"An upgrade of sorts..."

I have been playing No Mercy non-stop from the minute the Federal Express guy dropped it off at my door, until now. I must say that WWF No Mercy is an excellent upgrade surpassing many things that were given to us by WM2K, but it isn't a ''better'' game, per se.

Gameplay: 8
The gameplay is identical to WM2K, which isn't a bad thing. I saw plenty of slowdown in Tag Team matches and Fatal Four Ways, but it wasn't too bad. Submission Finishers have become very weak in my opinion. I was facing Perry Saturn in a Hardcore match with Tazz, and needless to say, I was annihilating poor Saturn up and down the arena for a good six minutes. As soon as I got my Special flashing, I went for the Tazzmission hoping Perry would tap out for his own good... BUT HE HELD ON. The second Tazzmission got the job done, no less, but what a pain in the arse it is to realize that ANYONE can stand your submission the first time you hit it. However, on a good note, regular Finishers seem to be much more powerful. I was fighting Triple H in a 10 minute Iron Man Match. HHH was getting the beatdown for most of the match, but he kicked out at crucial times. When he got the upper hand, his Attitude Meter was going up quicker than normal due to the fact that I had the sorry sack in critical condition, and BOOM, he countered my haymaker with a Pedigree and the rest is history. My meter was in dark orange and when HHH hit his finisher, it went down to aqua. And to make matters worse, the difficulty was EASY, mind you! The computer is very competitive and counters a lot more than in WM2K. So if you're a consummate challenger like I am, you'll love the fact that the CPU can destroy you at critical times with a few counters and a combination of moves.

Championship mode is a great addition to WWF No Mercy. Even though many of the storylines in each belt tends to be past happenings within the past year, it is MUCH better than beating man after man in WM2K's tedious Season mode. To give you an example, I picked Steven Richards to participate in the WWF World Title mode. They should've just called him ''The Steven'', because each time he gave an interview, he would talk in the third person like a certain someone we know. :P But having all of the swerves and curveballs thrown out to me during this road was awesome, even though it climaxed with a Fatal Four Way at Wrestlemania 2000 with The Rock, Triple H, Steven Richards, and Mick Foley for the WWF Title. (Sound familiar?) The Hardcore Title road is interesting, and I can only hope the rest of the Titles are the same. WWF No Mercy easily defeats WWF Smackdown! in telling the basic storylines for each belt.

The Create-A-Wrestler feature is the same as WM2K. There are a few new moves in the list which makes it a nice upgrade, but you are still limited to editing your favorite WWF Superstars. You cannot change their rivals or valet, their moves, or their attributes. All I wanted to do was ditch Chyna with Eddie Guerrero, but I'll have to live with her forever. :( Firepro Wrestling G is still has the best CAW mode ever.

Audio: 7
The Undertaker coming out to the RAW Theme?! UNACCEPTABLE!
Val Venis using his old ''Hello Ladies!'' Theme?! NO WAY!
There are more themes and videos to go with the new superstars, so it isn't too bad. The entrances have been downgraded tremendously... more on that at the end of this review.

The crowd reactions are better, but at times are very annoying. Even more so than WM2K, in fact.

Graphics: 6
Every WWF Superstar, in my honest opinion, looks like an impersonator. I have an activity for everyone that has this game to do... play Royal Rumble mode, and check out EVERYONE that runs down to the ring after you eliminate someone. It looks like THQ didn't spend a lot of time making faces. If you own WM2K, you'll know right off the bat that every wrestler looks different in their facial features. Some of the facial hair on the wrestlers looks like it was drawn in with a magic marker. Yuck.

On the other hand, the arenas and the audience looks much better. The backstage areas are a nice sight as well.

Replay Value: 9
I'm going out on a limb here by giving WWF No Mercy such a high mark in this area when this is my first day of playing it. But with all of the new game modes... with the new features in the Championship mode... and even with the Smackdown Mall, I won't be able to put this game down for a long while. Its questionable whether or not I will come back to this game like I do with Firepro Wrestling G. Only time will tell...

Nitpicks
A tag team cannot enter together as they could in WM2K. The entrances have been cut down to only the superstar walking down the ramp. There are no in-ring taunts during the entrance. There is a lot of screwy dialog in the Championship mode. The belts could've been worked on more to look like the standard WWF replicas. The Rock's 800 dollar shirt is 80,000 dollars in the Smackdown Mall. :P

Final Score: 7
If you are a huge WWF fan like I am, then this game is a must. If you are a casual wrestling fan who bought Wrestlemania 2000, rent No Mercy to see if you like it more.
In closing, I feel that the finished product looks rushed, and THQ should've waited a few more months to release this game. Of course, on that negative note, I will positively go play WWF No Mercy until I can no longer keep my eyes open. :P

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/15/00, Updated 11/15/00