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Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 6 votes
Read user comments
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Game Info
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Developer: Paradox Development
Genre(s): Sports, Wrestling
Players: 2
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Release Date: October 7, 2003
Summary
Backyard Wrestling allows you to step out of the the staleness of the wrestling genre, and into a groundbreaking new world of open ended gameplay. Punish your opponent in highly interactive sprawling environments implementing instruments of pain like thumbtacks, barbed wire, light bulbs, stop signs, baseball bats, tables, fireĀ as well as the environment itself. Prepare yourself to endure inhuman amounts of pain, and take incredible risks, as you leap from breathtaking heights to beat your opponent, and be crowned "The King Of Hardcore". [Eidos Interactive]
Also On Metacritic
GAMES: Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood
Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central
Also On The Web: GameSpot Preview GameSpy Preview Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Playboy
We finally fulfilled our dream of beating guest stars Insane Clown Posse with a baseball bat. [Oct 2003, p.37]
IGN
Fans of the Backyard Wrestling line of DVDs, Insane Clown Posse junkies, and blood fiends should probably go nuts over it...[though it] isn't as fulfilling as it should be.
Read Full Review >GameZone
Could have been one of those great alternatives to the WWE wrestling titles, but its many flaws are just too numerous to make this one any fun.
Read Full Review >TeamXbox
What could have been a very unique and innovative title failed in several key areas. With a very clunky wrestling/fighting engine that will leave the player frustrated, and more than lackluster visuals, Backyard Wrestling needs plenty of touch-ups.
Read Full Review >Cheat Code Central
Attempts to span the chasm between wrestling and fighting but it should have taken it further to the fighting side since that's the direction it heads in.
XboxAddict
I suggest totally revamping the wrestling engine to make the game play more like a wrestling game and less like "Final Fight."
Read Full Review >Electronic Gaming Monthly
Don't count on using this stuff the way it was intended, though. Unlike the routines real wrestlers choreograph, these matches are absolute button-mashing chaos. [Dec 2003, p.194]
Game Informer
Borderline unplayable due to terrible collision and sloppy mechanics. [Dec 2003, p.174]
Official Xbox Magazine
Body-slammed by slipshod control, uninspired storytelling, and AI that flips between hyper-brutality and empty-headed idiocy. [Dec 2003, p.106]
Play Magazine
There are many reasons to be appalled by this game, but it all starts with a poorly designed game engine that's spazzy to the point of near unplayability. [Dec 2003, p.100]
GameSpy
Compared to most wrestling games, the movesets here have been whittled down to almost nothing. The basic attacks are almost all simple strikes that quickly become half-hearted combinations (punch, punch ... kick!) for button mashers.
Read Full Review >Maxim Online
Sadly, the sloppy controls and graphics make the game about as fun as a blow to the brainpan with a spiked bat.
Read Full Review >Xbox Nation Magazine
This one comes straight from the backyard. It should return there, preferably buried deep by the family dog. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.95]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 5.1 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
[Anonymous] gave it a0:
One of the sorryest games I have ever had the dishoner of playing. The good thing is that I only rented it and Just like Jack Benimble said "If you want to play a wrestling game, try SMACKDOWN"
Jack Benimble gave it a 1:
THis game is terrible! If you want to play a wrestling game, try SMACKDOWN!
Palad A. gave it a 0:
Wicked clowns never die, they live on in very crappy games like this. Anything ICP touches seems to turn to crap. Whoever gave them permission to make a game should be shot, and I feel sorry for the wrestlers they included in this game, they probably will never appear in a real wrestling title simply becouse of this. Poor sabu, went from tag teaming with RVD to being a side charecter in a third rate pure crap title like backyard wrestling dont try this at home. A word of advice to anyone who wishes to get a good game, stay far away from this one.
Guy F. gave it a 10:
Wickid clownz neva die!
