16-Dec-2005 Sweaty man mountains get shrunk down and squeezed into PSP First the fantastic news: every mode, wrestler and bonus extra has made it across from the PS2 version. Now the rather insignificant news: there isn't any match commentary, and the crowd and backgrounds have lost quite a bit of detail.
They're the only features not quite up to the standard of the PS2 game, which is amazing when you consider the amount of game modes and characters the PSP has crammed in. It even finds room for three exclusive mini-games that are unlocked right from the start in both single-player and multiplayer modes.
Texas Hold 'em is a poker game in which you compete against five other wrestlers. You choose from one of four poker faces (pleasure, calm, perplexity, anger) and can study the reactions of other players to try to guess their hands. Eugene Airplane Race is a mini-game specific to the hyperactive wrestler. Left and right on the D-pad controls Eugene's balance meter as you guide him from the entrance ramp and around the ring while avoiding obstacles such as sledgehammers and steps. Finally, WWE Game Show is a 500-question multiple choice quiz based on the sport's most famous costumes, music, feuds and other trivia. Every round consists of ten questions, with ten seconds to answer each one. More wrong answers disappear as the clock ticks down, but the rewards get smaller.
CONTROL ISSUES The only gameplay changes are with the controls. Reversals are performed using the left and right shoulder buttons, and pressing Select lets you regain stamina. The stamina and momentum meters, designed to make the advantage swing back and forth just like the real thing, means that some matches can drag on for what seems like hours, which may be too long for a console geared towards grabbing the odd five or ten minutes' play on the move.
If you've got the patience you can swap data between your PS2 and PSP, allowing you to continue playing the same season on another machine. Championship belts, unlocked wrestlers and Legends may also be exchanged, so if you've always wanted to play as Jake 'The Snake' Roberts on PS2, you'll first have to buy him in the WWE Shop for $28,000 in the PSP game.
This is a cracking port of a cracking game with very few compromises. Find three mates to play against and it's better still.
PSW Staff
// Overview
Verdict
Almost identical to the PS2 game, this is the perfect pocket wrestling game.
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, UK BA1 2BW England and Wales company registration number 2008885
