This game is one heck of a slobber knocker as THQ redeems themselves for WWE Legends of WrestleMania with their newest title, WWE All Stars. I have been following this game for quite a few months now, and the end product was as good as I expected. First and foremost, this is NOT a wrestling sim like the Smackdown vs. Raw series. All Stars is a fighting game in every sense of the word, from having insane moves, devastating combos, tons of lockables…and the simple fact that it’s easy to pick up and play but challenging to master. That being said, I did not intend to make this a comparison of All Stars and SvR, but I ended up doing just that. This game is definitely on the radar of any SvR fan, so I think it is inevitable to compare the two at some points as a means of giving examples of what to expect.

The roster of characters is pretty darn expansive for a fighting game. There are thirty wrestlers to initially choose from, with at least thirteen more revealed as future DLC. They are divided by old school legends and today’s current roster, and this really does make it the best roster for a WWE game ever. Tons of old favorites are represented like Stone Cold, Rock, Hogan, Macho Man, Andre, Ultimate Warrior and more, and they even have their classic attires. Then you have some of today’s hottest stars including Undertaker, Triple H, Edge, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio, John Cena, and others as well. Together, it is a very well-rounded cast of wrestlers and is definitely one of the biggest selling points for the game.

But I’ve talked enough about all this basic info over the past three months, so now I’ll go more into what I got out of the actual game.

The first thing I want to talk about is the Create a Wrestler (CAW) mode, since that’s my favorite part of any WWE game. Initially, I felt that the CAW mode was littered with disappointments. While it is still in-depth and gives you more choices than most any other game would, it is nothing like what you’re used to if you play the SvR series. There are only so many hair styles, clothing, and accessory options, and don’t get me started on the fact that you can’t have more than one tattoo on a guy in one area (ie- only one tattoo on chest, the same design has to be shared on both arms.) I threw in some pictures of BigBadBob for a few examples of how the CAW menu looks.

But what I felt was worse (at first) than the downsizing in appearance is the major downsizing in movesets. In SvR you can go into your CAWs movesets and pick out what each move will be, allowing for a ton of customization.This is not the case in All Stars, and instead you have to assign a real wrestler’s move set to your CAW. When I first discovered this, it was like I went back in time and was playing WWF Attitude on my PS1! But don’t worry, you can still choose a separate finisher…ONCE YOU UNLOCK IT! For example, you can have a CAW with Kane’s moveset, and you can give him the Ankle Lock as a finisher…only after you unlock it by playing through a mode with Jack Swagger! There are about five finishers initially unlocked from the get go, and to unlock others you have to play through the Path of Champions mode (more on that below) with that wrestler.

However, as I played the game more, it dawned on my why you cannot make custom move sets in All Stars…it was because of the combos! Each wrestler has combos which were grafted into the game to flow into each other smoothly. So if someone was to try and change these combos and moves by adding different moves in, the combos would not work as well. When I understood this, it made sense, and my concerns about the CAW mode being lame were, for the most part, eliminated.

So overall, the CAW may be a bit of a disappointment to people used to the customization available in SvR, but it is not anything too bad that breaks the game. The main reason I make so many CAWs in SvR is because I don’t know who most of the current roster is…I know the vets, but I have no idea who Drew McIntyre, Santino Marella, and Kofi Kingston are. But with All Stars, there are so many characters that I do know and will play as that I don’t really believe I’ll be making all that many CAWs this time around.

Now let’s talk about controls. This is where the meat of the game is, and it’s a pretty hefty porterhouse if you ask me. It starts off basic enough, with the face buttons used to perform attacks and grapples and the shoulder buttons used to counter moves and interact with the environment. Much like Marvel vs. Capcom, once you perform enough hits on an opponent, you will be able to launch your signature move by pushing two face buttons at the same time. As the match progresses, your finisher bar will fill up, and hitting L1 and R1 with a full meter will store your finisher…just tap it again to unleash it on your opponent. One of the awesome improvements involves targeting, which is now performed by using the right analog to point at the opponent you want to target (sure beats auto-targeting!)

