Plot: What’s it about?
Hulk Hogan’s Main Event is the first professional wrestling game to make use of Kinect’s unique technology, but does it deliver thrills inside the squared circle? As this game uses Kinect to control your grappler, you should expect that the game play is gesture based. A certain movement lines up a series of punches, another sets up a body slam, and numerous other wrestling favorites are on tap, all tied to specific gestures. You’ll even need to use gestures to pump up the crowd as you walk down to the ring, as well as to dodge trash thrown by those fans who dislike you. After you’ve unleashed enough punishment on your opponent, a final gesture allows you to pin them, get the three count, and emerge as the victor.
Inside the game’s career mode, you’ll start off in backyard matches, working toward the glory of sold out arenas. As you win matches, you even unlock new clothes and arenas, so that helps keep things fresh. While the game has no licensed playable personas, the creation process is quite cool. You sculpt your wrestler from the ground up, from body type to hair color to what kind of gear he’ll sport, and all the expected visual customization options. In addition to your name and look, you can also use Kinect’s voice recognition to record your own catchphrases, which are then replayed during interview segments. So once you’ve completed the creation process, your wrestler will be just like you want, from top to bottom. And since wrestling game fans love to create custom warriors, this is all a welcome inclusion.
In addition to career mode, you can engage in one-off exhibition matches, fine tune your moves in the quickplay modes, and take on a friend in the head to head mode. The quickplay options are very useful, as they allow you to learn the gestures at your pace, instead of while your opponent wails on you. As with any Kinect based game, the success or failure of this one depended on well the game works with the Kinect tech. As it turns out, the controls are crisp and very responsive, so you’ll rarely miss a gesture because of lag or poor recognition. This makes the matches a smooth, never frustrating experience and even the menu navigation is razor sharp to explore. While Hulk Hogan’s Main Event might not offer the depth of traditional controller based wrestling games, it does offer a fun, unique experience that fans will love.
Video: How does it look?
The game uses cartoonish visuals, which suits the tone of the experience well. Some elements show off impressive detail, such as the wrestlers and various weapons, while the crowds seem rather bland. But overall, the visuals work well and since the main components look great, that is what counts. I found the assorted grapplers you could create to be fun, with a good deal of custom options to make sure your avatar is as wild as you’d like.
Audio: How does it sound?
The sound design is also comic in nature, from Hulk’s catchphrases to the over the top in-ring sound effects. But that is a great approach, as the game is wacky itself. The smacks, thuds, and slaps all come across with proper impact, while the crowd noise is just at the right level. I wasn’t dazzled by the music, but it serves the game well enough.
Supplements: What are the extras?
N/A
