This time last year my flagship game was a wrestling simulator called Federation Online. Throughout the second half of 2001 it provided wrestling fans with the wildest action going. Sure it was crude - the graphics were awful, the sound was awful, the gameplay was lacking - but the potential still shone through. One year on, the game is back new and improved - and that "potential" has finally been fulfilled...  

Federation What?
This new incarnation has gone where no other MDickie wrestling game has gone before: the marketplace! A by-product of the game getting published is that the misleading "Federation Online" title had to change to "Federation Wrestling". Whatever you want to call it, it's bravely stepping into the ring with the big boys. Sure it's going to get crushed, but not without a fight! It might be 2D but, as you'll see, it boasts dozens of features that you won't get anywhere else. The fun comes first, and there's plenty of it...

Federation On-the-dotted-Line
Despite the name change, the game within still concerns itself with the exploits of a revolutionary new wrestling promotion called "Federation Online" that, in the absence of a TV deal, broadcasts its shows on the Internet. The game gives you the chance to part of the action, as you create your own superstar that will compete for a lucrative 12-month contract with the company! If you beat off the competition and sign that contract, then you're on the rocky road to wrestling stardom. Your tenure with the company consists of weekly Federation Online shows, international tours, and monthly pay-per-views. As long as you keep winning you'll spend that time in the limelight, taking part in fun matches and angles - no doubt with a title belt around your waist. Should your star begin to fade though, you'll soon be left floundering in matches that nobody cares about. A year is a long time so, as in real life, you occasionally have the opportunity to reinvent yourself. Before every pay-per-view you get to adjust your costume, skills, and moves - hoping to emerge with an electrifying new attitude!

The Locker Room
You see a lot of characters come and go throughout your career. Some good, some bad. Either way, the wrestlers in Federation Wrestling are all unique. They all have there own costumes, skills, allegiances, music, gestures, attacks, and moves. For better or worse, you won't have seen any of them before either because they're all completely fictitious. That doesn't matter though, because once you've completed the game you get to edit all of the preset characters - and make up to 95 new ones! The editor is huge, allowing you to edit every last tiny detail - and each detail has countless options, such as 100's of moves to browse. Fortunately, you can make things a little quicker by cloning other wrestlers. The previews of things like music, attacks, and moves also makes the creation process much easier... 

Change The World
Editing is a big thing in this game. Not only can you change the wrestlers, but you can also refine the many rules to create your own matches - and even redecorate the arena that they will take place in. There are dozens of rings, grounds, backgrounds, aprons, and scenery options. You can even place up to 20 items and 20 weapons on the scene! The items are perhaps the best part of the game, as they are all fully interactive - you can move them, smash them, and even set fire to them! There are all kinds as well: from wooden tables through to barbed wire, TNT, and thumbtacks. Even the railings that protect the fans are vulnerable - allowing you to smash your way into the crowd!  

Meet Your Match
The match possibilities are endless. There are 15 or so little settings that make up the rules and you can edit each one. You choose what the aim is (first fall wins, best of 3, iron man, elimination, 24/7), where the falls count (anywhere, only in the ring), what counts as a fall (pins, submissions, KOs, injuries, bleeding), what the time limit is, what the reward is (crown a new champion), and of course how many wrestlers are involved. There can be up to 20 wrestlers and 5 referees in one match, which surely has to be a record! Such settings will, of course, cripple a slower computer. In addition to these normal match settings, there are several gimmicks such as steel cage matches, blast matches (where the arena explodes at a given time), and gas matches (where the ring fills with poisonous gas at a given time) - you can even combine all 3!

Teamwork
Best of all, those match possibilities also apply to teams - which pushes the possibilities through the roof! Furthermore, there are 2 distinct types of team play: free teams and tag teams. Free teams have all members battling in one big war, whereas tag teams keep things under control by restricting the action to 2 legal men. As restrictive as it sounds, the tag team matches are the absolute best - not least because you can have up to 5 men on each team! Survivor Series anyone? Unlike a lot of wrestling games, the tag teams matches pan out well. The team-mate interruptions are kept to a minimum - even in a pinning predicament you can only come in if the ref has his back to you, which means the matches don't drag on forever. The tagging system couldn't be easier either: all you do is walk into the position of the guy you want to tag and it'll happen automatically. You can even choose how tag team matches are dealt with: either you can control the whole team or you can stick to your one character. As with any match, up to 2 human players can play at once - one on gamepad, one on keyboard. If you so desire, you can even set all wrestlers to CPU control and just watch the action...

Referees
At the centre of every match is at least one referee - and possibly as many as 5! Unlike most wrestling games, the referees are actually there in the ring and are very much part of the action. They run over to make the count and check for submissions - and if they're not there to do so then they won't happen, which gives rise to all kinds of heel tactics! That is of course because the refs are as interactive as any other character, and can be knocked around - whether you mean to or not. They also have other little quirks to look out for, such as removing weapons from the ring and fast/slow counting their friends and enemies...

Order Your Copy Now!
The boxed full game is available to buy now for just £9.99 (or your currency's equivalent). For full details on your ordering options, wherever you are in the world, please e-mail george@idigicon.com...