Fire Pro Wrestling G for Sony PlayStation
Developed by Human Entertainment

After playing Fire Pro Wrestling G, I have never looked at any wrestling game quite the same. Though it now looks a little quaint, it still stands as one of the best wrestling games I've encountered.

There is a bit of a learning curve on this game, not because the controls are confusing or difficult to use, but rather because everything is in Japanese, necessitating the use of an online translation guide or, if you're rich like Jason Bateman in "Silver Spoons," a human translator. Of course, if you are Japanese, then you have a clear advantage, though most likely your penis is below-average compared with other nationalities.

The character selection in FPWG is astounding. From The Rock to Ric Flair, from Chris Jericho to Justin "Thunder" Liger, almost every famous wrestler from across the globe at the time of the games release is in there. Well, actually, that's almost true. The exact number of wrestlers is 194, with visual representations so accurate that the game could never be released in America due to copyright laws.

They all sport their signature moves and mannerisms. The Great Muta's mist, The Rock removing his elbowpad before delivering the People's Elbow, Stone Cold giving the middle finger, Ric Flair begging off his opponent, you name it and they probably do it.

The game features the standard single and tag team modes, a four-man "every man for himself" match, a career mode, various tournament modes, an octagon match a la "Ultimate Fighting Championship," and my personal favorite: an Electrified Cage Time Bomb deathmatch! Nothing like watching your opponent get electrocuted when you throw him into the cage or seeing a ring exploded with wrestlers in it.

But what makes FPWG stand out from other wrestling games is the excellent create-a-player mode, in which you can fine tune everything to your liking, from height and weight, to birthday, to each and every one of your wrestlers moves, and more. You can choose from 298 different characters, the 194 available in the game, and another 104 that are wrestlers, but only available for body models. And from these models, you can change just about every body part, whether it be their arms, legs, feet, torso, or hands.

Since I had huge amounts of free time when I got this game, I was able to really get into this feature. I created several wrestlers, most of whom are meant to resemble close friends. I made wrestlers for nearly the entire Loud Bassoon staff, and the physical resemblance was uncanny, though I was not able to boost the "cynicism" quotient, so they weren't 100% like the real people … thank God.

So does it play well? By far, FPWG's controls are the best out there. Moves are easily executed due to the well-suited-for-wrestling (read: not fighting game style) control system, and the game lacks the collision issues that plague most wrestling games. For example, on almost every other wrestling game, if your opponent is executing a piledriver on your tag team partner, your punches will go right through them. Here, though, you'll hit them and they'll release your partner. A small detail, sure, but definitely a welcome one.

Which brings me to moves. This game has every single move you can think of and some you would never imagine. Rarely do you find a game where the available moves will actually make you laugh (in appreciation, not derision), and there are a few of these in FPWG. Most moves are realistic ones, although you'd never see an American wrestler try to pull them off. We're talking about 281 different grapple moves to choose from for the O button. 281!!! There are 42 different moves from the top turnbuckle!! That's seven times as many moves as Hulk Hogan knows.

Graphics are a mixed bag. The best way to describe them is Sega Genesis graphics, cleaned up. That is, unlike every other wrestling game on the Playstation, these are not 3-D graphics, they are 2-D. Not that the graphics are bad, though. In fact, the characters are very well animated, and pretty well detailed. On the other hand, if you must have the latest 3-D graphics, the 2-D FPWG will almost certainly leave you underwhelmed.

And the sound is definitely nothing to write home about either. While the sound effects are your usual wrestling fare, the music sucks. The best thing I can say about the music is that it's easy to turn off.

Loud Bassoon rating scale

Review by JAC