The game’s presentation is also top notch with all the ring entrances and play by play you’d come to expect from the WWE. There is a downside though, the game has some atrocious loading times. So if you want to experience all the goodies to go along with the start of a match expect a good 2 to 3 minutes before you actually start to wrestle if you end up watching those entrances. Thankfully, they can be disabled after you’ve gotten your fill.
In terms of gameplay modes, WWE All-Stars has a few options. The three Path of the Champions campaigns are most of the game’s meat. These 10 match story based modes allow you to choose a wrestler and face off in a matches from 8 different styles, from the likes of 1 vs 1 to Steel Cage matches. After them there’s the Legends vs Superstars Mode which pits classic wrestlers against the modern day counterpart. This mode is particularly impressive as its boosted by video footage from both eras with a particular theme for every match - like greatest big man - Andre the Giant or The Big Show. After these two modes you have your standard exhibition matches and online play. So there’s a lot to do here...but where’s the co-op?
Sadly co-op is only available locally and in the game’s exhibition mode in Tornado Tag Team. Players are limited to a 2 vs 2 scenario where everyone is in the ring at the same time. In a way this method is a lot more fun than a traditional tag team style - as my partner and I are able to support each other when we found ourselves in trouble. While there’s no co-op moves per se, there are things you can do in co-op you just can’t do in single player. At times we were able to “pass” the other wrestlers between us for different grapples and moves and if one of us ever got pinned the other was almost always there to rescue.
I think WWE All-Stars is one of those perfect party games like Smash Bros. It’s incredibly accessible, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and when you get four people together into a match it’s a ton of fun. While the co-op is a bit lacking in depth, what is there is extremely enjoyable and flexible. As an old-school fan of wrestling I enjoyed the presentation and history and it was interesting to be introduced to these new characters. If there’s a message the game has its whats old is new again, and while WWE All-Stars has a definite old-school feel to it, its still new enough to find enjoyable.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Play as a two man tag team.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.