WWE WrestleMania X8

"An OK wrestling game, not really worth your money"

WW”E” Wrestlemania X8 Review by Frenchy Mcboss

How should one take a new wrestling game? Comparing it to next-gen versions of proven formulas? Fire Pro? Smackdown!? World Tour?

This Review will compare and contrast it to its Playstation counterpart Smackdown 1. Think of it as a double review of sorts.

When I first played Smackdown for the PSX I loved it. I liked WCW Revenge more, but that’s just because I like One-Player games. Smackdown had lots of things to love. Sharp graphics, a unique way to build up your create a player (I must have played through pre-season 50 times), and a create a player where you could make man monsters, she males, transvestites, there were no rules against it. About 90-100 heads even. Sure, intros were lame, and only four create a player slots is so lame, but it only made it slightly unbearable. The way to play was incredibly simple, yet tons of fun. That was a great game.

When I first played Wrestlemania 18 for the NGC I was appalled. I have played just about 50% of all wrestling games that have hit US shores but this was awful (note: I have not played Raw for X-Box). There are plenty of things to do, but do you want to do them is the question. The create-a-player in this game is about 25% of the create a player for WWF Warzone, which was kind of nice at the time. It has many constrictions. 5 hairstyles for women? I couldn’t make “virgin” Molly if I wanted to. Only 13 faces for men? That’s ludicrous. This is incredibly shameful for Yukes. What of the other things? Well…. Let’s compare.

Graphics
Smackdown (PSX) 10/ Wrestlemania X8 (NGC) 9

I remember being blown away by the Smackdown graphics, and X8 has on-par graphics too. I can forgive clipping, and jaggies or whatever, because the men in this game look almost spot-on. Which is odd… The women look weird in the face, I mean half the girls in the WWE look like their faces were carved out of plastic anyway, but they look too shiny and fake. Just not right. That’s all right though, because just like in actual wrestling where there’s only one or two women that can really wrestle, there's really only one or two worth playing as (Molly, Trish)

Sound:
It’s a wrestling game… why bother reviewing either? We all knew that both would be bad coming into it. I feel that wrestling games are in many ways notorious for having sub-par music.

(Gameplay has been broken down to several categories)

Control:
Smackdown (PSX) 10/ Wrestlemania X8 (NGC) 5
Back when the Playstation never required you to have a dual shock SD! Was released. The control was spot on and ultra responsive. Everything was easy to figure out and it did not take long to become a formidable opponent. Easy for button mashers to win, but mashing buttons is never really necessary.
I have played X8 for about seven hours, and the disappointment is just kicking in. If this game had come out for the N64, no die-hard wrestling fan would have owned one. It controls like Smackdown! on downers. Slow is a word that comes to mind, boring is another. I would have liked “how to kick out” and “how to get up quickly” in the instruction manual, because just randomly mashing buttons with the Gamecube controller sounds like you’re killing it. If people liked to mash buttons so much those WCW Thunder would have been huge.

Match types:
Smackdown (PSX) 3/ Wrestlemania X8 (NGC) 10

Just very basic matches were in this original Smackdown, but I forgave it because it was a fast game, and all those gimmick matches don’t translate well into games usually. Hardcore was hella fun, and you could hit people with watermelons, which is beautiful.
Wrestlemania definitely delivers in this department. All the kinds of matches you could want, and some you don’t (Triple Threat ladder match anyone?)

Create a Player.
Smackdown (PSX) 7/ Wrestlemania X8 (NGC) 2

In Smackdown I found myself deeply enjoying the create a player. I made about 25 people and used them to unlock stuff in preseason (something I feel sorely lacking from any other wrestling game), and not a one of them boring (Manimal anyone?)
In X8 I found myself not even wanting to make a third CAW. It seemed pointless. There aren’t that many moves. The PS2 SD! Had close to 300 moves No Mercy had around 500 (about 250-300 front 50 back 50 turnbuckle, then some other assorted ones, including between 20 and 50 variations of the powerbomb) X8 has about 50. Not using the No Mercy engine becomes the worse idea in the world when you just throw away 2000 move animations.

1 Player experience
Smackdown (PSX) 8/ Wrestlemania X8 (NGC) 2

Now, I love preseason mode, but waiting for the game to load on things that are NOT my characters tends to take away, but I found myself aboard a train to fun time station playing the matches, even against the computer.
In X8 I found myself wanting to put the controller down after just four short hours. Nobody else is home, and I don’t have anyone to play, and these gimmick matches aren’t that fun against the CPU. I don’t want to wrestle any matches, even if it means the New Japan World Heavyweight title around my waist. (It’s the one with the top that looks like //// in panic mode) Sucks to this game.

2 (+) Player Experience
Smackdown (PSX) 2/ Wrestlemania X8 (NGC) 4

Wow. These two games lose all of their fun when playing with other people. Especially Smackdown! I have to give WMX8 a hand in making reversals more than one button. When playing against a well-versed player in Smackdown! the game basically comes down to “who can mash square fastest”. It’s frustrating and stupid, and not any fun. Even new players who’ve read the instruction manual can be a major threat, there by angering all who have put 15+ hours into the game.
Wrestlemania X8 I have a HUGE gripe with. If you’ve ever seen it on display, it’s actually in the demo. When in ANY move, if a third player grapples, you both fall down. ANY move. It’s annoying, especially in higher difficulty levels, and with more experienced players.

Overall
Smackdown (PSX) 9/ Wrestlemania X8 (NGC) 5
X8 doesn’t seem rushed to me… it seems misguided. It seems like an OK idea gone horribly wrong. I know a lot of people have been saying this, but just bring back NO MERCY. We all ready have SD!, and one comes out every November. We don’t need one in June, too.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/07/02, Updated 08/07/02