WRESTLING MANAGER: The Debate!!!

I think 'Here Comes The Pain'
I was much excited for that game
So, could you tell me what is the best wrestling game ever? I wonder to know that.

 

As a former member of a small wrestling promotion (IRL), as well as a long time wrestling fan and gamer, I'd love to try this one. Let's see how good this thread gets.

 

Well ofcourse WWE '12 because its Bigger, Badder, Better!!

But honestly, it is the best wrestling game so far. Its just a whole new experience/level of wrestling game, imo. and I really want to win this one.

 

My first wrestling game was on PS1's WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role. I liked the game because as i can recall, it was unpredictable and fun. Like recent games, you aim for the championships. Unlike recent games, every opponent is random. Sometimes your against HBK, sometimes your face the Rock. Point is, due to the randomness of it all, not only was it entertaining, the replayability was high. Also if you're match is scheduled for the main event, you can read the results of the undercards. I remember reading RoadDog defeating the Undertaker. It's like watching wrestling or reading spoilers but better. Here there is no Cena or Orton percentage (of winning), so its totally unexpected and fresh. Also there were parts in the story where you can help random wrestlers asking you to join with their stable or interfere with their match.

I also like Here Comes the Pain. The control were easy (finishers easy to do, easy to set-up a submission, etc.). When Raw vs Smackdown, first started, I enjoyed the GM mode. Trading and drafting was cool.

PS: I'm definitely a fan of wrestling. I would definitely love to try your game Serious Parody. More power to ya!

 

Well, haven't played many wrestling games, but I think the stuff everyone likes are: large variety of moves, intuitive controls, large variety of wrestlers, and being fun. Also several modes too. Looked up HCTP and it looks like an awesome game, probly is one of the best out there. If we had a port of that on iOS (or something similar) it would be pure epicness!

 

Being a long time wrestling fan, this is definitely going to be fun to participate in. My favorite wrestling game of all time has to be WWE All Stars. Without a doubt the best roster in a video game and as a whole it was a fresh breath of air from the yearly SvR games.

 

Definitely loved the over the top nature of the game. Though I do love to see realism in games, All Stars was a great exception. And as I said earlier, the SvR games were getting really boring year after year, and All Stars did a great job of not being like those.

 

Ok after reading some of the comments people have left, I felt I absolutely had to reply. Before I do though, I want everyone to take into consideration that I completely respect your opinions and obviously everyone is going to have there own favourite wrestling game that will likely differ from other peoples favourates.

However, I was almost sick when I realised NO ONE had mentioned AKI's games on N64 and the entire Fire Pro Wrestling series.

Are you kidding me?

AKI made some of the best wrestling games ever, with WCW Vs NWO World Tour, WCW/NWO Revenge, WWF Wrestlemania 2000, WWF No Mercy, Virtual Pro Wrestling 1 & 2.
WWF No Mercy is probably the most well known out of this group and to this day still has a large fan base and modding community.

What made all these games great was the gameplay, the flow of a match, the creation options, in terms of being able to edit in game superstars and customize movesets. I literally have spent years of my life playing the AKI games.


Second, the Fire Pro series. There are too many Fire Pro games to mention, but if you look at the most recent one Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, you will see what makes a fantastic wrestling game.
They still use 2D sprites and yet the gameplay and level of customization surpasses even WWE 12.

There are an unbelievable amount of wrestlers and moves; Gameplay is solid and matches flow as you would expect them too, in that you have to work on your opponent before you can deliver the bigger moves or do your finisher.

Customization is off the chart in these games too, you can make absolutely anyone you can think of, and chances are their moves will be in the game too.

You can create your own federation, create your own teams and stables, create brands if you want, create belts (including 6-man tag belts), create rings/arenas; There are around 500 or so create-a-wrestler slots too, so you can have a game filled with just about anyone and everyone that you want.

Seriously if you have never seen a Fire Pro game, go check them out.

I used to play Fire Pro Wrestling D on the Dreamcast, which I had to import, and play while using a printed out translation guide as the game is completely in Japanese. It was worth every minute of my time.

Luckily for newcomers to the series, the latest game is available in English.


Ok so thats my little rant over and done with for now, I just couldnt believe there was a discussion about wrestling games going on and nobody had mentioned any of this yet.


