WWE WrestleMania 21, also known simply as WrestleMania 21 or Wrestlemania XXI, is a professional wrestling video game released exclusively for the Xbox in 2005. It was published by THQ and developed by Studio Gigante based on the WWE pay-per event of the same name though it does feature the Wrestlemania XX event and not its namesake. It is also the successor to Raw 2. The game was the last WWE game released on the original Xbox. WWE Wrestlemania 21 was the last game to be released by Studio Gigante.
| WWE WrestleMania 21 | |
|---|---|
 NTSC cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Studio Gigante |
| Publisher(s) | THQ |
| Director(s) | John Tobias |
| Designer(s) | Matt Cianchetti Mike Vinikour |
| Platform(s) | Xbox |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Gameplay
editWWE WrestleMania 21 includes superstars from WWE Raw 2 and new wrestlers, including: Charlie Haas, Jackie Gayda, Lance Cade, René Duprée, Shelton Benjamin, and Eugene.[3] The game features a new reversal system dubbed the Pro Reversal System.[4] This feature allows for simpler functionality with reversing an opponent's move.
Development and release
editWrestleMania 21 was first announced by THQ just before E3 2004, stating that the game would be replacing the Raw video game series.[5] Microsoft accidentally sent an older broken version of the game to the disc manufacturer resulting in gamers being unable to connect to the Xbox Live service upon release until a downloadable patch was made available soon thereafter. Because it is now impossible to download the latest update from Xbox Live, the Platimum Hits (silver disc) version contained the latest patch. A number of game-breaking bugs were fixed and gameplay adjustments were made.[6]
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 56/100[7] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 5/10[8] |
| Eurogamer | 3/10[9] |
| Game Informer | 5.75/10[10] |
| GamePro |   [11] |
| GameSpot | 4.5/10[12] |
| GameSpy | [13] |
| GameZone | 4/10[14] |
| IGN | 6/10[15] |
| Official Xbox Magazine (US) | 6.8/10[16] |
| X-Play | [17] |
| The Sydney Morning Herald | [18] |
| The Times | [19] |
Despite an upgrade in visuals, and a fully voiced career-mode, the game was met with a very mixed reception due to its gameplay. Rather than being an upgrade of a pre-existing game engine, it was virtually built from the ground up,[20] as well as containing numerous glitches that crippled the gameplay experience. In their review of the game, GameSpot mentioned that the hit detection was horrible.[12] Other problems included a slow and unresponsive AI taking away from the difficulty, or drastically decreasing the length of a match. A Create-a-Wrestler mode lacked a variety of moves, and items for the wrestler being created. While specialty matches are included within the game, they are only playable in 1 on 1. Among other problems, VideoGamer.com mentioned that the game had sloppy controls.[21] IGN gave the game a rating of 6 out of 10, praising the high quality visuals, but like other reviews took issue with the flaws in the gameplay.[15]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "What's New? (New releases roundup)". Eurogamer. 2005-05-27. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ "WWE WrestleMania 21 Ships Exclusively for Xbox". GameZone. April 20, 2005. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- ^ Ekberg, Brian (March 3, 2005). "WWE WrestleMania XXI Feature Preview". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Goldstein, Hilary (January 21, 2005). "WrestleMania 21: Pro Reversal System". IGN. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Perry, Douglass C. (November 17, 2004). "Wrestlemania 21: First Shot". IGN. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Clayman, David (April 25, 2005). "WrestleMania 21 Patch Released". IGN. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ "WWE WrestleMania 21 for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
- ^ EGM staff (June 2005). "WWE WrestleMania 21". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 192. p. 106.
- ^ The Masked Unit (June 9, 2005). "WWE WrestleMania 21". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 15 October 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
- ^ Zoss, Jeremy (June 2005). "WWE Wrestlemania XXI". Game Informer. No. 146. p. 132. Archived from the original on November 6, 2005. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Manny LaMancha (April 21, 2005). "WrestleMania XXI Review for GameCube on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on April 22, 2005. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ a b Navarro, Alex (April 21, 2005). "WWE WrestleMania 21 Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Leeper, Justin (April 20, 2005). "GameSpy: WWE WrestleMania 21". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 25, 2005. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
- ^ Hopper, Steven (May 8, 2005). "WWE Wrestlemania 21 - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ a b Clayman, David (April 19, 2005). "WrestleMania 21". IGN. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "WWE WrestleMania 21". Official Xbox Magazine. June 2005. p. 76.
- ^ Speer, Justin (May 31, 2005). "WWE WrestleMania XXI Review". X-Play. Archived from the original on June 7, 2005. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Wilcox, Mike (July 9, 2005). "Fear play". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Kendall, Nigel (June 25, 2005). "Wrestlemania 21". The Times. Archived from the original on 29 September 2006. Retrieved 25 February 2015.(subscription required)
- ^ Leeper, Justin (January 28, 2005). "GameSpy: WWE WrestleMania 21 (Preview)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Orry, Tom (November 7, 2005). "Wrestlemania XXI Review". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2012.