Showdown: Legends of Wrestling Critic Reviews

But it's the wrestling side that has really been beefed up. A new control system finally makes the action flow back and forth like only wrestling can. Plus the controls are easy to learn and get you into the thick of the action fast, pulling off fancy moves.

It's a considerable improvement over the last two games, and is a step towards putting up a fight with the THQ line of games for supremacy of the console-wrestling genre.

Although there is still work to be done, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling's new look and play style is a big step in the right direction. Fans looking for a walk down memory lane aren't going to be disappointed.

Give this game a chance. Yes, it's got the Acclaim name on it, and the engine is less refined than others. However, the incredible cast alone is with the price of admission, and the game itself is fun enough.

When will Acclaim learn, and design a wrestling game more like "Def Jam Vendetta"? Imagine if you combined that imaginative play technique with good old fashioned wrestling?

It's a pretty solid wrestling game but if you don't really care about the "legends" you'd probably be better off going with a game from the Smackdown series.

A significant improvement on its predecessors, but for many gamers the bugs that are still present in the series three games in will be enough to put them off the title for good.

The best of the Legends bunch, but Showdown – a title packed with potential – is a disappointing letdown.

Showdown isn't a terrible wrestling game, but it isn't a very good one, either. It's an improvement, though, so if using the stars of your youth is a draw, this one is worth a rental.

But it's a general rule that when you knock down your opponent, you should be able to stomp on them, pin them, or something like that. Well, not here. Unless you actually knock your opponent down and stun them, you can't grab them or anything until they get back up on their own.

The game should be fun for wrestling aficionados, but non-wrestling fans and gamers looking for current superstars won't have much interest in this title.

It's fun but the difficulty is weak, almost to the point where button-mashing can create instant success. That kind of thing can't be entertaining forever.

Everything positive that has been added to the game doesn't do anything to counteract the mechanical artificial intelligence and visual problems that plague much of it.

You may be thinking that this all sounds very familiar, and it is, but in terms of enjoyment, Showdown is a vast improvement on its predecessors.

After two failed games it might be too much to ask for an excellent follow up, but a playable one would have been nice.

It's a nice homage to wrestling's past, but just can't compete with the wrestling games of the present.

The gameplay is uglier than Paul Bearer in the nude.

All we're left with is an arena full of great classic wrestlers, still wishing they were in a better game.

A game meant for fans of wrestling and Not for fans of wrestling videogames. Despite what some may think, there is a difference. As fans of wrestling will no doubt enjoy the nostalgia and history of the wrestlers involved with Legends, while fans of wrestling videogames will likely find it too clunky, damaged, and dumb for any long term value.

The downsides are hard to ignore (or even tolerate sometimes), but the fun multiplayer, huge roster of wrestlers, and better-looking graphics than previous installments, make it a weekend rental for a hit of wrestling nostalgia, rather than an outright purchase.