| Rasslin comes to the Gamecube. By Chris Cubic In my first article back I feel I should tell you all how I wasted every free moment of my summer. I wasn�t camping, or working on my tan at the beach. I was playing video games. While you all were off forming a social life away from PCC I was locked in a little air-conditioned room, with the windows sealed off, reacquainting myself with my Playstation, Gamecube, and Gameboy Advance. So what do I have for my first review back? A little piece of gaming mastery called Wrestlemania X8. Wrestlemania X8 is a masterpiece in every way. The way it controls is like a fine ship sailing on smooth waters, taking what was awesome about the controls of the Playstations Smackdown brand, combining it with what was excellent about the Nintendo 64�s last 2 WWE (formerly WWF) games, then adding a dynamic new countering system that no longer makes counters automatic �give mes�. The graphics parallel those of real life, playing Hulk Hogan versus Triple H was awesome because both characters looked realistic, other than the fact that they both appeared to have had a really good baby oil rubdown prior to the match (the only flaw in the appearance) I would have guessed that I was watching WWE programming and not playing a video game. The arenas and sound were fantastic, the audience looks more 3 dimensional than ever and there is no more annoying cheering over any awesome entrance music. Finishing moves are no longer automatic wins either, countering them is simple and when you hit one it doesn�t necessarily mean you win the match. Match types have gotten their first severe overhaul since Playstations first Smackdown game. No longer are Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches just normal matches with Tables, Ladders, and Chairs in them. Now you must climb the ladders to win, not just pin your opponent. There are 50 winnable customized belts, and you can defend them against friends. For the first time since the fall of WCW characters like Lance Storm, and Booker T appear in a video game, and with the exception of Booker T they come off flawlessly. That�s where things begin to go wrong, Booker T. I am the world�s biggest Booker T fan. I cheer whenever I see the Spinaroonie, and I personally like his entrance music. However looking at the character model for Booker T in this game I can say, that�s not Booker T. Were the people programming the character even looking at a picture of Booker T? Booker T�s music is some generic wrestler music, which is the same for a lot of the characters, which is probably due to much of the former WCW properties being tied up in other video game companies. So much of the alliance couldn�t make the cross. Characters like Undertaker and Kane, who have long entrances due to coming out right when their song picks up, still have to put up with the extended versions of their music when they win a match. It isn�t the shortened music, which starts at a pulse pounding part of the song. Stone Cold Steve Austin is in the game! Granted the game features wrestlers who were on the roster around Wrestlemania time, but Austin walked off the job with enough time to spare that they could have yanked him out of the game and still met their release date. There could have been more wrestlers in the game than there were, lots more. Counting unlockable characters there was about a third of the WWE talent roster actually in the game. THQ, who has had really good luck with keeping Nintendo wrestling games realistic before, has forgotten that wrestlers bleed. The last THQ/Nintendo Wrestling game, No mercy on the old Nintendo 64 (considered by many including myself to be the best wrestling game ever), had Wrestlers bleeding all the time if they took too many hits. However somewhere along the way it became un-PC to show the consequences of wrestling, and thus backyard wrestling wins another battle. The gameplay was slower than it should have been. Nintendo wrestling games have had a real problem with speed. Is this game worth the money? Yes, it is totally worth it. Flaws aside the game is wonderful and a great way to kill some time. Go buy Wrestlemania X8. Back |
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