Booking MPire 2004
Even the most die-hard wrestling fans will have a hard time getting past this game’s primitive graphics and choppy controls. MDickie’s Booking Mpire makes you a manager of a wrestling clan. Each season, you’ve got to hire new athletes, train your team, and control your wrestlers while they’re in the ring. We like the attention to detail and number of options offered in customizing characters. While you can choose the build of and even clothes for your character, choosing a face is a letdown as the graphics are blocky–making your wrestler look simply like a blockhead. Negotiations with prospective wrestlers are one of the high points of the game, as conversations are very realistic and entertaining. The main problem lies with the action in the ring. There’s not much flexibility when moving a wrestler around. If you change the “camera” perspective, too, moving is doubly complicated. We were shocked at the quality of the game graphics overall, considering how much memory the game sucks up (80MB.) With a modicum of intellectual stimulation yet little in the way of action, this wrestling game may not be worth the hefty, three-trial download.
There are two sides to every story–and life behind the desk of a wrestling show can be just as exciting as what goes on in the ring. Having retired from active competition, you must now make your presence felt in the office. The wrestling industry is in a slump, and only the most talented of bookers can restore its former glory. The successful applicant must orchestrate exciting nights of action, build arena improvements, nurture the performers, and bring in new talent. All the while making sure the show makes a profit, and keeps the fickle TV network happy. Only then can a wrestling show once again reign as the undisputed champion of entertainment.