| WWE WrestleMania 21 | |
|---|---|
 NTSC cover art | |
| Developer | Studio Gigante |
| Publisher | THQ |
| Director | John Tobias |
| Designers | Matt Cianchetti Mike Vinikour |
| Platform | Xbox |
| Release | |
| Genres | Sports |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
WWE WrestleMania 21, also known simply asWrestleMania 21 orWrestleMania XXI, is aprofessional wrestlingvideo game released exclusively for theXbox in North America on April 20, 2005 and in Europe on May 27, 2005. It was published byTHQ and developed by Studio Gigante based onthe WWE pay-per event of the same name though it does feature theWrestleMania XX event and not its namesake. It is also the successor toRaw 2. The game was the last WWE game released on the original Xbox.WWE WrestleMania 21 was the last game to be released by Studio Gigante.
WWE WrestleMania 21 includes superstars from WWE Raw 2 and new wrestlers, including:Charlie Haas,Jackie Gayda,Garrison Cade,René Duprée,Shelton Benjamin, andEugene.[3] The game features a new reversal system dubbed thePro Reversal System.[4] This feature allows for simpler functionality with reversing an opponent's move. Online multiplayer was available until the termination ofXbox Live on April 15, 2010.WWE WrestleMania 21 is now playable online again on the replacement Xbox Live servers for the Xbox calledInsignia.[5]
WrestleMania 21 was first announced by THQ just beforeE3 2004, stating that the game would be replacing theRaw video game series.[6] Microsoft accidentally sent an older broken version of the game to the disc manufacturer resulting in gamers being unable to connect to the Xbox Live service upon release until a downloadable patch was made available soon thereafter. Because it is now impossible to download the latest update from Xbox Live, the Platimum Hits (silver disc) version contained the latest patch. A number of game-breaking bugs were fixed and gameplay adjustments were made.[7]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 56/100[8] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 5/10[9] |
| Eurogamer | 3/10[10] |
| Game Informer | 5.75/10[11] |
| GamePro |   [12] |
| GameSpot | 4.5/10[13] |
| GameSpy | [14] |
| GameZone | 4/10[15] |
| IGN | 6/10[16] |
| Official Xbox Magazine (US) | 6.8/10[17] |
| X-Play | [18] |
| The Sydney Morning Herald | [19] |
| The Times | [20] |
Despite an upgrade in visuals, and a fully voiced career-mode, the game was met with a very mixed reception due to its gameplay. Rather than being an upgrade of a pre-existing game engine, it was virtually built from the ground up,[21] as well as containing numerous glitches that crippled the gameplay experience. In their review of the game,GameSpot mentioned that thehit detection was horrible.[13] Other problems included a slow and unresponsive AI taking away from the difficulty, or drastically decreasing the length of a match. The Create-a-Wrestler mode lacked a variety of moves, and items for the wrestler being created. While specialty matches are included within the game, they are only playable in 1 on 1. Among other problems, VideoGamer.com mentioned that the game had sloppy controls.[22]IGN gave the game a rating of 6 out of 10, praising the high quality visuals, but like other reviews took issue with the flaws in the gameplay.[16]
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