E3 2003 – Hands
On
The table is
ignited, the opponent is knocked silly with an
Irish whip into a concrete wall. Well, the table is burning and handy – why
not put your opponent on it. This gives a whole new take on throwing another
shrimp on the barbie.
Or, as in the case of the scantily clad woman wrestler,
throwing another ‘Barbie’ on the shrimp.
Paradox Development and
Eidos Interactive will be releasing the
no-holds-barred Backyard Wrestling for the Xbox and PlayStation2. The game was
demonstrated at E3 in Los Angeles.
Almost anything can be used
as a weapon – baseball bats, barbed wire, thumbtacks, and, of course, anything
in the environment. Take blocks of ice from the ice machine at the truck stop
and launch them into the face of your foe. The damage mounts, and the
wrestlers show the signs of merciless warfare. Well, most do. The female
wrestlers stay relatively free from the physical damage effects.
The game also includes an
innovative damage model, dozens of weapons to use and a fully interactive and
destructible environment. The soundtrack features the music of Insane Clown
Posse (who are also featured as wrestlers in the game), Sum 41, Andrew WK,
American Hi Fi, CKY,
Stone Sour and others. This soundtrack is excellent.
As wild as WWE action can
be, it pales in comparison to the antics of the wrestlers in this game.
However, the E3 demo was lacking some characteristics that keep it from being
too real. For example, leaping off a high ledge in an attempt to land on a
prone opponent, and missing , seemed not to matter
much. Now if a typical human being does a belly flop from 20 feet up onto a
hard ground, he or she might be a little slow in jumping back up.
But the player interface was
easy to get a handle on, and the game played very well. Reaction
times from controller input to actualization on screen was
almost instantaneous.
The graphical quality is
quite good. The pace is fast and the characters move smoothly.
The special effects border a little too much on the arcade
style but otherwise do a nice job in conveying the essence of the game.
This program is hard-core
fighting action portrayed in a light mode. You will wince, flinch and laugh.
As the tag line of the game proclaims: “Don’t’ try this at home,” unless it is
via your console platform.
