Update: May 10, 2007
«©NCSX» Bruisers from the world of Japanese professional wrestling enter the ring once again to grapple, slap, and growl at each other. A total of 73 bulky muscle-bound monsters from the New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling leagues tussle against each other and go to the mat with Freelancers such as Tajiri and Legends such as Bigbang Vader. The gang from Pro Wrestling NOAH is missing but a fifth category of wrestlers under the banner of "EX" is available in the game. There are a total of 13 EX wrestlers but they're all locked with the exception of a red-masked grappler named Masked Devilock. The controls at first feint are simple - the D-pad moves a wrestler around the ring and the SQUARE button is used to slap and kick. To run around the ring and bounce off the ropes, press and hold the TRIANGLE button. The "X" button initiates a grapple which can progress into a leg lock, a body slam, or a throw move depending on the subsequent button combination. The depth in the controls is realized when exploring the grappling system which features a sizable number of attacks, chains, and even a power-up system. Some Bonus DVDs
Early preorders will include a bonus Wrestle Kingdom DVD Video which contains legendary matches fought between marquee wrestlers such as Antonio Inoki vs Tiger Jeet Singh and Stan Hansen vs Andre the Giant. Sadly, we didn't receive enough DVDs to include with every order shipping today. Jan Code: 4522174000847 View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.
NCS Game Notes
» In the intro to the game, the roar of the crowd may be heard as the camera focuses on a massive television screen above the wrestling ring. Wrestlers start appearing and stand around before the ring action and slapping starts. The likeness of the virtual wrestlers to their real world counterparts is remarkable and their movements are fluid enough to almost look like television footage. » Press START on the title screen and two options pop up: CONTINUE
NEW GAME If you start a new game, a newspaper mock-up appears and one of seven game modes may be chosen : ∙ Options for sound volumes, game modifiers, etc
∙ Gallery of Wrestlers with data, stats, affiliations, autographs, etc
∙ Create a Wrestler with unique body parts, wrestling techniques, etc
∙ Trading Card Game
∙ IWGP Mode » The wrestler selection screen contains 5 different categories. The fifth category is labeled EX but only 1 wrestler is selectable within - Masked Devilock. 12 other wrestlers are listed in EX for a total of 13 wrestlers. The available wrestlers in the other categories are: New Japan Pro Wrestling (17 wrestlers):
Kohji Kanemoto
Jado
Gedo
Minoru
Masahiro Chono
Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Yuji Nagata
Manaby Nakanishi
Shinsuke Nakamura
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Giant Bernard
Jushin Thunder Liger
Wataru Inoue
Tiger Mask
Ryusuke Taguchi
Naofumi Yamamoto
Riki Cyoshu. All Japan Pro Wrestling (12 wrestlers):
Keiji Mutoh
Satoshi Kojima
Suwama
Taiyo Kea
Great Muta
Kazu Hayashi
Taru
Syuji Kondou
Brother Yasshi
Taka Mithinoku
Masanobu Fuchi
Nosawa Rongai Freelance (13 wrestlers):
Tatumi Fujinami
Toshiaki Kawada
Osamu Nishimura
Yoshihiro Takayama
Kensuke Sasaki
Genichiro Tenryu
Akebono
Tajiri
Katsuhiko Nakajima
Kazunari Murakami
Hayabusa
Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Milano Collection A.T. Legends (18 wrestlers):
Inoki Antonio
Bigbang Vader
Tiger Mask (First Generation)
Terry Funk
Dory Funk Jr
Abdoullah the Butcher
Shinya Hashimoto
Tiger Jeet Singh
Steve Williams
Jumbo Tsuruta
Masakatsu Funaki
Atsushi Ohnita
The Destroyer
Terry Gordy
Richard Murdoch
The Sheik
Stan Hansen
Akira Maeda » After choosing the wrestler you want, a television interviewer speaks to the guy you just chose while flashbulbs pops in the distance. There is no voice acting in this sequence, just dialogue at the bottom of the screen while thundering music with the occasional guitar squeal plays in the background. » Chono who wears sunglasses at night was our first opponent. He's interviewed and he looks mad (as usual) and points his finger at the interviewer before raising his arms like victory had been achieved. » In the Now Loading screen, an image of a wrestler is shown but if you look at the lower-right corner of the screen, a silhouetted guy is kicking a punching bag. Another animation is a figure seated at a bench and pressing weights. » The game starts with the entry of the wrestlers while the crowd responds to the slow and steady walk of the two bruisers and chant their names - all are accurate and reflect the actual names of the wrestlers. Chono for example gets a sonorous chorus of "Corno" » During a match, the sound of the crowd is continuous and occasional shouts may be heard above the general din. » When a takedown is effected, the mat bounces up and down realistically as a body is thrown or hurled downwards. » The movement of your wrestler is handled through the D-pad only. L-Analog does nothing. The four face buttons are used to do a elbow slap or kick (SQUARE), run/stomp (TRIANGLE), and grapple moves (X-Button) such as a head hurl where you grab the other wrestler's head and then throw him down to the mat (Start by pressing the X button and then continue pressing it to flow through). » It's possible to throw someone out of the ring and then rush right on top of him while he's lying prone to do some damage. If you stay outside of the ring for 20 counts, the match ends if you're standing outside and the challenger rushes back inside. You can also take out weapons from underneath the ring if you're outside by walking to the edge and pressing the O button. We drew out a stick to beat our opponent with. To rush back into the ring, stand next to it and press the TRIANGLE button to scoot back in. If you're outside and an opponent is rushing to get back in before the countdown, you can pull him back out by the foot, beat him down and then rush inside yourself. » After the match, there's an interview with the winning wrestler which is fairly realistic because the wrestler looks tired and breathes hard as the cameras pop and flash. The presentation of the game captures the pomp and theatrics of wrestling fairly well with visual bells/whistles in addition to the wrestling fare. » There's recovery time and fatigue involved in the game engine of WK2. If you've been smacked around pretty good, the wrestler won't be able to immediately counterattack until he shakes off the wooziness. A wrestler will also grab body parts in pain when attacked and lie around as you feverishly smack the controller buttons to get him up again. » If you're feeling randy, you can also do some damage to the referee. Grab him and smack him around if you wish. There doesn't seem to be any penalty for doing so. » After taking some hard hits, you can see blobs of blood on the mat. » The condition of a wrestler is indicated by the body on the bottom of the screen. At the outset, the body is green but as it takes hits and damage, it'll turn yellow and eventually red when it's all busted up. » If there's no compelling action in the ring, the crowd indicator in the bottom-center of the screen shows ZZzz's as the crowd grows bored. » Wrestling Kingdom 2 is a likable game which features a simple and versatile system to pull off moves and combination attacks. There's no practice mode to test all of the available moves on a dummy opponent so you'll have to practice the various moves at the get-do against an active and aggressive opponent in the normal modes of the game. This document is ©NCSX 2007. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.
|
