History of WWF/E Games Part 52
WWE Wrestlefest
Release
2012
Format
iPad
iPhone
Time to look at a remake of an arcade classic.
Background
WWF Wrestlefest was an arcade game that was released in 1991 by Technos. The game never received a home port. The reason for this was that many people think the consoles had limitations of the era, but the truth is that Acclaim had exclusive rights to make WWF games for consoles, and Ocean Software had exclusive rights to make WWF games for home computers. Technos had the rights to make WWF games for the arcades.
In early 2012 WWE Wrestlefest was released to try and celebrate the old school arcade game. While it was released for the iOS, versions for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 were supposed to have been released on a few different occasions. However the game kept getting pushed back and has so far not been released on either of these platforms.
Presentation
A great job has been done here in making this game resemble the 1991 Wrestlefest game. At the same time though the graphics looks fantastic and each of the wrestlers look amazing. The game has a mix of old school wrestlers and new ones. The original Wrestlefest game did a great job in capturing the wrestlers mannerisms. This new version does this as well. The game was supported with DLC adding in new wrestlers for a few months after the games release. One cool thing is that each of the DLC packs included at least one wrestler who was in the 1991 game.
The arenas look great as well. There is a decent selection of WWE events for you to wrestle in and while it is really just the ring apron that changes, it is still a nice feature. The wrestlers do have entrances, and these entrances have captured the feel of the 1991 game very well.
Game Play
Just like the graphics the game manages to play like the old game as well. You have a virtual joystick and two attack buttons. You can punch and kick and by pushing them at the same time you can run. When you get close to your opponent you will lock up and from here you can do a few different grapple moves. To do the grapple you need to press the buttons as fast as possible. I know that this was great in the arcade, but here I am always scared of damaging my iPad screen. The move selection is quite small, but this is just like it was back in 1991. The control scheme is very shallow, but for people who loved the original game I am sure I am not just speaking for my self when I say we would not have wanted it any other way.
One area that has been greatly improved over the original is the game modes. Now granted the 1991 game did not need a great deal of modes as it was an arcade game, but I am glad that they have added more here. You have your Saturday Nights Main Event mode that was a huge feature of the arcade game, as was the Royal Rumble mode.
In addition we have a great variety of exhibition modes and a Road To Wrestlemania mode. This lets you try and win all the titles in the WWE. This is a great little mode that does add some replay value to the game, and in general just give you something else to do.
Final Thoughts
WWE Wrestlefest is a great throw back. I get that people who never had the pleasure of experiencing the arcade version back in 1991 may think its a very shallow wrestling game. For me however they did a great job in re-creating one of the best games from my child hood. I really do hope that they release this on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 as I am sure it would be even better with a control pad, but with THQ no longer in possession of the WWE licence I am not sure it is ever going to happen. Who knows, maybe now that 2K has the WWE license they will be able to release it.
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