What’s so hefty about these controls, you ask? Well, what I mentioned above was  just the basics…there is a heck lot more to do. The biggest thing is combos. Brawlers and Big Men can chain together nasty punching and kicking combos that can either send an opponent sprawling to the ground or flying across the ring. What’s even better is when you get to pop an opponent in the air and can then “juggle” them with even more punches. While this sounds nasty, the Grappler class’ combos are even more devastating. Instead of chaining punches, you can chain together grapple moves. By learning the moves and pushing a button at just the right moment, rather than ending the move you can actually pick up your opponent and continue the punishment. It’s a very complex system to even learn, much less master, but it can have devastating effects. Jack Swagger is one of the best characters in the game simply because one of his grapple combos can be chained to up to seven different moves. If this is performed perfectly, and none of the moves are countered (which is quite a challenge), by the time it’s over his opponent will have lost half his health. It definitely makes the Grapplers one of the most appealing classes. And let’s not forget the acrobats, as they have chains of their own. Grapplers use their opponents and the ring as a weapon, and have the ability to use an opponent as a staging pad for either a grapple move, or to launch themselves onto the nearest turnbuckle for a devastating diving attack. And let me say this…it is very difficult to avoid a diving attack. Once an opponent makes their way to a turnbuckle, you can pretty much expect to be dropped within seconds. These diverse combos within the character classes make the game really unique and a lot of fun.

The number of different matches is definitely limited when compared to the SvR series. You have your basic one on one, tornado tag, triple threat, fatal fourway, steel cage, handicap, and extreme rules. Unlike the SvR series, these matches are a whole lot tougher. For example, even though it may be a fatal fourway match, don’t be surprised when all three of your opponents converge on you at once. The same can even happen in a tornado tag team match, where both opponents will attack you while your partner stands off to the side, taunting to the fans. Still, when you realize this is a fighting game, that is still quite a few different options to keep the game fresh.

Aside from exhibition matches, there are a few other modes of play. One is Path of Champions, during which you will use a wrestler or CAW to challenge either Undertaker (Legends…even though he’s considered an All Star and not one of the legends), Randy Orton (All Stars), or DX (tag team.) Each of these is a ten-match “tournament” of sorts, which will culminate in the end with a match against the story’s main opponent. The matches vary, and Undertaker’s Path had a mix of singles, triple threat, fatal fourway, steel cage, and extreme rules matches. Also, each of these Path of Champions has three unique vignettes that tell a (somewhat lame) story about you challenging said superstar. There is a replayability to Path of Champions, as each time you play through with a wrestler you will unlock their finisher and alternate attires. Some wrestlers, like Hogan, have three attires, so you would have to play through twice with Hogan to unlock all three of his attires. They are a bit challenging, as the opponents are more likely to counter your moves the further you get in the “story”, and it took me a little over an hour to complete the ten matches in Undertaker’s Path of Champions. What’s good about it is that you get ten matches of varying types in a row, which can make for some decent replay value.

The other mode is called Fantasy Warfare, and while it’s good the first time around, it doesn’t have much replay value (aside from a second playthough to nab a trophy.) THQ set up fifteen fantasy matches, each pitting a Legend against an All Star. Some are really fantasy matches that never happened, like Stone Cold vs. C.M. Punk (which used their different “lifestyles” as the selling point), Big Show vs. Andre the Giant (Greatest Big Man), and John Cena vs. Hulk Hogan (Biggest Superstar). Some are matches that aren’t really fantasy matches because they have already occured, such as Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, Rock vs. Triple H, and Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio. Then you have some that you know they just threw in there to fill out the rest, such as Miz vs. Mr. Perfect and Kane vs. Jimmy Snuka.

After selecting a match, you will be treated to a two-three minute video which uses WWE archive footage to create a story explaining why these two wrestlers are facing each other. Some are done very well…the best one in my opinion was the Stone Cold/C.M. Punk one. They were able to edit the footage so it appeared that the two superstars were actually talking smack to each other. The other good ones were obviously the ones that already took place, like Taker/HBK. But some of the others were just garbage and didn’t succeed in setting an epic stage like the others did. After watching this intro video, you select which superstar you want to play as, and then take part in a singles match. Playing through this mode and winning with one of the locked wrestlers (like Jack Swagger) will then unlock that wrestler for exhibition play. So seeing how it’s just a bunch of singles matches with fancy videos playing before it, the Fantasy Warfare is a fun addition to check out (and also a great way to unlock characters), but you won’t be playing it more than twice.

