"The best WWF wrestling game in history."

WWF No Mercy was released in late November of 2000. This game developed by Aki and distributed by THQ. Aki has developed a number of A+ wrestling games, including: WCW Vs. The World, WCW Vs. NWO World Tour, WCW/NWO Revenge, and their most recent offering, (as well as their first WWF game) WWF Wrestlemania 2000. This game features over 50 wrestlers (initially, more can be unlocked) and features the first ever Ladder match. Now then, without further ado, lets get on to the review.

Graphics-10/10- The characters look great, the facial models are almost exact, thankfully, there only a few exceptions. The in-game animation is wonderful, every move is very fluid, the finishing moves look exactly like they do on T.V. The weapons looked great, for the most part they are very detailed and look just like their real-life counterparts, especially the fire extinguisher. The same goes for the backstage areas, the wall textures look very realistic, as do the table-breaking animations. The ladder rocking back and forth in the ladder match is a nice touch. The only real graphical downside is the shoulders on the characters, there is polygon tearing on them and they make the characters look somewhat odd.

Pros- Excellent animation. Highly-detailed faces. Weapons look great. Backstage areas look very realistic.
Cons- The polygon tearing on the shoulders makes the characters look odd.

Sound-8/10- The theme music is better, it’s still a little garbled, but it’s still clearer than WrestleMania 2000’s. The sound effects are kind of sub-par, sound effects for slam-type maneuvers pretty much stay the same no matter what. The sound effects for forceful attacks, however are better, they are quite distinct and really help get the move’s damage across to the player. The weapons’ sound effects are very different, this is a startling considering the number of weapons in the game. A new, and never before heard sound effect however, is that of a move being done on a weapon. For example, in past games, moves done on weapons would not have a sound effect to tell you that the weapon was used, however in this game that is not the case, move done on weapons now carry sound effects that correspond to the weapon.

Pros- In-game music is kind of generic. The weapons have their own sound effects.
Cons- Theme music sounds muffled.

Gameplay-10/10- The classic, revered, and award winning Aki wrestling game engine returns, it really makes game play a breeze. Aki has added in No Mercy a plethora of new modes to the genre, among them are the:
Ladder Match- you and your opponent attempt to climb a ladder to get a belt (or briefcase if it’s not a title match) that’s hanging from the rafters. You can also have tag team ladder matches.
SmackDown Mall- Allows you to buy items with the money you get by winning in the one of the game’s Championshop mode. It also contains the Create A Superstar and Edit A Superstar modes.
Survival mode- Basically a huge gauntlet match, you face 100 foes in succession. Once you lose, the competition ends. This mode allows you to get money for use in the SmackDown Mall.
Ironman match- Whoever gets the most amount of falls in a set time limit wins the match.
Championship Mode- Go for one of the WWF's titles while starting and ending rivalries.

Pros- Lots of new modes. Excellent game engine returns.
Cons- None.

Control-10/10- The control is, as per usual with games that use this engine, perfect. A grapples while B strikes, you can do Strong version of each by holding the button down. You can grapple from behind as well as from the front. You can also now use a running grapple that allows you to do certain grappling moves while you are running.

Pros- Lots of moves to do. Relatively easy control scheme makes things easy for newbies.
Cons- None.

Challenge-4/10- The AI really isn’t that tough. You can usually stick to one pattern to defeat your opposition. It’s kind of disappointing, but understandable, Aki wanted to make the game easily accessible, they did that at the cost of well-developed AI.

Replay Value-10/10- The replay value in the game is virtually endless. There is a ton of stuff to unlock and purchase in the SmackDown Mall, from weapons, to areas, to secret wrestlers. You can also try to beat the Survival mode. Or try your hand at the much improved Create a Wrestler mode.

Pros- Lots of stuff to unlock. Lots of characters to create.
Cons- None.

Presentation-10/10- It fits the WWF license perfectly. Aki did a great job in this respect.

Overall-10/10- This is unquestionably the best wrestling game in history. It features more of everything that has made wrestling games great, it packs more modes, more wrestlers, and more moves with the greatest wrestling game engine ever developed.

Buy or Rent?-Buy- It packs so many features and hidden stuff that you’ll have to buy it to get the most out of it.

Final Thought- If you’re a wrestling fan, go to your local store and buy this game immediately. If you’re a casual fan, rent it, you'll probably satifsy your desire for the game after only a few days of play.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/19/00, Updated 11/19/00