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Wrestling Encore

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Developer: MDickie
Publisher: MDickie
Genre: Sports > General
Released: Dec 11, 2005
Players: 1

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- Wrestling Encore Review

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MDickie brings us Wrestling Encore, which is another installment of their wrestling game series. It is a remarkably detailed professional wrestling game with a great amount of detail crammed into it.

You can choose between exhibition and career modes, the latter definitely being the game's core part. For enthusiasts, there's also an editor and various statistical screens available. Your average career starts at wrestling school, where you get to wrestle other students in training events, with the occasional local TV event every now and then. It's all very small-scale, and the rules are usually very humane - no knock-outs, no weapons, no truly nasty stuff. Later, in the more controversial leagues the game has to offer, this will change significantly. You start out as a nobody, with a pre-defined character that you can fully customize �€“ even with regard to looks, gimmicks, size, attitude, allegiance and finishing moves. You also get to choose you allegiance: 'Face', the good guys, or 'Heel', wrestling's equivalent of the Dark Side. This profile also changes during the game, though at a price: Intense training reduces your stamina in the next fights, plastic surgery is expensive, and a new costume needs to be paid for in cash.

Match days are usually comprised of a random intermission (e.g. your coach raising the stakes for the next match, or another wrestler trying to sell you steroids or offering you to join their side), the wrestling match itself, and the post-fight newspaper reviews and subsequent decisions for the next day.

Wrestling Encore has many, many wrestling match types to offer, from traditional matches to cruel "last man standing" fights or cage matches. Every time one of these special matches begins, the referee will clarify the rules �€“ a great feature, especially for those kinds od players who don't definitely know what a "shoot fight" is, for example.

The game offers a number of (fictional) leagues and many different wrestling characters, each with their own personality and agenda. There is also an official "real world patch" available which will exchange the fictional logos with their real counterparts.

Graphics: 7
At first, MDickie's graphics style may seem a bit appalling and rough. After a few matches, one realizes that there's more to the game's engine than the garish lighting of a wrestling school gym. Large TV-Events, with fog, dim lights and huge pixel crows do have a very charismatic side. The character animation is somewhat imprecise �€“ lots of clipping errors, etc. �€“ but the sheer amount of moves and objects in the game that have been built in without any means of motion capture (not affordable to indie developers) makes up for that. Wrestlers really have distinct styles, and you can recognize them by their moves.

Sound: 5
The music & sound aren't really bad, but the mix down is poorly executed. Only very little headroom remains, and the music sounds mushy on high fidelity audio hardware. It has occurred to me that Wrestling Encore sounds better on cheap laptop speakers than on expensive 5.1 surround hardware.

Game Play: 7

Despite the game's monotony �€“ talk, fight, read, choose, talk, fight, read, ... - it soon becomes addictive. The initially confusing controls (using a game pad really helps!) simplify the game a lot, and once you know how to pull off which move, wrestling encore starts to become a challenging and interesting beat'em'up. The most annoying part of the game are the long loading times between the screens, and the laggy menus when reading the newspapers (which you can't seem to skip).

Value: 8
For about $15, you get a game with lots of content and a good deal of humour in the form of Easter Eggs. There's even a �€œWorst game ever �€“ ban MDickie�€? outfit for wrestlers. There are many extra events in the game, such as a power failure or missing props where you can decide to fight under sometimes dangerous circumstances. Additional updates are available via www.mdicke.com.

Concept: 7
Because of the lack of wrestling games out there, Wrestling Encore deserves some credit in addition to what is due for its actual merits. The idea of a pro wrestling career game is captured well by MDicke, with all the decision a young and aspiring wrestling students will have to make. The day you sit in the office with a recruiter for your first professional league, you'll understand what it feels to have to negotiate a contract without actually knowing what you're worth. It's a priceless and authentic feeling. The same holds true for some of the other choices, such as �€œsteroids or not�€?. Beyond all that, Wrestling Encore tries to be a funny, not a serious game, which helps a lot when one tries to overlook its rough edges.

Fun: 7

The first four or five matches... with the game's odd control scheme... not very exciting, and you feel helpless. But the next time you're going to check your watch, it's probably a few dozen fights later and you'll be wanting to do �€œjust one more, for good�€?. Wrestling Encore has a surprisingly addictive element that you won't really be able to put your finger on. But it's definitely there, and once you realize that the game is captivating beyond its initial wrestling parody/wrestling simulation impression, you'll start having loads of fun.

Overall: 7
Wrestling Encore is a funny and captivating wrestling game, with a generous helping of humour and satire, and made with love for detail. Its edges are rough and the visual presentation is certainly not the best, but under the hood it's a good game with many strong points. A lot of research and wrestling knowledge went into this game �€“ and it shows!

By: Moritz Voss
Posted: Friday March 31, 2006