Showdown: Legends of Wrestling
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| Showdown: Legends of Wrestling | |
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| Developer(s) | Acclaim Studios Austin |
| Publisher(s) | Acclaim Entertainment |
| Series | Legends of Wrestling |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| Release date | NA 2004-06-22 PAL 2004-07-02 |
| Genre(s) | Fighting, Wrestling, Sports |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer, online |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen PEGI: 12+ |
| Media | DVD |
Showdown: Legends of Wrestling is the third installment of the Legends of Wrestling video game series developed by Acclaim Entertainment for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. A version of the game for the Nintendo Gamecube was also planned but was canceled.
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[edit] Roster
A significant coup for Showdown: LoW was the inclusion of much requested fan-favourite legend Ultimate Warrior who, due to ongoing hostilities and financial disagreements with the WWE, had not been featured in video games since the mid-1990s. The full roster in Showdown: Legends of Wrestling is:
[edit] New Legends
- "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
- "Diamond" Dallas Page
- "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
- Jake "The Snake" Roberts
- Nikita Koloff
- "The Macho Man" Randy Savage
- "Ravishing" Rick Rude
- Sting
- Ultimate Warrior
These can be used for modding
- Bruiser Brody was to be originally included in the game, but was taken out for an unknown reason.
[edit] Returning Legends
- Hulk Hogan
- Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
- The Road Warriors
- Bret "Hitman" Hart
- Owen Hart
- "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith
- The Iron Sheik
- Mr. Fuji
- Terry Funk
- Don Muraco
- Jerry "The King" Lawler
- George "The Animal" Steele
- "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas
- Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
- Nikolai Volkoff
- Ted DiBiase
- Tito Santana
- King Kong Bundy
- Koko B. Ware
- One Man Gang
- Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
- Harley Race
- "Soulman" Rocky Johnson
- The Steiner Brothers
- Dynamite Kid
- Ricky Morton
- Robert Gibson
- "Flyin'" Brian Pillman
- "Superstar" Billy Graham
- "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert
- Rick Martel
- Ivan Koloff
- Ivan Putski
- "Cowboy" Bob Orton
- The Sheik
- Kerry Von Erich
- Fritz Von Erich
- Kevin Von Erich
- Dory Funk, Jr.
- Sabu
- "Captain" Lou Albano
- "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart
[edit] Music
- The theme music in the last two games was composed by "The Mouth of The South" Jimmy Hart. Hart appears as a manager in all three games. He also composed some of the theme music for World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment.
- A cover of "Metal Heath" by Quiet Riot was used in promo videos for the game and the instrumental is played at the main menu and Create-a-Legend screens.
[edit] Reaction
Showdown: Legends of Wrestling was greeted with much derision from critics upon its release. Consumer reaction was negative too, though not excessively so, primarily tempered by the stellar roster available in the game. The inclusion of former WCW commentary team of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Tony Schiavone, and "The Living Legend" Larry Zbyszko was welcomed. Though the commentary system turned out to be a failure, being unsophisticated and repetitive. It has arguably the best roster of popular 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s pro-wrestlers, including many 'legends' who didn't appear in the first two games.
The game was riddled with many serious bugs, glitches, crashes, and lock-ups. This suggested that Showdown: LoW was a rushed product with little attention to quality assurance (game testing) on Acclaim's part. Other major negative aspects of the game are terribly lacking opponent AI, sluggish character movement, and clumsy game controls. Errors and omissions in the accompanying instruction booklet compounded this. The game's box also advertised commentary from Jerry "The King" Lawler which also was omitted from the game.
[edit] Features
Some minor new features included a tribute to deceased legendary wrestlers as well as a tutorial fully narrated by the "Hitman" himself, Bret Hart. Another major point in the game's favor was the inclusion of many famous arenas used for pro wrestling and many other sports. They included: Madison Square Garden, the Pontiac Silverdome, The Omni, and the Cow Palace.
