Review by: Brendon Lindsey

Until Fire Pro Wrestling Returns came out on the PS2 (and I downloaded a few rosters), it had been years before I truly cared about a wrestling game. Having stopped watching sometime between the end of the Attitude era and the start of the WWF/WCW merger, the new(er) games just never appealed to me; I wanted classics! Macho Man, The Rock, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Roddy Piper. Then, I heard about WWE Legends of Wrestlemania, and, while I still have a hard time remembering to call it “WWE,” it seemed like I finally had that return to the days of old for which I had been yearning.

When it comes to the wrestlers on the roster, Legends of Wrestlemania is almost a guaranteed hit with anyone who watched wrestling in the 80s and 90s. (Unless you were a huge “Macho Man” mark; sorry, no snapping into Slim Jims here.) The roster has guys you might have even forgotten, as well as the big names you would expect. (Once again, sans “Macho Man.”) In one move I don't appreciate for both thematic and technical reasons, you can also import the roster from Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 by loading a SvR save file. Which means the roster is already in the game. You just need a save file to unlock it. Cheap tactic to get people to pick up Smackdown vs. Raw? You bet.

Not only is the list of available sports entertainers a heralding call to the days of Gorilla Monsoon and Bret Hart, but the controls are, as well. I suppose it was to get fans who haven't been interested in wrestling games since the N64 era (and who haven't played them regardless of their interest in the TV antics) back into the game, but gone is the semi-in-depth controls of SvR, and in its place we're back to using only the left analog stick and the four face buttons to perform every action.

In a way the game feels more like the old-school arcade wrestling titles than any current gen one. Gone is the ability to freely wander and pick up weapons, and in its place you'll need to strategically grapple with your opponent at certain areas to activate such events. Wasn't that how it was on the original PlayStation? Why are we taking a step backward?