As for Serious Parody's Wrestling Manager, I was sad to hear about the rocky start, but it looks like your game is starting to get some momentum. I really like the concept of your game, and I can tell that you guys really are wrestling fans making a game for the fans, rather than a company just trying to make a few quid.

Obviously its hard to compare your game to the N64 wrestling games, or the Fire Pro series. However I've played my fair share of Wrestling Management sims too, so I will try and give you some feedback on what I enjoyed about playing them.

My first Wrestling Management games were Extreme Warfare Deluxe and Promotion Wars, I went on to play Total Extreme Warfare and some of the later Adam Ryland games, however I found myself always coming back to the originals.

I think one of the main reasons for this, is that theres a fine line between a management game being in depth, and it being too in depth where it becomes slightly boring to play. I like having control over hiring and firing of the roster and booking shows, signing tv and ppv deals, dealing with merchandise. I also like having the ability to randomize outcomes, so I'm not just forced to pick the winner of each match. That was something that always brought me back to EWD was the random outcomes.

The key is striking a good balance, and making it so that if someone wants to get more in depth they can, but they are not FORCED to. A casual player should have the option of booking a card within a minute or two if they want, and just randomizing the outcome.

The more in depth player, should have the ability to setup fueds and storylines, deal with merchandise, take injuries into account, have full control over the style of their promotion (WWE, Old School WWF, ECW, Backyard).

Also customization is extremely important. Especially in a management game. I see what your trying to do with the whole card idea and I think its cool, but at the same time I think I would want the ability to create my own belts, or match types, and definitely create-a-wrestler.

I appreciate you have limitations to what you can do on IOS, but like I said I know you guys are wrestling fans so I know you want this to be as awesome as it can be too.


Hope this gives you some pleasant reading and some useful ideas and such. And I sincerely hope Wrestling Manager becomes a massive success and continues to build momentum.

 

Ok this is one part I disagree. I was one that really really hated the All Stars release. Though I enjoy arcade style gameplay, I felt that it was waay too over the top. I mean, WWE is already pretty over the top in general, but to add a cartoonish touch to it by making all the wrestlers do ridiculous moves was kinda overboard for me. And the buffed up look of ALL the wrestlers didn't appeal to me at all. Now, it was a break from the simulation and the more realistic of all the versions, but to each their own. I personally did not like it. Now the last game I played was WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011. It was definitely my favorite so far, and I still want to try WWE 12, but haven't had the time. Anyways, this was a huge step up from previous versions. I absolutely loved the WWE Universe mode and the more freedom the Road to Wrestlemania allowed. All in all, I really really loved this installment in the series, and would recommend people wanting to take a dive into these kinds of games, though I haven't tried WWE 12 yet. Just my two cents

P.S. I saw this game in the forums, but from all the negative things people have been saying, I've been a little hesitant to take the dive. I think the card system is pretty cool, but would love further customization methods in the future, and maybe even creating your own wrestler. I don't know if this is already in your plans, but I think this game could be so much more!

 

Looks like the debate is starting! (Just to say this now before it starts getting out of hand, ALL THE THINGS WE SAY TO EACH OTHER NO MATTER HOW HARSH ABOUT THE GAMES, WE WILL NOT TAKE THEM PERSONALLY. Just want to make that clear to everyone before they start cursing at me. And don't worry, I'm fine with whatever anybody says about the games I like or don't like. If it is one thing I respect, it's opinion.) Now onto the debate.

Definitely loved the Smackdown vs Raw series, but once 2009 came out, it started feeling extremely repetitive and 2010 and 2011 editions of the game were very lackluster. The backstage stuff in Road to Wrestlemania was absolutely horrendous. WWE All Stars felt very different from the SvR and that definitely contributed to my pleasant experience with the game. Another aspect of the game that pleased me was the roster of course. Who doesn't wanna see CM Punk vs Stone Cold right? I know I do!

I was also a fan of the old games as well. In particular, I loved WWF No Mercy and WWF Raw. Gotta love the classics!

 

Agreed, nothing personal . Ok the roster was one of the perks, but everything else I really didn't enjoy. That arcade feeling can be a new and innovative twist on a series, but it only kept me occupied for a few hours at most. And you really didnt like 2011?! I thought the Match Creator was really cool, though it had plenty of room for improvement. And c'mon, the Hell in a Cell matches are awesome! I absolutely loved that mode. Anyways, we do have areas where we agree. I did like WWF No Mercy. Sigh, I remember those days, playing on the N64. Can't believe how much wrestling games have changed over the years, and not to mention just gaming in general. Still, like you said, gotta love the classics!

