WWE WrestleMania XIX

"WMXIX presents the best gameplay ever."

<<WRESTLEMANIA XIX>>

Wrestlemania XIX is the next issue on the Nintendo Gamecube Wrestlemania Series of WWE, developed by Japanese game developer YUKES and published by well known game industry THQ.

This game features a new Story Mode which is said is totally NEW and ORIGINAL for what a Story Mode stands on a wrestling. It also features the introduction of Blood on the Next-gen wrestling games.

Lets start on the review then:

>>>Gameplay<<< {10}
By far the best feature of WMXIX, this game really mixes No Mercy with Smackdown! Gameplay styles. The return of Strong/Hard grapples is evident as the inclusion of Finisher Moves stealing; this time videogamers will feel a very comfortable and solid gameplay on a wrestling game, weak grapples work as in Smackdown games.
Wrestlers stay on the mat what its supposed to do like in real life after a wrestling move. This game you can feel the intensity of the moves and the climatic ambient that makes of the WWE so popular with a very well done and polished crowd.
Replays make their way back ala No Mercy style and this is more appreciated at the moment of executing a finisher moves thus of the appearing of 4 camera angles that repeat your move in a very creative way.
You 2 bars, each one resembling No Mercy and Smackdown; we first see the Life Bar where your wrestlers strength is shown on a colored bar that goes from RED to BLUE meaning VERY GOOD and DANGER and a Adrenaline Bars which fills each time you make a move, a reversal or a taunt, when the bars you get a Special slot, having a maximum of 3 slots.
Specials work as No Mercy specials, you use a special slot to turn on Special Mode, at this time you have 10-15 seconds to make a maximum of 4 specials if you are quick enough.
This is by far the best Wrestling game I have ever played on gameplay terms, it will never get old.

<<<GRAPHICS>>>{8}
They are very good but not perfect. They could have been polished a lot. Wrestlers look a bit cartoony and some (very few) wrestlers doesn’t resemble their real life counterparts perfectly (The Rock is white in this game). The wrestlers models arent as detailed as Developers said.
The crowd, even though they are very well animated, they still are 2-D and very pixelated even though you only notice this a lot on entrances.
Out of that the wrestlers animations are Superb because they look very realistic and not choppy. The face animations are very good; and you will never will a slowdown on the game.

<<<SOUND>>>{9}
Vastly improved from his antecesor WMX8, the ingame beats now really feel aproppiate for a wrestling game, we now get some Rock beats Instead of some generics horrible sounding ones.
What really hurts here is the ever problematic Theme License problem for the wrestlers, (which now include Matt Hardy, Dudley Boyz, RVD, Kane and some of the Divas) as for the others wrestler they got their Current themes. The sound effects are now more of an arcade game, you can hear WHOOP, WHAM. BLAM sounds when striking or moving fast on the ring.
The Crowd, MARVELOUS, all the time they r cheering and yelling out. Lots of Crowd Chants have been included like: ROCKY SUCKS!, GOLDBEEERG!!, WE WANT TABLES!!, YOU SUCK!! And much much more which really adds to the game hype. Even the option of HEEL/FACE, if you are a heel wrestler the crowd will boo you out but if you are a face the crowd will cheer you even if are getting losing the match.

<<<FEATURES>>>{9}
The most problematic aspect here is the so talked about Story Mode which is called REVENGE MODE on the game, let me explain it:
“You are a wrestler which got fired by Vince McMahon, you want to take revenge on him and Stephanie McMahon will try to help you; your mission is to prevent Wrestlemania XIX from taking place.”
This game mode is nothing more than a Double Dragon type game, you NEVER get to fight on the ring (Only the last mission) but you get to fight on the near places where Wrestlemania XIX is being constructed (Construction Site, Parking Lot, Shopping Mall and Harbor) in this places you fight Builders, Officers and Workers and rarely some Wrestlers and some very strange Bosses.
This game has been classified as the worst story mode ever although some people find it very cool and fun (Include me here) since it offers something really new to the wrestling series and not another SEASON MODE scratched from the TV Storyline.

The CAW, a key feature on nowadays wrestling games, this time we get an extremely deep CAW, and somehow difficult to use too but only for 1st timers, as a secondary feature we find the CAE which stands for Create an Entrance in which you get to select the Camera Angles, Lightning, Fireworks and Animations for your wrestler, this feature is as deep as the CAW mode. We even get a Logo creator to make Logos which are not included in the game.

We have too a Shopzone where you buy Parts, weapons and moves for the CAW mode with money you earn from Revenge Mode.

The tutorial is a cheap version of Tough Enough in which AL Snow teaches you all the moves on the game.

Exhibiton features a good selection of matches, from Single, Tag Team, Triple Threat and Fatal Four Ways to HIAC, Tables and Ladder Matches although Royal Rumble is in, the Battle Royal was removed but instead we got some MiniGames which are properly the Revenge Stages from Revenge Mode.

As last feature we have the King of the Ring where you play for up to 4 belts. In this type of game you fight in a tourney to win the belt. The bad part you cant play Co-op on this game but only on separate teams if playing on Tag Team championships.

<<<REPLAY VALUE>>> {10}
The gameplay makes this game so fun you will always want more of it. This is a brief point because its obvious that: a fun game has a good replay value.

<<<PRESENTATION>>>{10}
This game has an excellent presentation, from the intro video that makes you remember and feel what Wrestlemania is really to the very cool animated Menus and loading screens with and the game tips.

<<<LASTING APPEAL>>>
This game is the true succesor of No Mercy. I will never get tired of this game and it was really worth the 50 bucks I spent on it. I recommend this game only for people with FRIENDS to play this game, I you buy it to play it alone you will get bored soon, I warn you. But if you need your own opinion. Rent it.

<<<FINAL SCORE>>>
9 (Average from 9.30)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/24/03