Wrestling MPire 2008: Career Edition

Wrestling may have gotten a bad rap on TV, but the sport is not an easy one at all, especially in the beginning when no one knows who you are or what you can do. Thus, until you get a good contract, you are liable to remain jobless for quite some time, regardless of how much training you put into honing your skills.

Such is the case in Wrestling MPire 2008: Career Edition, which allows you to create a character and follow his progress over the course of a hopefully successful career, unless you quickly fall into obscurity. Thus, by winning shady events in front of a handful of people, you can throw together a bunch of money and open ways towards bigger gigs, which are more capable of bringing you fame and glory.

Although the game is filled with humor and sarcasm, it does represent the conditions of a newcomer quite accurately, regardless of the chosen sport. Wrestling, on the other hand, is all about being popular with the crowd, which is sometimes more important than being good at the actual sport. Hence, you are ridiculed by your opponents most of the time, while the spectators usually burst into laughter when you fail to execute a certain technique.

As far as the actual fighting mechanics, the game is rather simple to learn, although there are a lot of special combinations that come into play once your character gets a bit more experienced. Until then, the fights can get quite disorienting, especially since you are allowed to step out of the ring at any time and take part in vicious brawls, using chairs, knives and whatever else you happen to find laying around.

Obviously, if you bring the weapons into the ring and you use them on your opponent, you are automatically disqualified from the event. It is also possible to take part in two-on-two matches, in which two of the players fight in the ring and the other two wait for their turn on the sidelines. Naturally, fights will ensue between the players outside the right as well, since no one actually stops you from doing so.

Regardless of the game's humorous approach, Wrestling MPire 2008: Career Edition can still be enjoyed quite a lot, especially if you adhere to the ironic and sarcastic view on the wrestling world. The fights are entertaining enough to keep you playing for hours, even if you lose each one of them.