 

If you havent tried WWE 12 yet you should probably give it a go. You may have heard rumblings around the net that its had a rocky start but this is mainly down to the online portions of the game (which THQ tell us they are working 24 hours a day to fix with a patch). If you dont mind waiting to use the online stuff and just play everything else I think you would really enjoy it.

The changes they have made from SvR 11 to WWE 12 have been substantial and have made a very good wrestling experience. In a wierd way its kinda like they took the best bits from the SvR series and the best bits from games like Legends Of Wrestlemania and All-Stars and put it all together for WWE 12.

Given that the online still needs sorting out, I would definitely at least rent WWE 12 so you can see what its like. Watching gameplay videos really doesnt do it justice, you need to play it to feel the difference.

 

I thought I would join in thiis one. Now, Im not after any promo codes as I already have this game and imo it is definately worth picking up.

I have been playing wrestling games now since ....................... hmmmm, probably 1985/6 ish, way back on the C64 with Rock and Roll Wrestling. I have moved up along the way with the WWE series on the Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo (I still have a NES).

I have played probably every game since on all consoles 32X, N64, Saturn, Dreamcast, Gamecube, PS1, PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360 and have owned every one of these along the way. (I have not played SVR 12 as I no longer have a PS3/360).

I totally agree with an earlier post which said about the N64 series of games. When it was released, WCW v NWO World Tour was IMO the best Wrestling game so far (we are talking about mid 90's here). I think that whole series remains the landmark in Wrestling games. They were far better than the PS1 and Dreamcast games which were coming out at this point and in terms of playability are still better than anything being released now.

I remember each time one came out looking forward to the sheer number of characters within the game. 60-70 at one point.

My favourite of all those was Wrestlemania 2000 as the story mode played a huge part in my enjoyment.

My top 3 I would say .................

1. Wrestlemania 2000. (N64)
2. WWF Smackdown v Raw (PS2 - The first one)
3. WWF Wrestlefest (Arcade. Can be found on Mame).

I have been very dissapointed with the games released on IOS. Wrestling Manager is very good but anything previous .... TNA, WWE Legends etc. have all been poor. I am looking forward to the forthcoming story mode with Wrestling Manager.

Remember, these are only my opinions

 

Finally played WWE 12.. It was a major improvement from SVRaws of the past. What I'd like to see in a new wrestling game is you taking control of a indie promotion. Gameplay is recruiting and training normal people and training/ assigning gimmicks and building their status. You can steal established wrestlers from rival promotions but you have to be careful not to displease your wrestlers coz they may change ship. Ala Game Dev Story or Grand PRix Story expansion happens as the game progresses. First you have to beat local promotions, next big indie promotions. Finally WWE itself.

Dunno about using cards. But I think would be useful not only in video games but in real life wrestling, is the ressurection of stables, managers, and competion. I miss Monday night wars.. maybe a game based on that i dunno..

Dislikes: wrestling games with limited replayability. and hardass controls..

 

Total Extreme Wrestling 2010 is the best because it caters to people who are really interested in Wrestling. The WWE, Smackdown v. RAW, TNA games are all designed for the twitch action gamers, or the casual wrestling fans.

The REAL Wrestling fans, go for the storylines, the personalities, and the rich tradition of Wrestling history and among all the games out there, its Total Extreme Wrestling 2010 on the desktop and probably wrestling manager for the portable iOS devices that brings the true essence of Wrestling to fans.

Being able to craft storylines, push specific wrestlers, and manage the different personalities involve is what makes Total Extreme Wrestling 2010 rocks. If I just want a game wherein I can beat up some digital dude, I can just fire up those other action oriented wrestling games out there but then miss out on the deep booking simulation experience.

As fans of the TRIPLE H would say: "Its all about the GAME" and the best game there is out there is Total Extreme Wrestling 2010.

 

No Mercy's fan community was great. They even had high quality texture packs for playing the games on Emulators. Nothing else compared to it.

Great customization, but I've hated the game play for all of them. I even preferred the Smackdown series for gameplay.

Definitely No Mercy was the best.

 

The backstage stuff was painful. No gameplay options should take more than 2 minutes to find. The lack of music made it worse.

All Stars was a good concept, but I like wrestling games to feel campy in a childhood view of wrestling sort of way, not a super hero sort of way.