The last mode I want to talk about is the online mode. I did not have high hopes for this, simply because all of THQ’s previous WWE games had horrible online servers that were plagued with lag and people spamming the same move over and over. Fortunately, this is not the case with WWE All Stars. First off, THQ has gone with a new server, so Gamespy (the company that runs the SvR servers) is not handling All Stars. I’m not sure if THQ is doing it themselves or if they went with a different third party, but either way there is no lag once you get into a match. I say “once you get into a match” because I did have issues getting a game started. There is a “quick match” option which, in any other online game, would just find the next available open game and pop you in. In All Stars, that option just quickly creates a match for you, so you have to wait for someone to join. You can also search for open matches, but a lot of the times I was selecting matches that were already filled.

I was planning on using my CAW for my first online match, since there is a trophy for winning a match with a CAW. Unfortunately, I could not get a game going with my CAW. I eventually found an opponent who also had a CAW, and after we selected our characters a bar came up saying “generating wrestler”…and it never went away. Eventually the guy who’s game I joined kicked me out because it was taking too long. After that I decided to find someone and just use a regular wrestler, so I used Kane and challenged a guy using Shawn Michaels. It was a really good match, and it was very back-and-forth in terms of who was in control. I started out strong, but then he got some momentum going and was dominating, but I finished strong. One thing about playing online is that people at home can have a turbo controller, making it impossible to pin them (and I’m pretty sure the guy I was challenging had one, as even after his health bar was flashing red I couldn’t pin him.) Luckily you can win matches by knock out (perform a finisher on an opponent who’s health bar is flashing red), so it doesn’t have to be a button-mashing fest.

I’m happy with the online in All Stars since the game itself is lag-free, though I wish it was a bit easier to get a match going. There are also quite a few trophies linked to online play, so that in itself gives me reason to keep playing online. Since the online is so superior to the SvR online play, I definitely think that All Stars just might have more replay value than it’s older cousin.

WWE All Stars is an excellent, innovative fighting game. Some franchises have tried to get their mitts into the fighting genre, but have failed miserably (see Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi and The Simpsons Wrestling). WWE All Stars successfully takes the WWE universe and transforms it beyond your basic wrestling sim and into a fun and entertaining fighting game. This game appeals to a lot of different people: old-school wrestling fans (like me), current wrestling fans, and fighting game fans. It comes down to the fact that you don’t have to be watching Raw or Smackdown today to get 100% enjoyment out of the game, and I really do believe that this game will have a longer shelf life than the SvR series. Should they make a WWE All Stars 2? No, I don’t think they should. What I do think is that THQ should keep pumping out DLC wrestlers, rather than making an entirely new game every year. It’s too soon to tell, but I think All Stars is on the path to video game greatness.

Today IGN finished unveiling the entire WWE Allstars roster, including the first batch of DLC. Here are your wrestlers:

Legends:

• Andre the Giant
• Bret Hart
• Eddie Guerrero
• Hulk Hogan
• Jake “The Snake” Roberts
• Jimmy Snuka
• “Macho Man Randy” Savage
• Mr. Perfect
• Ricky Steamboat
• Roddy Piper
• Shawn Michaels
• Sgt. Slaughter
• “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
• The Rock
• Ultimate Warrior

Current Superstars:

• Big Show
• CM Punk
• Drew McIntyre
• Edge
• Jack Swagger
• John Cena
• John Morrison
• Kane
• Kofi Kingston
• Randy Orton
• Rey Mysterio
• Sheamus
• The Miz
• The Undertaker
• Triple H

DLC:

• Animal
• Big Bossman
• Chris Jericho
• Cody Rhodes
• Dusty Rhodes
• Hawk
• Jerry “The King” Lawler
• Michael Hayes
• Mark Henry
• R-Truth
• “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase (Gamestop Exclusive)
• Ted DiBiase (Gamestop Exclusive)
• Honky Tonk Man (will be a free DLC character at some point in April)

Announcers:

• Jerry “The King” Lawler
• Jim Ross

Non-playable Characters:

• Howard Finkle
• Paul Bearer

Here’s the official roster reveal trailer, showcasing all the wrestlers:

Click here to view the embedded video.

