ECW Anarchy Rulz

"Doesn't do ECW justice."

ECW Anarchy Rulz was released in December of 2000 for the Sega Dreamcast. It was
developed and published by Acclaim. This is the sequel to ECW Hardcore Revolution
which was released for the DC in March of 2000. Many wrestling fans wondered if this
game would succeed were ECW HR failed; they wondered if it would fix the control
problems that have plagued games that have used this engine, and most importantly, they
wondered if it would capture the spirit of ECW. I’m happy to report that this game
captures ECW’s spirit better than any game so far, it’s not perfect, but it succeeds were it
needs to and that’s what counts. I will score this game based on other Sega DreamCast
wrestling games, not on games on other systems.

Graphics-6/10- For the most part the graphics in this game are good, the characters look
just like their real-life counterparts and most of their trademark moves look great, some
have questionable animation (Tommy Dreamer’s Dreamer Driver comes to mind), and
others have perfect animation (Nova’s Kryptonite Krunch shows this.) The animation of
moves as a whole is questionable though, some basic moves look great (the belly-to-belly
suplexes), while others look strange (the Sleeper Hold), collision detection is also a flaw,
it is very loose and makes some moves look horrible (the (Crippler) Crossface is an
example of this, your characters arm goes through you opponent’s head). Overall the
collision detection and animation problems knock my score down a couple of notches.
The graphics are a huge disappointment, they don’t take advantage of the DC’s power at
all.

Pros- Clean characrers. Faces are accurate.
Cons- Animatoin is suspect. Collision detection is attrocious.

Sound-8/10- The sound is great, the commentary is pretty witty and is very amusing. The
sound effects are well done (especially the weapon effects, each one matches the weapon
perfectly.) The only real downside is the theme music (this isn’t really a fault of the game,
ECW uses commercially-released music, they don’t make it themselves, this means that in
order to get the real music in the game, Acclaim would have had to pay a ton of money for
royalties, this isn’t a practical cost in game design, so they had to make sound-alikes for
the wrestler themes. Some of them sound perfect (Tommy Dreamer’s, Simon Diamond’s
and the opening of the Sandman’s theme), while others sound horrible (Francine’s theme
and Justin Credible’s), there is one exception to the sound-alikes, Rhino has his real there
in the game.

Pros- Commentary is excellent. Theme music is crystal clear. Sound effects are great.
Cons- Theme music is just sound-alikes.

Gameplay-7/10- There is a ton of stuff to do, too bad not all of it is fun. To the game’s
credit you have many options available to you, you can have a Dumpster match (you win
when you throw your opponent in the dumpster), a Brimstone match (A.K.A. Inferno
match) you throw your opponent(s) into the lava to win, you can have a barbed wire
match, it’s a regular match except the ropes are now barbed wire, if you throw your
opponent into it they will bleed, you can have a Table match, it’s a regular match, except
there are 4 tables outside the ring for you to slam your opponent through, Acclaim also
added a Backlot Brawl match, you and your opponent(s) fight in a backlot, you can use all
kinks of weapons and can climb a fence an jump on you your opponent, you can also
throw them into a side of a truck or a door, there’s a ton of things to do in this mode, the
same thing applies to the Rage in the Cage mode, it’s you and your opponent(s) in a
UFC-style cage that takes up most of the arena, needless to say, you have a ton of room
to move around and tons of ways to hurt your opponent. There is also a
Create-a-Wrestler mode which allows you to make your own wrestler, a Create-a-Stable
mode which allows you to make a stable, name it, give it music, and pick a symbol for it,
and a Create-a-PPV mode, this allows you to have your own wrestling event, do you have
a favorite PPV that you’d like to recreate? Go ahead make it, you can customize the
arena and make your own wrestlers for it. Unfortunately, the game engine is not really
made to handle all of these modes well, some turn out better than others, but for the most
part, the modes capture little of the excitement of the real thing.

Pros- Tons of modes. New, never before seen modes.
Cons- Game engine is flawed.

Control-7/10- The control is a mixed bag, Acclaim simplified it, but it’s still too
unresponsive, basic things like climbing the turnbuckle are far too difficult because of the
sluggishness of the control. The good news is the rest of the game controls well, most of
the moves are easy to do (including finishers).

Challenge- 6/10- The wrestlers do tend to put up quite a struggle in matches, which is a
nice change of pace. It’s just too bad it’s marred in cheap activity.

Replay Value-10/10- This game has a ton of replay value, beating the career mode in
certain situations unlocks secrets such as secret characters and various comedy modes.
For wrestling fans, this game has a ton of replay value.

Presentation-9/10- Everything fits ECW perfectly, from the chars, to the tables, to the
barbed wire.

Overall-7/10- Almost everything is this game is good, if not great, if you’re a fan of wrestling, go out and buy this game. Most people hate this game, and I can see why, but it doesn't really bug me. The graphical problems aren't too major, the sound is great, and the gameplay is somewhat innovative (and addictive), yet repetitive at the same time.

Final Thought- While the game engine does need some (read: a ton of) work, the game is still decent, it is
tied for the best U.S. DC wrestling game(yeah, that's a REAL hard honor to win). But, if you liked ECW Hardcore Revolution, you’ll love this game.

Differences Between the PSX and DC Versions- Character textures and lighting effects
have been cleaned up dramatically in the DC version. There is a bit more commentary in
the DC version. The control is a little more responsive in the DC version. Loading times
have been reduced dramatically in the DC version.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/11/01, Updated 04/11/01