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Post by Shadow Master on Apr 20, 2023 22:03:45 GMT
Games still do unlockable characters through gameplay The catch? You have to sit through ads every couple of seconds with mobile games. Which is why I take on the punishment, so you guys don't have to. |
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Post by faulknasty on Apr 21, 2023 0:24:44 GMT
Right that's true but but non-mobile games still have unlockable characters. It is less often now and there are usual fewer for sure. Sometimes you can pay to not have to play to unlock them. Stone games will even have unlockable characters and dlc characters.
I think the secret goof unlockable characters is almost never seen these days unfortunately. I think big part of that though is developers don't have as much time to make that stuff. I think big part of that is dlc and games come out real hot these days as you can tell from all the big patches early in a games life.
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Post by Shadow Master on Apr 21, 2023 18:30:42 GMT
Since the beginning of time, Hulk Hogan has lent his name to a number of questionable products. Head-scratching oddities such as:  The Hulkster Cheeseburger. Unlike the legend himself, this burger doesn't contain actual cheese!  Ever wanted to 'Hulk Up'? Now you can with The Hulkster energy drink! Plus, let's not forget...  Hogan's own pasta restaurant. But, did you know, Hulk Hogan was featured in a mobile game back in 2008?  You're darn right he did, brother! Hulkamania Wrestling was released in 2008 by Gameloft for mobile devices. Hulkamania Wrestling featured seven playable characters that the player could unlock, as well as three game modes to choose from.  For starters, the commentator looks a lot like Jim Ross. Black hat, southern drawl and all.  The unlockable characters include: Slashback Sumozilla - Who looks a lot like Big Show AJ Muerte - Rey Mysterio Jr. and boss character - The Darkness, who is clearly based on The Undertaker. Upon Hulkamania Wrestling's release, Hogan had this to say: "Hulkamania is alive and well and I'm excited to give my fans a mobile game that is true to my experiences in wrestling," he says.
"I'm confident that Gameloft will inject their signature style to produce the ultimate wrestling game for all my fans to enjoy on the go."You can see playthrough footage of Hulkamania Wrestling with the following video: |
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Post by Shadow Master on Apr 22, 2023 15:22:24 GMT
Never one to rest on my laurels, I have continued to search for the most obscurest of Wrestler appearances on the planet. My search this week has mined several odd gems from the early days of mobile gaming. Java-based apps created when flip phones were all the rage. Today's discovery is one of the earliest tributes to WWE's fabled Attitude Era. WWD (World Wrestling Demolition)Developed by: Ozura Mobile Platform: Mobile Year: 2006 World Wrestling Demolition is a 1-on-1 2D fighter, that features recognizable Wrestlers inspired by WWE's attitude era.  The cover art features the five Wrestler roster; which is comprised of Wrestlers based on (left to right) Vice Suidica - Stone Cold The Rock Masked Wrestler - Big Show The Undertaker and a Martial Artist (Steve Blackman, Funaki?)   The Wrestler sprites utilize cartoonish, overly exaggerated body proportions; the type of aesthetic the WWE would commonly implement with their own titles in the years to follow.  The lone screenshot of The Rock (on the left); a palette swap design-wise of the Stone Cold-inspired character (right). |
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Post by Shadow Master on Apr 24, 2023 14:45:48 GMT
Today, I happened upon a blog site featuring amazing, custom-made pixel art created by the sprite maker for Retromania Wrestling! The following custom shows players what WWF Superstar Bam Bam Bigelow could have looked like ...if he appeared in Street Fighter II!   In classic fighting game fashion, the artist even created three additional palette swap colours! In case you were wondering, this Bam Bam custom was created from a Street Fighter II Zangief sprite.   The talented artist also created custom sprites of Bret and Owen Hart, inspired by the graphic style of WWF WrestleFest. One reader loved the artist's custom work so much that they decided to get a tattoo of it! I highly recommend checking out the artist's personal blog --------------->HERE<-------------- |
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Post by Shadow Master on Apr 24, 2023 19:27:19 GMT
