Here we see La Parka having a serious conversation with Zombie Clown about the ills of the seedy underbelly of pro-wrestling.The last wrestling game I put an embarrassing amount of time into was WWF: War Zone for the original Playstation. So going by that you can draw several conclusions. One of which is that it’s been a while since I’ve actively paid attention to the wild, world of wrasslin’. I missed the great renaissance of the WWE: Smackdown vs. Raw games of this and the previous gaming generation. I hear they are good -- for fans. There is no personal connection between me and the current era of pro-wrestling. Every time I’ve checked out a news story in this realm, someone has either died from a drug overdose or is not too far from it.
I do have a weakness. A segment of wrestling that hearkens back to when I started watching when I was probably in pampers -- lucha libre. When Hulk Hogan and Macho Man were putting more effort into selling the show -- to their Roman-esque, blood-thirsty audience -- my eye was drawn to the athletes who could actually wrestle. When I was young, these were the guys you’d see on the bottom of the bill. Undercards. Their high-flying acrobats were there to warm-up the crowd. At least that’s how it was in the States during the 80’s.
You'll be happy to know that Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes Del Ring isn't a complete disaster. Practice mode and Two-Player mode are almost semi-redeeming. You still have to fight the controls though.Oh. There’s a game I’m supposed to be talking about. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to talk about other than a valiant effort made in Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes Del Ring. Having one of my favorite luchadors, La Parka, as the unofficial mascot of the game definitely had me vying for the title. The video segments throughout the uneventful story mode actually kept me playing. It seemed that there was so many ‘well meaning’ aspects to Heroes Del Ring the one thing that would have tied this attempt together would have been if the game were fun.
There are loading screens that occur more than in-ring excitement. Slow and stuttered animation that breaks any real sense of flow in a match. All the good that could be found in Heroes Del Ring occur before any fight takes place. Also, at this point, the online is a deserted wasteland populated only by those who have dedicated way to much of their time to mastering broken mechanics.
Making a bad thing worse, You have to unlock over half of the roster through most of the featured modes.Hey, I get it. I knew every combo in Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi. If I were fortunate enough to sucker my friends into playing such a nightmare of a game, they’d respond with, “Yeah you won, but this game still sucks.” And you know what, they were right.
I’m choosing more eloquent words here, because I think there is some heart hidden deep, deep, under the bloody luchador mask. The fun of a UFC Undisputed or even a NES Pro Wrestling -- is that, to some degree, you can figure out how to win if you put enough time and effort into it. When you ‘do’ figure out how to win in Heroes Del Ring, the game then pits you against two computer A.I. where you must win by legal moves. You won’t, because the game isn’t built for you to do so. If you do, it feels more like luck than skill.
The game thrives heavily on a counter system that isn’t very intuitive. If you press R1 too soon you’ll suffer a body slam. If you press too late, you’ll immediately stop caring about this game in no time flat. Now imagine being in a ring filled with some of your favorite Technicos or Rudos [as the game puts it] and having “R1” flash above your head every other second? It would take anyone out of a match.
There are some really interesting ideas in the grapple modes. Like reversals and breaking out of submissions.It’s really just an unfocused mess. The create-a-wrestler is probably one of the more in-depth features in the entire game [or any fighting game I’ve played in recent memory]. Leaving the player pining for fun that they will never have. With a character that very few will want to see, in an online or real-life capacity. As I progressed through the single-player, I noticed the loading screens lasted longer. The game occasionally crashed and I’d have to start all over until eventually I did something better with my time. So I wrote a review about a game I wanted to finish.
I will credit Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes Del Ring for inspiring me to want to know more about the AAA organization. I also revisited the Fire Pro Wrestling game series which instantly reminded me of what I liked about pro-wrestling. Unfortunately this game encapsulates all that I hate in games as well as the genre.
I give Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes Del Ring ...
Anally Immortalized The “Dreaded Fingers In Ass Takedown” Award