The Best Wrestling Games to Play this Winter – Wrestling is one of the biggest sports in the US, as millions of viewers tune in to watch WWE matches throughout the season. Aside from that love of wrestling, another thing many of these fans have in common is an interest in gaming.
That means all kinds of gaming; from Virgin Games live casino poker, blackjack and roulette, to console video games. In terms of the latter, they have the choice of numerous titles that are based on professional wrestling.
What could be better as a hobby than something that unites your passions for wrestling and gaming? In this article, we are going to look at some of the best and most exciting wrestling games to get you through the winter months.
WWF No Mercy
This is no new game – it was released for the Nintendo 64 over two decades ago. At that time, it represented a major step forward in terms of realism in its graphics, although they look a bit dated by today’s standards.
What has not dated about this game at all is the sheer physical brute force of it. It is all about attitude and features some seriously violent action in the ring, making it satisfying when you need to let off some steam.
Sometimes the mark of a truly great game is that it stands the test of time and WWF No Mercy still delivers blood and guts wrestling game-play by the bucket-load.
Nacho Libre
As we mentioned above, a lot of wrestling fans like online casino gaming and one reason for that is the presence of themed slots like Nacho Libre. This one has a fairly typical five-reel game grid and 10 pay lines for players to bet on.
Once the game has started, there is a choice of five different wrestlers to lead the action: Ramses, Rosales, Sage, Dynasty and Esqueleto. Wins are achieved by managing to land between two and three matching reel icons going from the left to the right of the grid.
Whether you need two or three for a win depends on which player icon is involved. Rosales, Sage and Ramses pay out for just two, while the others require three. Nacho Libre has a $500 jackpot and unique expanding icons feature that make it stand out.
WWE 2K14
There have been several editions of the WWE franchise game released since this one, but 2K14 still stands as its highpoint. Players using story mode had the choice of over 40 of the most exciting bouts ever seen in WrestleMania, with legends like Goldberg and Big John Stud.
It also had top stars from the rival NWO, thanks to a tie-in, while the graphics were the most realistic yet seen and ran without glitches throughout. Throw in the Streak option that allows players to defend or try to defeat the WrestleMania record winning run held by the Undertaker and this is a wrestling game for the ages.
The franchise will never better it, but it is still available to enjoy this winter.
WWE Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain
This is another really old game – it was released for the PlayStation 2 back in 2003 – but there are elements of the earlier WWE video games that mean they remain among the best. For one thing they were less sanitized, whereas more recent titles have been at pains to reduce the physical aspects to achieve a family-friendly sheen.
Another is that they featured crazy elements that would never happen in actual WWE matches but make for great gaming entertainment. For instance, Here Comes the Pain has inferno games, where the wrestlers attempt to set fire to each other!
There is also the chance to chuck opponents from buildings, so this is WWE taken to insane extremes and a whole lot of guilty fun.
WWE 2K22
This more recent instalment in the 2K series does not match 2K14, but it is the best one since that classic. It has a revised story mode that provides proper narratives for both the men and the women and it also runs for 50 hours. That enables more detailed narratives, complete with alliances, rivalries and multi-layered plotting.
Newer games like this are partly about increasing engagement with the WWE. That means pleasing existing fans but also attracting new ones, including women. Therefore character complexity and stories take priority over the straight ahead action of older wrestling games.
WWE 2K22 also sees the restoration of the popular General Manager game mode that had been axed over a decade earlier. All of that makes for an absorbing and pretty realistic game for any fans of the WWE.
Any of these five games will help wrestling fans to pass the cold months of winter and indulge their love of WWE.