Before he started work on the sprites for Retromania Wrestling, pixel artist and noted blogger Jaywalks decided to prepare himself with designing sprites for a fan project he dubbed "WrestleFest 2". Jay's goal was to travel back in time to 1991, and include Wrestlers who didn't make the cut for the first WrestleFest (or, who just weren't Wrestling at all back then).  The Undertaker would have been an easy contender, in my eyes. Randy Savage would have been another personal favourite (despite appearing in WWF Superstars two years prior). It's interesting to see the inclusion of Attitude Era Wrestlers like Chris Jericho and Triple H added to the mix. Though, I think WrestleFest's cartoonish, action-figure style is better suited to WWF's late 80's - early 90's 'cartoon' era of Wrestlers. Still, this excellent collection of pixel art gives us a great look at what could have been... |
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Post by Shadow Master on Apr 25, 2023 5:56:58 GMT
Until a gaming blog hires me to write informative, Pro-Wrestling-related articles (yes, I am available for such a role), here's my brand new logo:  Not too shabby for a Google Play Watchdog such as myself, eh?Anyways... The Google Play Store is home to many unlicensed Wrestling games. Downloadable apps that feature recognizable superstars stolen from previously-released WWE videogames. The type of games that get taken down, only to be re-released a short time later. Despite the free-for-all nature of the server, the Google Play Store also features Wrestler appearances in other genres of video games, too. So, break out your nunchuks, and practice your falsetto screams for our next entry: Bruke Lee: The Legend ReturnsDeveloped by: joytiny Platform: Mobile Year: 2022  Bruke Lee - The Legend Returns is a 2D beat 'em up inspired by Arcade brawlers of yesteryear.  The standard enemies in Bruke Lee are inspired by pop culture characters. I believe the masked enemy on the right is supposed to be Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe; while Hollywood Hulk Hogan appears on the right, brother.  Macho Man Randy Savage carries the late 90's WCW tradition. The WCW-era Randy is a rare sight in gaming tributes.  Other baddies include tributes to Sgt. Slaughter, and what looks like the Undertaker.  This baddie reminded me of WWF's Zeus.  The Hollywood Hogan baddie has an in-game palette swap. This time, serving as a Hulkamania-inspired stage boss! The tried and tested gaming trope of rescuing the damsel in distress never gets old. On the subject, Bruke's girlfriend (pictured above) reminds me of Marion from Double Dragon. P.S.: Notice Bruke's Game of Death jumpsuit? |
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Post by Shadow Master on Apr 26, 2023 13:04:11 GMT
While most of the mobile games I've covered are currently available for download in the Google Play Store, there have been a few exceptions against the contrary. Mobile titles that entered and exited the Google Play Store quicker than an Ultimate Warrior squash match.
My next entry is dedicated to one of those titles. A Wrestling game that, for better or worse, we as gamers may never get to play ever again: SHAKE RUMBLEDeveloper: Kid City Year: 2016 Platform: Android IOS & Tablet devices  Released in 2016, Shake Rumble is a mobile Wrestling title that includes a cast of "Rumblers". Many of which, inspired by the WWE's most popular superstars. The game was developed by KidCity (now known simply as K-City), who run a popular Youtube channel. 
From the two gameplay videos I could find, the names of the characters were announced by Shake's play-by-play
commentator. Hearing the Wrestler names during gameplay was a tad difficult, but here's what I could gather:
Goliath - Bald headed starter character. I think this is supposed to be Goldberg.
Ghetto Man - The afro-haired, shade-wearing African American character. Could be based on Booker T
with a mix of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Legion - Despite his spiked shoulderpads and name, this goatee wearing, facepainted Wrestler with dark,
long hair reminds me of The Undertaker. Legion could also be a reference to Taker's Ministry of Darkness
faction from the Attitude era.
Liam Luchador - I had a hard time trying to hear this Rumbler's name. The token masked character that's
probably based on Rey Mysterio Jr.
Samson - His slicked black brown hair and physique remind me of Shawn Michaels.
Big Tim - The heavyset cowboy character. Based on his country appearance, name and blue overalls, I'm
guessing Hillbilly Jim. Though, Big Tim's shades and hat look closer to Macho Man Randy Savage.
Heck, the name 'Big Tim' could be a parody of 'Slim Jim'.
Little Flash - A generic kid characer intended to cater to Kid City's target audience. Kind of like how WWF
Wrestlemania Challenge allowed players to play as 'yourself'.
Combat Kim - This commando fighter reminds me of Sonya Blade from Mortal Kombat.
SD Muerte? - Another Rumbler who's name I had a hard time hearing correctly. Muerte looks like Rhea
Ripley or Thunder Rosa.
Street King - This heavyset character is clearly based on King Mabel.
