Common Sense Media Review
By Michael Lafferty
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violent Kinect wrestling sim in which you do the moves.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Hulk Hogan's Main Event
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
HULK HOGAN'S MAIN EVENT allows players to create a backyard wrestler, win a neighborhood contest, and then transition into the world of professional wrestling with the Hulkster himself as the player's mentor and guide. The heart of the game is the career mode, though players can also go head-to-head on the same machine. As players wrestle, they will accrue points for good moves or have points subtracted for poorly executed moves. High scores are uploaded to online leaderboards. Ultimately, players take their created characters to the top of the professional rankings through defeating opponents in numerous matches. Main Event's gimmick is that it uses the Kinect to turn the player into the controller as they use body motions to simulate the wrestling moves.
Is It Any Good?
Hulk Hogan's Main Event is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what the Kinect may be able to do. Putting players into games is a relatively new concept and this title certainly has a good idea, but bogs down when it comes to the timing and recognition of moves. At times, it seems as if the Kinect can't read fast moves. The game is like a body slam that misses the mark and ends up with the wrestler doing a face plant -- close, but not quite there.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how to separate pretend violence and doing the moves within the context of the video game, and real-world violent acts and why a younger player should never do to others what they see in a game.
A discussion can be held on how to play games that require players to get up and move to create action with the video-game world.
Parents can chat with younger players about the differences between the way a pro athlete or even a cartoon video-game athlete looks and how most people look in the real world, and how media skews body images.
Game Details
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