So that’s the official roster for WWE Allstars. The game will initially ship with thirty playable wrestlers (fifteen legends, fifteen current), then more wrestlers are slated for DLC (no date announced yet), and two that are Gamestop-exclusive (which will be available for purchase at a later date.) It’s a pretty decent roster, and while it’s not quite as impressive as that of Legends of WrestleMania, I still believe it lives up to the “allstars” title. I was happy to see the inclusion of Big Bossman, which I definitely did not expect.

There are a few WWE allstars who didn’t make the cut that definitely belong in this game, but due to either contractual issues or other circumstances, they were unable to be signed for the game. I know that THQ did it’s best to get everyone’s favorites in. The people who complain that the likes of Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, Owen Hart, Sting, and others are not present in the game really have to realize that they are not there not because of THQ, but because of that particular wrestler.

Now that the roster has been fully revealed, hopefully THQ will start pumping out some information about actual gameplay. The types of matches not all known, as well as the online capabilities of the game.

As I keep reminding you all, the WWE Allstars releases March 29. Be there or be square.

When I first heard about THQ’s upcoming WWE Allstars game, I wasn’t interested. It appeared to be unrealistic with over-the-top exaggerations of the wrestlers. It immediately reminded me of WWE Legends, which wasn’t a horrible game, but I preferred the realism and seriousness of the Smackdown vs. Raw series. Also, the fact that it was being hyped as an “online” game was quite unattractive, given the horrible SvR servers that THQ currently has. However, yesterday THQ released a ton of information, screenshots, and videos about the game, and after seeing it in action, I have to admit that my curiosity is quite peaked.

For starters, let Macho Man Randy Savage have his say on the game:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Just look at that video! At around the 45 second mark, Randy Savage does an elbow drop onto Kofi Kingston. Kingston hits the ground, rebounds into the air, and Macho Man grabs him and turns it into a back breaker! Many of the videos I’ve come across showcase the same kind of action. I found one video of Big Show punching the heck out of another wrestler, and he was actually juggling him in the air as he hit punch after punch! And it doesn’t stop there. Even the wrestler’s finishing moves are getting all spiffy, as executing The Rock’s signature move, the Rock Bottom, will cause him to lift his opponent in the air, turn 360degrees, and then slam his opponent to the ground. This is the type of gameplay that really got me interested. Where Legends was still realistic, but with just simple controls, it appears that Allstars is completely unrealistic, and it is just like a fighting game. It’s like Street Fighter meets WWE, with some simpler arcade controls to boot!

One of the biggest selling points to the game isn’t necessarily these new controls and gameplay style, but the actual wrestlers. Since it’s “All Stars”, there is a mix between the current roster and the classic legends of yesteryear. Obviously, the most attractive wrestlers will be the Legends, and so far Macho Man, The Rock, Steve Austin, Andre the Giant, Bret Hart, Ricky Steamboat, and the Million Dollar Man (who is going to be a Gamestop exclusive, meaning he will be available for $2 a few months after the game’s release.) Rumors and hopes abound for the remaining legends, which will hopefully have Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, and some others. Now, I know the above box art shows Hogan and Warrior, but this is an unconfirmed box art found on Gamestop’s website for the game listing, so even though THQ hasn’t said anything, chances are it’s going to be this. Personally, I wouldn’t mind having an old-school Undertaker there, so that he can be pit against current Undertaker.

If the gameplay itself doesn’t look ridiculous to you, check out these controllers that Mad Catz is making for the game:

As for other confirmed info about the game, the characters are lumped into four classes: Grappler, Acrobat, Brawler, and “Big Man.” Each one gives the characters different moves and play styles, which are pretty obvious based on the name of the classes. For example, someone like Stone Cold is a brawler while Rey Mysterio would count towards acrobatics. I’m curious to see if there will be individual stats like in the current SvR games, or if it will be more like a fighting game where all characters have the same basic overall stats (at least all the wrestlers in the same weight class…I sure hope that Rey Mysterio doesn’t pack as big a punch as Big Show.) The story mode that is present will rely on the player choosing a side (Legend or current roster) and then running through and beating the crud out of the other side.