 On top of the 10 starter characters, five additional Rumblers were available as DLC. Unfortunately, I don't have names for these characters (left to right): Guy in blue - Inspired by Cratos from Gods of War. Stone Guy - This is a tough one. Could be anyone from Stone Cold to Brock Lesnar. Caveman - Giant Gonzalez/Andre The Giant Spiked Shoulderpad guys - Road Warriors Hawk and Animal. The long haired one also vaguely reminds me of the Ultimate Warrior. There's only two videos of gameplay footage of Rumble Wrestling online; and even less information about the game itself. Since 2016, Shake Rumble has been removed from the Google Play Store. The reason why? Your guess is as good as mine.
The Wrestler likenesses weren't blatantly obvious, and the low price of 99 cents for five extra characters was a bargain
compared to today's mobile offerings.
KidCity has since rebranded it's youtube channel as 'K-City', and has apparently stepped away from video games entirely.
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Post by Shadow Master on Apr 27, 2023 19:25:32 GMT
Naming a Wrestling title is just as important as the game itself. Classics like Saturday Night Slam Masters, Mat Mania, WrestleFest, WWF No Mercy, Fire Pro-Wrestling and Blazing Tornado all come to mind when many of us think of killer games with effective titles. But, for every Slam Masters, there's 20 titles in the Google Play Store with names like:  Utterly forgettable, generic, and if you're like me - a person who doesn't get paid (yet!) to review these types of games on a regular basis. you'll eventually lose track of the titles you already downloaded. That's exactly what happened with Champi;on Rings: a game I downloaded from the Play Store three months ago. Yet, under a pile of other blandly-named apps left to review, Champions Ring got lost in the shuffle. Until now. The graphics of Champions Ring are quite good for a mobile game. Easily the best feature by far.  The cast of Wrestlers in Champions Ring are all generic creations, inspired by real-life Wrestlers and DC.Marvel Superheroes. The starter character is Renly. Brings to mind Finn Balor or Peter Parker (Spider Man).  Mr. John is a direct knockoff of John Cena.  Easily the most unflattering name for a Big Show clone.  I can't quite put my finger on where these models were lifted from. Maybe a port of Bad Girls Wrestling? A Marvel title?  I am pretty sure this model was originally DC's Poison Ivy.  Renaming this DC character probably wasn't a priority. Though, I think the developers were going for Kane.  Tough to say who this Wrestler could be based on. Ryback? Kurt Angle? We may never know.  Looks like Roman Reigns with shorter hair.  I'm getting Sasha Banks vibes with this character model.  Who says nerds can't be sexy? I'm stumped on this Wrestler/superhero.  Every generic Wrestling game needs a masked Wrestler. Epic Mask's headgear reminds me of Magneto's helmet from X-Men.  Just in case you thought Champions Ring Wrestling Game was actually licensed, I give you the 'Jooker'. Champions Ring Wrestling is a perfect example of the old gaming adage: great graphics don't always make a great game. Champion's gameplay is quite simplistic; a little too simplified, even for mobile Wrestling standards. Unlocking characters becomes a chore, especially when sitting through a marathon of adds. The developer Mini Sports recycled a number of these characters from their other bootleg title 'Tag Team Wrestling Game' (which I covered on page 30 of this thread). Other than interesting backgrounds and decent graphics, Champions Ring Wrestling doesn't offer very much content-wise. |
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Post by Shadow Master on May 1, 2023 7:01:21 GMT
Hello again, Wrestling fans. I hope you all are doing well. Thank you all for the recent comments and likes. This thread wouldn't be as cool without everyone's input. Running a google search on "Wrestler pixel art" brings up plenty of fan-created tributes to the world of Professional Wrestling. The following collection of Wrestlers were created by StarTruckEnterprise; who posted this collection of sprites to Reddit: How many Wrestlers can you recognize?  The above graphics look like a mix between 8-bit NES graphics and Funko Pops. Though, the art style reminded me of one game in particular:  Maniac Mansion (NES). I remember getting a used copy of Maniac Mansion in the 1990's. The store was Game Giant in Wilmington, North Carolina. Back then, you could pick up five NES games for $5. Every weekend, my mom and dad would drive from our home in Oak Island up to Wilmington just to purchase a couple titles. A time before game reviews were commonplace on the internet, and most gaming magazines were fixated on the latest gaming consoles. As such, my only criteria for game purchases as a child boiled down to just how cool a game's cover art was. Anything that involved monsters, ninjas, aliens or ghosts were usually instant purchases. 
