There's little doubt that Lucha Libre has transcended boarders the world over. Just look at Nacho Libre starring Jack Black or the WWE superstar Ray Mysterio Jr. as an example. Slang and Konami are aiming to bring the spirit and excitement that inspired these icons to the comfy confines of a controller. From what I could tell from my short play time with Lucha Libre, players can expect similar gameplay mechanics to what we've seen from WWE games over the last several years.
Wrestlers move around the ring slightly sluggishly, unless you tell them to run with a bumper button. The face buttons are used for standard attacks with holds, throws and submissions opening up when you start grappling with your opponent (done by holding either trigger). Just as in other wrestling games, players will be able to do things like hop out of the ring and grab a weapon, climb onto the ropes and launch themselves into the chest of their adversary, and eventually try to pin them once they've injured them badly enough.
Where Lucha Libre successfully differentiates itself from the field is in the element of popularity. Throughout the fight each combatant will gain and lose popularity stars depending on what's happening in the ring. Taunting your opponent while he's on the ground will earn your props from the fans, as will pummeling their faces into the ground. As you build up your popularity stars, new and more-spectacular moves become unlocked, including a super-move once the meter is filled to the brim.
There's a small counter system in place in Lucha Libre as well. It prompts players to tap the right shoulder button for a split-second before an attack is launched. If you time it right, a sound will play letting you know you've succeeded with the button press and your character will dodge the incoming attack and launch his own in return.
Lucha Libre was not without its faults in the ring. Things felt a little stiff as I negotiated my way around the mat. I'd like a greater sense of control over some of the moves as doing things like a super move require little more than a few button presses. There are a total of 31 fighters (10 of which will be unlocked to start the game), but it wasn't clear whether the fighters were being modeled solely after their real world moves in the ring or if fighters would share traits with things like their super move being the only specialized aspect of the combat. Oh, and the game doesn't have blood. Slang said that the decision was made to preserve their targeted teen ESRB rating. I'd say, sacrifice the teen rating in order to be truer to real Lucha Libre fights.
Thankfully I did get a look at the interesting career mode which plans to offer some sort of storyline to the action that you engage in with your created fighter (the creation mechanic is exactly what you'd expect, complete with customizable masks). You'll play as either a heel or face and the action carries out from there through a series of twelve fights that are unique to each storyline. The plot culminate similarly whether you're a heel or a face before offering an identical final fight against the big bad boss character that wasn't revealed during my preview. I was unexpectedly excited to get my hands on the career mode, which was strange considering that I'm not much of a wrestling fan. Maybe it was the fact that the announcers were making their observations in Spanish which made me feel more a part of the Mexican tradition, or maybe it was just the authentically strange fighter entrances that made me want to play on. Whatever it was, Lucha Libre has a certain element of charm despite the fact it's relatively young in terms of overall development.
I do hope that Slang that can find a way to complicate the gameplay a bit. Granted, I didn't get a chance to play with four players locally or with one opponent online, nor did I get to explore other gameplay modes, but everything I got my hands on felt traditional and not all that inventive aside from the Lucha Libre antics. Here's hoping that Slang and Konami can find a way to differentiate the game from the rest of the wrestling field (and add blood) a bit more than they already have.
Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes del Ring is scheduled to launch on August 9 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, DS and PSP. We'll have more on this interesting title in the coming months, so stay tuned to IGN.com.