With all the information given out yesterday, I did not catch notice of tag teams or CAWs, so I don’t know exactly how (or if) they will play into Allstars. Also, I don’t know how they will handle winning a match. There are still pinfalls, but how they are used is unknown, as well as how submissions will play into the game. The simplified gameplay and awesome visuals all sound tempting, but I’m cautious as to see if they are just gimmicky tools used to grab your attention and steer it away from a cruddy game. There are a lot of questions still surrounding the game, and with Allstars being released this March, I hope to be hearing more details soon.

Edit:

Here’s a sweet video I found on youtube that has a lot of gameplay shown.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We got Stardust in from Netflix kind of on accident. I had been interested in watching it, but I hadn’t intended on seeing it yet. Needless to say, I didn’t keep an eye on my queue, and in it came. However, it ended up being quite a pleasant film, and if anything I was mad at myself for not renting it sooner.

Stardust is a romantic/fantasy/comedy movie, and definitely reminded me of The Princess Bride in terms of how it is presented to the viewer. The basic plot is that a star (that for whatever reason is human) falls from the sky, and everyone wants a piece of it. The protagonist Tristan wants to bring a star to the local woman he has his eyes on to prove his love for her. Some witches want her because, in this fantasy world, witches eat the hearts of stars in order to regain youth and magical power. There are also two princes who are attempting to get the star, because whoever has her necklace will become King. Tristan gets to her first, and attempts to escort her back to his town while avoiding the wily witches and greedy ruthless princes. As might be expected from a romance movie, along the way Tristan falls in love with the star, which eventually leads to a happy ever after.

There are some pretty big names among the cast. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the main witch who is tracking down the star. But more notably is Robert De Niro, who plays Captain Shakespeare, a cross-dressing pirate who’s ship flys around clouds collecting lightning. I love it when serious stars play these ridiculous roles. I liked when Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) played the gay cowboy in Be Cool, and seeing De Niro prance around in a women’s corset was just as entertaining.

I dont really want to give away much more of the plot, but I highly recommend the movie. Sure, on some levels its a sappy romance story. But so was The Princess Bride…and that was one kick-ass movie (whoever doesn’t agree is a freakin tart!) Do yourself a favor and give this movie a rent with your honey. Neither of you will regret it.

Sure, its meant to be a kids movie. Its made by Disney, has some young kids getting into trouble. My real interest in it is from the star: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. I have loved pretty much every movie Johnson ever did (aside from Scorpion King). He made a big leap from wrestling to the movies, and he did a damn good job. He has proven to be one of the best actors today, and he is one of the few who dont piss me off. Like Hogan, he moved from the squared circle to the professional film circuit, but unlike Hulk he did a damn good job, and is not as corny. So I rent the movie for him.

The movie is a remake of an older movie, and based on a book. Basically, some kids are being hunted by federal agents because they are not kids, but aliens from another planet. Johnson’s character is a taxi driver who picks them up (not knowing they are aliens since they look like normal kids) and the adventure is born as he helps them evade capture. The point of it all is to get to Witch Mountain, where the kids spaceship is being held at a secret underground military base, so that they can blast off back to their home planet.

The movie was decent. It had the kiddy feel, and I know it wasnt too good because Shell fell asleep for it (and the Rock is her Hollywood Hunk, so that says a lot). It was an interesting premise, but the focus on being a kid-friendly film did have its limitations. A cyborg bounty hunter/Terminator was also thrown into the mix to assassinate the kids, and it visually reminded me of a Predator. Unfortunately, it was not as cool as it sounds, and did very little in the movie. Oh yeah, and aside from the agents and Terminator, there were also some gangsters looking for Johnson’s character because he wouldnt pay back a favor to their boss or some nonsense like that.

So yeah, the best way for me to say it is that its decent. I didnt hate the movie, and what I didnt like didnt have anything to do with Johnson, it was just the basic story and its presentation. I wouldnt recommend it unless you are a fan of Johnson’s work, or if you had some kids at home who would be interested in a story about young adult aliens on the lamb.