Despite already being a WWF fan, WWF Super Wrestlemania was one of my 90's blind buys.
With the cost of NES cartridges these days, I miss the simpler times of blind purchases; you never knew what you were going to get.  A few of my memorable Game Giant purchases. Monster Party, Phantom Fighter, Kung Fu Heroes and Dr. Chaos. The first three I still fire up every blue moon. Dr. Chaos on the other hand ...not so much As a kid used to games like Double Dragon and Street Fighter, Maniac Mansion was an entirely new concept. RPG's and non -linear games were still a foreign concept to most kids. To have a free-roaming experience that didn't feature a health bar, platforms or swarms of baddies to defeat served as my 8-bit introduction to the world of point and click games. While the WWF had their own point and click game (WWF Adventure Game) in 1993, I'm sure something in the style of Maniac Mansion would have been an instant hit with me as a kid. |
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Post by Shadow Master on May 1, 2023 20:33:28 GMT
It's time for another illegal game that should be taken down from the Google Play Store promptly.  Fans of MDickie's Wrestling Revolution and Wrestling Empire series': don't get too excited.  The five playable Wrestlers are all stolen from other video games. The roster includes: AJ Styles, Roman Reigns, John Cena, Triple H, and a Mortal Kombat-looking character.  Where else are you going to find a Kitana/Jade clone doing the old Hogan cupped ear taunt? |
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Post by BakFu on May 2, 2023 0:42:29 GMT
My god, all of this stuff is such trash. When people dreamt of becoming game developers, did the ever once think they’d be turning shit like this out? I hope they’re at least being paid well enough to get by. 😬
I like the pixely wrestler pictures, those are always fun. There are a few I have no clue as to the identity of, probably current roster, especially the girls. It’s crazy how immediately identifiable the old WWF guys are because of their cartoony gimmicks. There are even a few managers! There are four sets of those pics, all great stuff!
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Post by Shadow Master on May 2, 2023 1:19:07 GMT
My god, all of this stuff is such trash. When people dreamt of becoming game developers, did the ever once think they’d be turning shit like this out? I hope they’re at least being paid well enough to get by. 😬 I like the pixely wrestler pictures, those are always fun. There are a few I have no clue as to the identity of, probably current roster, especially the girls. It’s crazy how immediately identifiable the old WWF guys are because of their cartoony gimmicks. There are even a few managers! There are four sets of those pics, all great stuff! I really hesitate to call some of these apps in the Google Play Store 'games'. Most of them just contain stolen game models, that are poorly repainted, with sloppy animation and poor programming. Some developers might say "well, Fire Pro featured unlicensed Wrestlers. Why can't I?" My answer? There's a big difference between creating content inspired by Wrestlers, and recycling stolen game models from other games to make a quick buck.Wait until you see the next bootleg Wrestling game entry... |
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Post by Shadow Master on May 10, 2023 5:11:28 GMT
Before we get back to illegal Wrestling games that you can download in the Google Play Store, I wanted to share other cool cameo appearances:
Floor796If you love pop culture references from the 80's and 90's, then look no further than the Floor796 website! The site is a fully-animated collage of recognizable movie characters, cartoon classics, video game icons and so much more! In the below photo, I was able to spot Hulk Hogan working out!  So, if you've ever wanted your Where's Waldo books to have a bit more character, then you owe it to yourself to check out this site: floor796.com/There's just so much going on....so much detail...give it a click and see how many references you can spot! |
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Post by Shadow Master on May 16, 2023 15:55:58 GMT
Welcome back, Wrestling fans! I just wanted to drop in for a moment to let everyone know that I just purchased yet another Fire Pro guide!  Great Shiba (Giant Baba) gives Victory Musashi (Antonio Inoki) a 16mon Kick! The book in question is dedicated to 1991's Super Fire Pro-Wrestling on the Super Famicom. In the past, I've already scanned several guides made by Keibunsha. The cartoonish drawings of the game's roster is the biggest reason I collect these books.  Truth be told, I was apprehensive about purchasing this guide for quite some time now; mostly due to the guide's expensive price on eBay. Yet, since there was only one copy available - and there doesn't seem to be ANY decent scans or screenshots of the guide's pages available anywhere ...I knew I had to pull the trigger. As a Fire Pro archivist and historian ---- it is my unpaid duty to scan these guides.
A year later, I still have four Fire Pro guides to scan (my apologies ...but, life happens, and fighting with my scanner to line up the pages is a full-time job by itself). |
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