WWF No Mercy

"The Last, Best, and Greatest wrestling game for the N64"

It wasnt untill only a few days ago that I actually stopped playing WM2K for the N64. Sure the graphics wrent great, and the roster was WAY out of date. But its still fun as heck. Also, the CAW mode was so good, I could create anyone I wanted, unlike WWF Smackdown, were you got as close as a packet of mixed nuts is to the insane wing of the local prison.

Its been two months since I Pre-ordered WWF No Mercy for the N64. In that 2 months time, I visited every site, read every preview, and posted many a message on GameFaq's own WWF No Mercy board (shameless suck-up/plug). Each day, New rumors were heard, no features revealed, and new moves shown. The hype was incredible, especially since I saw the Dudley Boyz plugging the game on Monday Night Raw. So when I got the call from the local EB that the game came in, I ran like a sob to get my copy quickly. So does the game live up to the hype?

Yes and no.

Lets start with what is GREAT with this game. Graphics for one. While the characters still are semi-deformed, they are a heck of a lot more accurate than WM2K. They move with a lot more fluidity, and have a lot more detail. Edge's stupid grin, APA looks mean, and Austin looks like a bad MF.

Animations are FAR better done, with some moves being new (Olympic Slam), and others (Side suplex) being re-animated to look less robotic. Also added are dozens of new taunts, which, as any veteran of WM2K's CAW mode, is what makes the character. The taunts missing from WCW/NWO revenge are in here too. (EXCEPT for Booker T's 180 Degree breakdance spin... DRAT)

Weapons and tables also look sharper. The detail isnt very high on anything, but its more than enough to get the job done. You can also do moves on them! YES! Imagine doing a Last Ride or Rock Bottom on the announcer's table! Take that you WWF Smackdown 2 lovers!

Arenas are done with more detail, and are actually modeled after the arenas used by the WWF. looking at them, its clear the designers spent a lot of time studying photographs. Heck, I'll even place money on a few of them going to visit the sets.

The audience is a lot more detailed to, and actually react to a match. The longer a match, the more reaction you get. So an enemy you beat inside of 1:15 seconds wont get you a lot of cheers, but an Iron Man Match that lasts 30 minutes will get HUGE reactions.

Sound is a mixed bag of ''Why isnt there any?'', and ''OUCH! that sounds like it hurts.'' Sure, there is no play-by-play commentary, but having played many a game with audio commentary, I can safely say that this is NEVER an issue with me. Often times the commentary is flat out WRONG, or innacurate. Why put it in? to annoy us of course. Still, i prefer it left out. Leave that stuff to the DC or PS2.

Otherwise, they are mostly recycled sounds from WM2K, and WCW/NWO Revenge. This is also not a bad thing, as the sounds serve to make the player feel more at home. Why change a good thing?

Next we come to match types. F-ing HS! Aside from Hell in a Cell and a Casket Match, there pretty much in here. Aside from Exhibition single and tag matches, there are: Handicap (2 on 1), Triple Threat (3 person, each for himself), and cage. Next is Royal Rumble; random or team, King of the Ring Tournament (Single, tag, Cage, Ladder single, ladder Tag), Guest referee (single, triple threat, handicap), Ladder match (single, Tag, triple threat, handicap), and Iron man match (Single, triple threat, Tag, handicap). No, you WWF Smackdown 2 lovers, we pretty much got it all covered.

I wont go into matches much, but only to say that there all really fun, except under 4 player mode, but I'll get to the bad stuff in a minute. Sufficed to say, you and a friend can have fun for HOURS playing this, and STILL not exhaust all the possibilities.

So what about being a single player? Well there are only 2 modes: Championship and Survival. Survival is like a Royal Rumble, only you can pin, submit, and toss em over the ropes too. The objective is to eliminate as many WWF Wrestlers as possible. As you progress, you unlock new features and characters. I am not sure what they all are, but I do know you can unlock Andre the Giant if you get to Wrestler #100.

The other mode though is the game's selling point, and that is Championship mode! Basically, they took every belt in the WWF, and created various stories around it. How you do in each match determines the future progression of the storyline. For example, I lost my IC Belt to Kane in a HUGE upset (the game was set on VERY HARD). Depressed, Shane-o-Mac offered me a job. Joining him, I got to beat the Crap out of the duddleys, double team Edge, and then steal the Belt away from Kane in a handicap match! Oh its good to be a heel!

You win money as you progress, and this is used to buy new outfits/features/characters/ect as you go on. so far I have bought a new arena, Mankind's old outfit, and a REALLY cool armbar called Six Seconds Magic (you got to see it to believe it). This adds a nice goal to single player mode, as it becomes MORE than about seeing all the storylines, but buying all the stuff too.

Finally comes the CAW (create a wrestler) mode. Lets put this simply: If you can think of the wrestler, you can make him. Just from the taunts alone, I see HUNDREDS of variations, limited ONLY by you're imagination. Oh sure there is only 18 CAW slots, but you can save to a mem pack if you run out of space. The sheer number of outfit and move choices is STAGGERING!

Into each game, a little bad must exist, so lets get to that now.

First, in ANY 4 person match, there is a HELL of a lot of slowdown. WM2K, which did have some slowdown, was never THIS bad. Sometimes, it almost seems that the characters are playing underwater. Its at its worst in a tag or royal rumble. The programmers should have dropped some detail in order to get this slowdown under control.

Entrances, although a HELL of a lot cooler and more accurate, suffer from what I call SmackDown-Itius. That is, they are short, and they generally suck. They stop mid way down the entrance ramp, and go no further. Lots of wrestlers have no entryway taunts, so it takes them a grand total of 3 to 4 seconds to do an Intro. Not really worth the time spent, is it?

Also, some characters, like rock and Kane, have after-match taunts that are cool has heck, but CAWs have no access to them, what gives?

Finally, give up ANY notion of Tag teams, as NO ONE comes out as a tag team. Oh sure the Dudleys and Hardys come out together, but only when ONE of the team is in a SINGLE's match. Why oh why did they kill my dreams?

Gripes aside, there is a HELL of a lot more to love about this game then there is to hate about it. Its a MUST buy for ANY N64 owner. Now, if only they used THIS engine instead of the Smackdown engine on the dreamcast...

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Graphics-9. A lot more detailed and fluid, with new moves added. Still very static though, and no small details, like Rock's Eyebrow.

Sound-9. No play by play, but who needs it. All the sounds you need are in here.

Camera-10. Focuses on the action and stays with it. Good job.

Controls-10. Easy to learn, hard to master. Some new twists, but anyone who tries can pick it up awfully quick.

Playability-10. Yahoo! I tappout Undertaker!

Replayability-10. Yahoo! I remade my old CAW, and he just tapped out Undertaker for the 577th time!

Frustration Factor-2. Its low cause you can adjust the difficulties. The computer gets hard simply by giving itself more stamina, and the ability to reverse when they shouldnt be able to. Still, its a damn site nicers than WWF Royal Rumble.

Overall-10. BUY THIS NOW!

-Amakusa just pulled off his 11th 3-D in a row on kurt Angle while saying, ''Another 3D, its true!! Its TRUE!!''

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/16/00, Updated 11/16/00