User Reviews (1 - 11 of 45)

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An Acquired Taste

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

When I first played Showdown, I couldn't stand it, but it grew on me. Now, I really enjoy playing it. You can't play it while constantly comparing it to Smackdown HCTP because you will be frustrated. If you play it, though, for what it is, you'll enjoy it.

A lot will be said about the gameplay. It is slow, and the thing that does bother me is the jerky motion of the wrestlers. If you get off the mat after being stunned, you'll find yourself striking into thin air. You have to make sure your wrestler is directly facing his opponent. The game does freeze, but it does not happen often.

There are plenty of positives. There are plenty of moves per wrestler. You just have to experiment. The grapple controls are very similar to Smackdown HCTP. While HCTP relies on different types of grapples, Showdown relies on the different positions of your opponent in order to execute moves. The manual does not go into detail at all on moves for some reason. Also, keep in mind that these are legends of yesteryear, when the Piledriver was considered the most lethal move out there. You won't too many high-flying moves in the game.

Obviously, having 73 legends in the game is the biggest plus, and they look great. The character models are better than those in Smackdown HCTP. I'm sorry, but no matter how hard I try, my CAWS in HCTP never look like the real thing. In Showdown, I finally get to play as a character who genuinely looks like Bret Hart. There are also four attires per wrestler. For example, Tito Santana has three classic red/white attires and his El Matador attire.

Showdown is not perfect, but neither is HCTP. Give Showdown a try.

A wonderful 3 star game...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I really think this one could have been almost 5 stars if not for the glitches (which are often). The glitches: sometimes the game freezes, the audio gets messed up, wrestlers freeze up. The most frequent glitch is blocking and the opponent staggers as if he has been hit.

The roster is awesome. Includes Sting, Diamond Dallas, Rowdy Piper, Hogan, Andre the giant, Sid, Macho Man, Ultimate warrior, Jake the Snake, Bruno Samartino, the legion of doom, the steiner bros, the nasty boys, the million dollar man, king kong bundy, Iron Shiek, Mr Perfect, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Superstar Billy Grahm, George the animal steele, Bob backlund, killer kowalski, rick martel, tito santana, hacksaw jim duggan, Texas Tornado "Kerry Von Erik" and more! The game does not use authentic entrance music, but tries it's hardest to compensate. Mr Perfects music is almost the same.

If your a big fan of the classic wrestlers this game is worth buying for a cheap price, but chances are you will have a hard time getting your friends to play.

controls=3.5 stars
graphics=4 stars
fun factor=3.5 stars
replay value=3.5 stars
sound=3 stars

For Old-School Wrestling Fans Only

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Showdown: Legends of Wrestling should quench the thirst of wrestling fans who long for the weekend wrestling days of yesteryear where grudges lasted months (or years in some cases) and storylines were compelling and memorable. Showdown does an admirable job of placating the jaded old-school wrestling fan in all of us. Virtually all the major wrestling territories from the 70's and 80's are represented in some form. Legends such as the Von Erich clan, Andre the Giant, Abdullah the Butcher, and "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert are among the seventy-plus wrestlers appearing here in digital glory. As noted in previous reviews, Showdown also features meticulously-replicated versions of many famous areans and stadums. From Texas Stadium to the Omni in Atlanta, to Madison Square Garden (it would be awesome if ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta used the classic "descending microphone" in the latter arena, but alas it is not to be). Game play is solid for the most part. There is not alot of convoluted button combinations to memorize, and finishers can be performed fairly easily when the time is right. But, as previously noted on this site, Showdown is not without its glitches and general annoyances. While bearing some physical resemblance to their real-life counterparts, the digitized wrestlers appears blocky and cartoonish with exaggerated features. However, this can also add to the novelty of the game as well. Wrestler detection-collision issues can be particularly annoying at times. For example, if Andre the Giant is wrestling an opponent of smaller stature like, say, comedian Andy Kaufman (yep, he's in it too), Andre will "chokeslam" him by hoisting his hand a good distance over Kaufman, thus making it appear as though Kaufman is levitating before being hurled to the mat. Magic or a glitch? You decide. There also appears to be a major glitch in the cage match mode. Several times during gameplay, a wrestler will seemingly fade into the mat and then begin bouncing like an invisible speedball all over the arena. Seriously. This glitch has been noted on other sites, so take heed. While the selection of wrestlers in Showdown is vast and impressive, I can't help but feel as though this game is slightly flawed with it's lack of certain legends and it questionable inclusion of more contemporary stars (ex: Sabu). For a game that markets itself as giving one the ability to recreate classic feuds, several notable wrestlers are nowhere to be found (more on that below). Newer and younger fans are likely to grew increasingly bored with Showdown. WWE games such as those in the Smackdown series have spoiled fans with their faster gameplay and sharper graphics, thus making Showdown appear antiquated and prodding by comparison.
Should Acclaim opt for a fourth version in this series, I suggest the inclusion of the The Midnight Express (with Jim Cornette), Brusier Brody, The Fabulous Freebirds, Kamala, Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Tommy Rich, Skandar Akbar, The Missing Link, and perhaps Dick Murdoch, Nikita Koloff, or Magnum TA. Until such a day comes however, this game is a must-have for old-school fans and wrestling purists alike.

