for food and beer, Test’s matches, the list just goes on and on... Now don’t get me wrong, wrestling games have gotten significantly better over the past decade or so. Actually, if this was 1998 and I had my choice between this and WWF Warzone, I’d choose WrestleMania 21 hands down. It’s not 1998, however, and this is the Xbox, the system where before its release had The Rock standing right next to the head nerd himself, Bill Gates. Well what does this all mean? This means that WrestleMania 21 is not only added to the wrestling list of shame but "when the dust is settled, when the smoke is cleared, this game is without a shadow of a doubt roody-poo, trailer park, trash."
You are thrust in the role of your chosen created superstar, who has to fight his way to the top of the wrestling food chain. First however, you need to make said superstar in the create mode. Now to me, my creation feels very much like Frankenstein, I should have never brought this wrestler into this world. It’s not easy either (My apologies to the Godfather since I’m not referring to pimping; although in this case it might be easier.) because despite the plethora of options offered for customization, the player is a moot point when it comes to picking moves and entrance options. What good is it when my created wrestler, "The Rick" looks like a champion but has the wrestling ability of Nathan Jones? Or when he also has an entrance, that despite my best efforts, a one-time jobber would be ashamed of? Sorely missed here is the ability to preview my character coming out to the music, movies, and moves I’ve chosen. The custom soundtrack option can’t even be used until you unlock it (which takes longer than beating the story mode itself). Finally after you stumble through this farce of a creation mode, your sanity barely intact, you start your career in Teddy Long’s office and he hollers at you, player.
You start out on Velocity, as the jobber you are, and within the span of a few hours you fight through Smackdown! Raw and different Pay Per View events up WrestleMania itself. You will get betrayed, double teamed, triple teamed, attempt to romance divas, and win titles. Eric Bischoff even takes you under his wing; during which time you will face the great, un-lockable superstars that the game has to offer. I have a few questions as to how he was able to resurrect Andre the Giant. I mean I know WWE/ECW fans were supposed to believe he was an evil bastard all these years, but is he really the prince of darkness?
The career mode is very limited. In the most current (and even the last) generation of wrestling video games, we’re used to being able to go through story mode win, lose, or draw. The storylines would be a bit different whether we continued after losing a match, winning a title, or even if we started the game again on a different brand. For example, in the past if you lost a match you would just continue on with the loss under your belt. WrestleMania 21 cuts you right off instead of going this route. The game makes you try again and again until you win the match. Also, after about an afternoon of playing time, when you complete career mode by walking out of WrestleMania with the belt-- that’s it! You’re done! Congratulations, you’ve won the game! If you try to go back (which I really hope you don’t) you’ll play the same thing over again.
This game isn’t without a few minor qualities though; I could liken it to a meal of which you get food poisoning from almost everything, yet a few courses are somewhat good. In this case, it’s with the game’s graphics and sound. The graphics engine is remarkably impressive; you can especially notice this because, unlike the past, there is no mistaking even one of the wrestlers for someone else. Motion capturing looks incredibly realistic when pulled off correctly. The entrances, or what they have of entrances, look great except for the pyrotechnics. The fireworks take two steps back from prior outings and look just like cel-shaded blobs.
Despite the great graphics, most of the matches resemble two blind, arthritic superheroes wrestling. Sometimes the wrestlers will magically zap across the ring during a grapple. The motion capture, although expertly done, comes off as much too slow in a generation of games which the wrestling action is at cruiserweight speed. Finally, during a finisher, the move sets just don’t synch up; they look awkward and painful for everyone involved- especially for the player watching this unfold.
The sound in WrestleMania 21 is a decidedly mixed bag. From the moment you turn on the game you will hear the exact same mix of songs from PS2’s Smackdown! Vs. Raw with one or two additions. Honestly, it’s like turning on two different versions of Madden only to find out that the music is exactly the same. The fact that it’s a different franchise makes it especially disappointing. I mean, even in the different "franchises" of WWE you don’t hear the same music! I swear if I hear, "I’ll treat it like soap on a rope because my beats and my rhymes are so dope;" or whatever the hell it is, just one more time, I’m going to literally throw on the red flannel/sweats, go "Bang, Bang!," and have a hardcore match with someone from THQ in an exploding wrestling ring-- up until the point where I’m arrested that is.
