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Right, at the request of Shameless homeboy iLuv's, here goes, my first ever Review.

LEGENDS OF WRESTLEMANIA (PS3)

While THQ's SmackDown V's Raw series is regarded as the No.1 wrestling franchise in gaming, it uses a heavy reliance on complex button combo's and reversals to keep the game as realistic as possible.
While this is great for the hardcore wrestling fan /gamer, it can be off putting to first time players, or those who stopped playing a Wrestling games a few years ago due to matches ending in mindless button mashing.

Its with these players in mind that WWE LEGENDS OF WRESTLEMANIA (LOW) is aimed at, and it aint a quick cash in either, its a genuine new game in its own right.

What mainly makes LOW stand out from SvR is the control mechanism , its face buttons and sticks only. No side bumpers, triggers or complicated combo's here, just one button for STRIKE, one for GRAPPLE, one for REVERSALS and one for PIN / ACTION.

This may sound as duming down but it is'nt , as each move set has 3 levels which when earned give access to more powerful moves and Chain Levels.
You also come across Quick Time Event's (QTE) were you have to push a short chain of buttons that flash on screen one at a time, before the CPU / friend does, to get your prefered outcome.
It isnt complicated and allows for a more arcade style gameplay which really suits the 'look' of the game.

The graphics in LOW are good , but not as detailed as SvR, but then they were never ment to be , and this best suits the games style.

The WRESTLERS look like the over exaggerated , muscle bound toy figures you can buy , especially the Wrestlers from the 1980's.
Each WrestleMania venue , ring , ring rope colours, are all as they should be and look well in Hi Def. , even the cages and ladders are old style and fit in well with the game.

On the gameplay front , its labled on the box as 'Arcade' but there is a certain depth to it that stops it from becoming the short fast 'buzz' that you expect from pure arcade games. Although its much faster to play than SvR it never feels like a 'fighting game with wrestlers' like the TNA game does .

Apart from Exihibit mode with its many different match types, Cage, Tag, Hell in a Cell etc you get 2 storystyle modes .

First up is TOUR mode, which lets you either Relive, Rewrite, or change the match types of selected WrestleMania show piece matches , were you dont just need to complete the main stipulation but you have to match a certain number of events that happened in the real match for to try get enough points to progress or win a gold medel. .
Then you have the 'Legend Killer' were you can Create a Wrestler and take him to the WrestleMania Hall of Fame.

Theres also a cool option to 'IMPORT the entire SmackDown V's RAW 09 Roster at the switch of a button , if you have an SvR 09 game save on your console , but graphicly they look like they do in SvR 09 and not the musclebound , cartoony Wrestlers of LOW of which there are 40 plus counting Managers, , so mixed matches with the Legends and the Smackdow guys look kinda odd.

Legends included are a very young Undertaker with Paul Bearer, Hulk Hogan, Bam Bam Bigalow, Jake 'the snake' Roberts, The Rock , Dusty Rhodes , HHH and the never ageing Rick Flair . ,( no Terry funk?) to name a few, so its possible to pit todays Superstars against the Legends of yesterday.

Overall this game should appeal to SvR fans as well as new fans alike , as it really has a strong fun factor, add on to that an Online option when you import the SvR Roster , in game unlockables and a good strong challenge from the CPU AI, then this game is a very attractive package indeed.

SCORE 8 / 10