ECW Anarchy Rulz

"The last(fortunately) game of ECW's existence."

ECW, a now defunct wrestling organization, has put out some great things in its lifespan. It has shown us many great matches, promos, wrestlers, and PPVs. One thing it has NEVER done, however, is put out a good video game. Luckily, Paul Heyman isn't to blame; the folks at Acclaim are. That's right, the guys behind such crap as Judge Dredd are back, ready to bring you the latest in extreme wrestling action!

Extreme Graphics - 4/10
Whoever drew out some of the graphics had the motor skills of an epileptic hyena, plain and simple. Jerry Lynn has never looked so misshapen and deformed, and Lance Storm has never looked so…misshapen and deformed. Come to think of it, Steve Corino, RVD, Justin Credible and the slew of jobbers Acclaim threw in never looked that way.

Extreme Sound - 2/10
Hey, some of the sound isn't half bad; sure, the supposedly big name company who made the game couldn't shell out the dough to get the wrestler's actual themes(while a falling wrestling organization could), but the replacements are better than nothing. The entrances, what with the blob of whatever character you chose stumbling to the ring like a toddler, are somewhat fun to watch, it's what comes AFTER the entrance that makes you want to abuse yourself. Anarchy Rulz should be a lesson to any wrestling game developer who wants commentary in their game: Don't do it. I started a match and didn't hear commentary until midway through, when Joel Gertner took the liberty of finally letting the crowd know that I had bounced off the ropes to give the mass of putty laying in the ring a leg drop five minutes ago. Not to mention the generic weapon hitting sounds; if I hit someone with a chair, it sounds like I hit a steel door with a piece of aluminum. If I hit someone with a piece of wood, it sounds like I lightly dropped it on the floor.

Extreme Gameplay - .1/10
Can anyone say s l o w? This game moves like everyone is standing underwater and the wrestlers are handicapped cripples that are slow moving while being frozen solid and soaked in molasses. Not like you'd want to play any matches anyway; the only modes worth playing are the ones that have been around since the WWF Warzone days. Acclaim knew they had a big pile of suck on their hands, so they decided to try and spice things up by throwing in some new matches. First, a rather long-awaited barbwire match. Think of it like this: take a hardcore match, where the funny sounding weapons are allowed, change the rope color and shape and make it so that you can't bounce off of them. Extreme, huh? Then there's the ''Blistering Brimstone Match'', where there's a bunch of yellow, orange and black…things around the ring, and if you touch them you lose. Is it supposed to be fire, or is it just wet paint that the wrestlers don't want to touch? The CAW gets the .1 alone; the option hasn't been expanded since WWF Attitude.

Extreme Control - You wouldn't believe me if I told you
I got used to Warzone and Attitude's piss poor excuse for controls, but dammit, I refuse to go through this crap again. Making the game as slow as a snail with a broken foot wasn't enough, Acclaim? They had to make 100 button combinations for moves with little payoff. I can do more damage with punches and kicks; that is, if they connected.

Extreme Challenge - Infinity/10
All these bad points come together to create quite the challenge: it's challenging not to break the game, your system, the cat's neck or your own when you jump off your roof in an effort to escape. The third time one of the commentators screams that you jumped off the top rope 10 minutes too late, you may end up doing all four.

Extreme Overall - 2/10
It's fun if you're blind, deaf and easily amused.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 06/29/02, Updated 01/12/03