Serious Parody’s first title, Wrestling Manager, has been quietly building up a serious and dedicated following, since it was released on the Apple App Store in 2012.
The game combines serious management sim with a unique ‘modding’ capability, which allows players to change the look and feel of the game, without jailbreaking their phone.
Now, Serious Parody has announced its next project: 5 Star Wrestling.
5 Star Wrestling is a PlayStation 3 exclusive and is already being billed as ‘the thinking player’s wrestling game’. The studio started its press release, stating that the wrestling video game genre is long overdue for a shake up, pointing out that one studio and one franchise has dominated the whole sport for over a decade.
Serious Parody is offering something new – and the studio’s expertise and love of the sport comes through their press release from the very beginning…
Everything in wrestling is done for a reason. Have you ever noticed that technically gifted wrestlers will focus their attacks on an opponent’s legs if they are outmatched in size and strength? The reason that’s a popular strategy is because if a man can barely support his own body weight, he’s going to struggle to lift you above his head and send you crashing down to the mat.
In 5 Star Wrestling, the way you attack an opponent can significantly limit their offensive arsenal. If your opponent is faster than you and is constantly running around, attack their body to drain their stamina and slow them down. If your opponent is stronger than you, injure their legs and next time they try a lift up move like a Powerbomb, their knee will buckle and you’ll be left on your feet while they roll around crying like a baby.
The game promises radical changes to the tropes and cliches found in wrestling games. Each character will be individual and play differently to every other wrestler, within certain archetypes. There will be over 200 moves to master, each character will have multiple finishing moves and the referee has the power to finish the fight if you’re caught cheating.
There’s no doubting the popularity of wrestling video games. The licensed titles have sold consistently and achieved a huge global audience. However, the more recent games have been criticised for their lack of innovation and poor production values.
With the license being moved from THQ to Take 2 at the start of 2013, there’s a gap in the market, which a plucky young upstart studio could exploit and turn the whole market around to BRING THE PAIN to the current title holder.
The game is already exciting wrestling fans, websites and the games media, so it looks like the players are ready for a change.
We’ll be bringing you more about 5 Star Wrestling and Serious Parody’s plans in the near future. In the meantime you can pick up Wrestling Manager for your iOS device, or follow Serious Parody on Facebook, or Twitter.