Better Than WWE SD Vs. Raw!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I played Showdown: LOW a long time ago and it was the best pro wrestling game so far. Almost all of the most popular wrestling stars(with the exception of Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Doink The Clown, etc.)was featured. the actual stadiums were correctly detailed and the play-by-play from Tony Shiavone was excellent. The deceased wrestlers' memorial was touching and Bret Hart's how-to sections of the game were a real treat. I can't wait for LOW's new company, Throwback Entertainment, to re-release the video game again on PS2 and, hopefully, on PS3!

Heading in the right direction

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: June 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The choice of wrestlers here is simply amazing. That's the real hook of this game. I always wanted to play something like this when I was a kid. It's fun to have the option of having the Dynamite Kid wrestle Andre the Giant, and so on...

Unfortunately, as with almost all wrestling games, the controls are going to give you carpel-tunnel syndrome. Button-mashing and sloppy controls make it frustrating. If a game such as this could finally incorporate good conrols, we'd really have something.

Replay value is a little iffy. As ususal, you go through the same routine of using the same moves over and over to get the pin. The storyline mode in this is a good idea (you travel through the decades and wrestle the best of those eras.)

As far as variety of matches is concerned, they have outdone themselves. Choice of wrestlers is superb. If we could just get some kind of great stroyline mode combined with ease of wrestler control, well, here's hoping anyway.

This one makes a great rental.

Don't believe the Hype?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: June 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Showdown does have a great variety of legends in this game but don't be fooled. The controls are still very hard to learn and seem to get stuck during game play. In addition, there are some glitches that need to be worked out in this game. For example, during the showdown challenge the announcers' voices become muffled and hard to understand, and the game gets stuck on a few screens while pulling off some wrestling holds and counterholds. Also, all wrestlers' moves are very similar to eachother and after awhile of game play it gets very boring quickly. It takes almost ten minutes to fill up your energy meter to perform your speciality move. The characters move very slow, and The replay value isn't very high. In my opinion, this game is just a remake of Legends of Wrestling II. with more legends. BeIieve it or not Legends of Wrestling II was more exciting. It doesn't even compare to the Smackdown Franchise video games. Take my advice please, save $50 bucks and rent it first. Be the judge for yourself. On a scale from 1-10. I may give it a 5-6 rating because I have been a wrestling fan for 25 years and even thats being generous. Acclaim needs to take some notes from THQ and learn how to make a real fun and exciting wrestling game!

Filled with bugs and glitches that spoil the game.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: June 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

While the game boasts one of the greatest rosters ever put in a wrestling game, the bugs and glitches ruin this game. While Acclaim's idea was a good one, they deliver a game that feels more like an unfinished demo.

GOOD IDEA BAD PRODUCT

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: July 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

the idea of having all these legends is great..but acclaim really did a bad job..first game play is very slow..theres alot of gilnches..its not good..dont expect wwe smackdwon quality or gameplay...maybe THQ should make a game like this...rent this game but dont buy it...LOW and LOW2 were also bad games and i thought they wouldve improved this one but they didnt..i only give this game 1 star because the idea is good but the final product is bad

No Ric Flair?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: July 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have but one question. How can you have a wrestling game entitled "Legends of Wrestling" without the single biggest name in the history of the business? I mean don't get me wrong, Sting is awesome, as well as Andre The Giant, Jake Roberts,and Jerry Lawler among others but there's no Ric Flair? I haven't played this newest version of this game but I did play Legends Of Wrestling 1 & 2 and they were both horrible in terms of gameplay. I notice that for every one of these "Legends" games they always put Hulk Hogan on the front of the box in hopes to get more sales I guess. I'll buy one of these games when the "Nature Boy" himself is on the cover in one of his feathery robes giving us a big "WOOOOOOOO!!!"

THQ STILL IS THE CHAMP

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: July 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I tried to like this game but no dice. I kept on comparing it to the much better SmackDown
title by THQ.The controls were lame, the wrestlers seem to be punching rather then wrestling.
During a match After about the 4th or 5th bunch they bleed already. The wrestler seem small
compared to SmackDown.Look I have been a wrestling fan for about 20 years now and
This game really disappointed me. The reason I gave any stars is because of the roster of
Wrestlers it has.My advice save the $$ for SmackDown vs Raw by THQ the real authority
on wrestling games.

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