|
|
Game Information
|
Preview
|
Review |
Screenshots
|
Forum |
»Big Bang Pro Wrestling
"It’s like a double axe-handle to the scrotum."
When it comes to imports, there’s a certain message I generally like to
impart: the games I reviewed either should have come to America or
would definitely be worth trying out, regardless of the language
barrier. Such is not the case with the subject of this review: Big Bang
Pro Wrestling. To be honest, this game was intended to come out in
America, but due to the collapse of SNK’s foreign branches, we were
spared from this horrible game. I’d say that’s probably one of the few
good things to come out of SNK’s death.
To be honest, this game would probably just end up being pegged as
mediocre, decent, or possibly even good, if not for one major factor:
the controls. There’s only one word I can really use to describe them –
ham-handed. (Don’t know what that means? Then look it up, you
troglodyte!) The controls are a little hard to describe, but that won’t
stop me from trying. A is a simple striking attack – like a punch or a
kick, depending on the character. B, on the other hand, is used to
grapple, run (in junction with the analog nub), climb up the
turnbuckle, climb out of the ring, grab items from the crowd, and pin,
and I’m sure I’ve left out other functions this button is responsible
for. Now can you understand why I hate this game? Seriously, it’s
awful. I mean, I’d even be a little more forgiving if they made running
into a double-tap on the analog nub, but no, they cram it into the
already bloated repertoire of the B button.
Aside from that, it’s pretty much a game not unlike the old wrestling
games from the 16-bit era, you know, like WWF Raw or Super Wrestlemania
for the Sega Genesis. I guess the only real qualm I have with this –
despite hating the gameplay style overall – would be the unbalanced
handling of the grappling system. I mean, the two wrestlers grapple up,
and then – seemingly at random – one fighter prevails and topples over
his opponent. I mean, at least in the old days, there were differing
animations to show who was going to get off an attack beforehand or
(better yet) a gauge that allowed players to button-mash their way into
dominance in the struggle, but no, in BBPW, it’s basically random.
There are only four game modes in all: Exhibition, Tournament, IEW
Champion and VS Match. Exhibitions are just a single match against a
computer-controlled opponent. Tournaments are pretty much the same deal
– only with multiple matches in a tournament-style bracket. IEW
Champion mode is, well, the game’s story mode, where players take on
the role of one of the eight contenders to bring home the Title, and VS
Match allows players to piledrive their friends...figuratively
speaking, of course. There are also four types of matches, which come
into play in every mode except for IEW Champion mode. There’s Normal –
pretty much just a standard match, No Rules – basically a hardcore
match where anything is possible, Coffin – where as opposed to pinning
one’s foes, they must toss them into a coffin, and Reward – a ladder
match, where players have to button mash their way up to victory.
The graphics are the sole factor of this game that left me even
slightly impressed. Sure, the game’s backgrounds are nice, albeit
barely animated and while the actual in-game characters’ two-tone
schemes leave a lot to be desired, everything else looks great. The
intro sequences come quickly to mind, where sprites that look almost
like they could’ve come out of a NeoGeo arcade game – if not for the
flat coloring - depict the characters making their way down to the
squared circle. The menus and title screen are also well designed, and
the opening cinematic boasts some of the best animation the NGPC has to
offer. If only they put this much effort into the rest of the game.
The sound’s pretty forgettable. To be honest though, some of the
introduction themes for the various wrestlers are okay, but the
background music played during the matches is barely noticeable. It’s
another one of those cases where I’d prefer it if the music actually
was terrible – it’d be better than having music that barely registers.
The same goes for the sound effects: not bad but nothing impressive.
Replay’s kind of hard to determine. On one hand, this game offers up a
lot of variety, in both game modes and match gimmicks. On the other
hand, the game plays terribly, mainly due to its shoddy controls. I
suppose if one’s not intimidated by the crazy layout, then this game
does hold a lot of replay value, but I just couldn’t stomach it, so I
scored it accordingly.
In the end, this game is bad. While maybe not Power Quest bad,
definitely not Rockman & Forte on the WonderSwan bad, but still
terrible. The only shining quality was the graphics, which is to be
expected – this was one of the last games developed for the NGPC – and
while everything else isn't exactly the worst elements ever included in
a video game (much less a wrestling video game) it sticks out on a
system with as few serious misses as the NGPC. Then again, I may not be
the best judge for this genre: I never really liked wrestling games
until Acclaim’s WWF Warzone, though I did like such games as
Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game and Saturday Night Slam Masters, which
were effectively fighting games with a wrestling backdrop and mild
three-dimensional movement.
Hey, wait...why couldn’t SNK have just done that instead of formulating this monstrosity?
Article by: Wolfdogg
Posted on: Sep. 27th, 2007 |
|
|
|
Review Recap |
| Gameplay |
| It’s like those old 16-bit wrestling games, only slightly clunkier in terms of control. |
 |
|
|
Graphics |
| Detailed and colored decently, these are probably some of the best graphics the NGPC has ever seen, outside of the RPG genre. |
 |
|
|
Sound |
| The music can be okay at times, but it’s bland during the actual matches. |
|
|
|
Replay Value |
| It’s not enjoyable, but there are several modes of play. Besides, it’s still the best wrestling game on the NGPC. |
|
|
|
Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
