WWE WrestleMania XIX

"Gamecube owners finally get a decent wrestling title."

What can be said about the Wrestlemania series? Wrestlemania X8 had so much potential. It boasted pretty graphics, a mix between arcade and simulation-style wrestling, and it was the first WWE game to include some of the old school wrestlers (it's the first WWE title to include Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Ric Flair in years). Unfortunately, the game was horrible. Clunky controls, limited gameplay, zero replayability, and tons of fake entrance music caused Wrestlemania X8 to be a joke, as well as a major disappointment for Gamecube owners who where hoping for a decent wrestling title. A year later, Wrestlemania XIX falls on our laps. It doesn't completely make up for the overall atrocity that was Wrestlemania X8, but Gamecube owners finally have a decent wrestling title.

Graphically, the game is stunning. The arenas look sharp and detailed. A lot of other wrestling titles never really get the proportions right, but the arenas seem huge in comparison to the size of the wrestlers. The wrestlers themselves have improved a lot since X8. Last year's title had wrestlers who looked nothing like their real-life counterparts, and many of their body parts were out of proportion. That's been changed with Wrestlemania XIX. While they don't look quite as detailed as their XBox and PS2 counterparts, the wrestlers still look amazing. Their bodies are all proportional and the faces look, for the most part, accurate. The entrances have improved a lot over last year's installment. One of the biggest complaints that Smackdown fans have is that the entrances are cut. This is not the case in Wrestlemania XIX. The entrances are highly detailed and look very authentic. The only major problem is that they all move like they have a stick up their ass. This problem continues to plague wrestling games on all platforms, but there is really no excuse for it.

The sound is very good. X8 featured TONS of ''fake'' entrance music. Either Yukes got lazy, they didn't want to pay for the rights to use the stock music in the game, or a little bit of both. Guys like Ric Flair, Booker T, and the nWo didn't have their entrance music correct last year. This year, however, almost all of the wrestlers have their authentic music. There are a few exceptions (like Rob Van Dam, Victoria, and Chris Nowinski) but it's understandable. The in-game music is just generic rock music. There is no commentary, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The controls have also improved. X8's controls weren't bad, per se, but they just felt a tad clunky at times. It takes a lot of effort to make a fighting/wrestling game feel comfortable on the Gamecube controller, but the controls are laid out very nicely on Wrestlemania XIX.

Probably the biggest problem with Wrestlemania X8 was the lack of moves that could be done. You had five front grapples and five back grapples, and that was about it. Wrestlemania XIX brings back the old AKI-style engine by including weak and strong grapples. This allows for a lot more moves per wrestler, and it also adds a bit of strategy to the game. Also, when you're in a grapple, you can strike your opponent, so you can combo your opponent with a few strikes and then hit them with a DDT or suplex. It adds some realism to the game and allows much more depth and variety to how you can attack your opponents.

The overall gameplay is very strong. By now, everyone has heard about how terrible the Revenge mode is. Instead of a typical ''season'' mode where you start from the bottom of the barrel and work your way up to being WWE Champion, you instead go on Final Fight style missions. Yes, a professional wrestler runs around and beats up security guards and construction workers. While you have to gives Yukes props for trying something different, they fail in execution. The controls can be very clunky in the outdoor environments, and some of the missions are ludicrously hard, even on the easiest difficulty level. The problem is, you have to go through the Revenge mode several times to get cash so you can unlock stuff at the Shopzone. I would like to see the Revenge mode return in later games, but as a bonus, not as your main and only way to get money. Your basic exhibition modes are pretty standard fare at this point. You have your hardcore, handicap, tag, triple threat and fatal four-way, cage, and Hell In A Cell matches, as well as table, ladder, and TLC matches. Nothing new or spectacular, but still fun.

The Create-A-Wrestler has definitely improved over last year's installment. More moves and parts to choose from only scratch the surface of the CAW mode in this game. You can now create your own entrances. Essentially, you are able to choose the camera angles, the taunts, and mannerisms, and when and where pyro goes off. This amount of customization is very innovative and I would like to see it appear on the PS2 wrestling titles. XBox's Raw also features the create-an-entrance feature.

Overall, this is an excellent title that has improved leaps and bounds over its predecessor. While there are still a few kinks that need to be ironed out, this is a very solid game that wrestling fans should pick up. While it does lack some replayability due to the horrid Revenge mode, you'll still pick it up and play it time and time again. And that's the bottom line.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/24/04