During the story mode every wrestler/diva included lends their vocal work to the game. This makes for a very engaging storyline; despite how damn short it is to begin with. Your created wrestler will also have a voice of his own. The Rick for example, tended to sound like a thug who had to fight his way through life on the streets. Although, I think it’s horrible when I have more fun creating a back story for my wrestler than playing the game itself. For every yin, there is a yang, and in this case the yang is yet another sad attempt at commentary in a sport game. Game developers for years have attempted to include the commentaries which add so much to the events we all love and cherish. This is a sad excuse when these generic comments come up in each match. I know Good Ol’ JR gets really excited when he calls a main event, but when he starts calling a Garrison Cade vs. Scotty 2 Hotty match a slobberknocker-- that’s when I put away my copy of JR’s cookbook and my bottle of BBQ sauce, with the tiny black cowboy hat on top of it, and move on to better things. What’s next? A Maddenesque comment of "The wrestler would have liked it if he could pin his opponent?" -- Don’t try it THQ, just don’t try it.
The entrance music in this game is mixed very well with most of the licenses making an appearance. Very few of the entrance themes this time are omitted but, as per usual with the WWE, some of the songs are now dated because they have been changed on television. Nothing really new here, however, I noted THQ is getting more creative as time goes on with making a new version of the theme for "2001: A Space Odyssey" for Ric Flair’s entrance without actually including the real song. Really, how hard is it to attain licensing rights to that song?
If gameplay mechanics in this game were a wrestler, it would be Droz. I’m not just talking about the fact that it takes forever for your wrestler to get up either. The grappling engine in this game isn’t clear, concise, or even well organized. You enter into a strong or weak grapple and then the A and B buttons have the exact same moves assigned to them which is just unconscionable, considering you have four punches assigned to the X button. How hard would it have been to at least have six moves assigned to weak grapple and then six moves assigned to strong grapple? There could even be some generic moves thrown into the mix, oh wait, there are. That’s what the majority of these moves feel like-- generic and just thrown in there for filler.
With submission maneuvers the game sinks to an even lower level. Added into this game is a version of the escape/submit meter. Well it’s all well and good when you tap the buttons hard enough to escape, you escape. Wouldn’t it also make sense that when you pound the living hell out of the buttons on your controller for a submission move on your opponent it would work, apparently not? Unless you have dealt out enough punishment to your opponent, even if you tap your way into the submit end of the meter, your opponent will break the hold. The first time this happened, I was pissed off, but I dismissed it as a minor glitch that would just happen one time. The second, third, and fourth time it happened, I screamed obscenities so loud that my born-again Christian neighbors couldn’t help but be offended.
In the event you can con your friends into playing a few rounds of this atrocity with you, or if you can obtain a copy of the game where the Xbox Live engine works successfully, (all games on shelves as of May ’05 reportedly have the Xbox Live issue fixed) then there are a few different match types for your gaming pleasure. Included in this game is about a baker’s dozen of match types although none are executed particularly well. There is also a create-a-championship mode with assorted plates that can be added for competition online only. If you attempt to fight for a belt in the regular modes, then they just randomly give the belt away to one of the wrestlers. There is nothing really in this game worth coming back to.
I really tried to like this game. I really did. Everything that Studio Gigante said that they would do looked great on paper, but was piss-poor in execution. I don’t think anyone will look on the days of wrestling games for the Xbox and smile. This game ranks right up there with such wrestling classics like WCW Backstage Assault, WCW Nitro, and WCW vs. the World. Do not go out and buy this game. If you feel the need to play it, I have two words for you: Rent it!
