WWF No Mercy

"A dissapointment, but a good game nonetheless"

Chances are, if you play wrestling video games, you know who THQ is. In case you've been blind to the wrestling world for a while, THQ is the maker of WCW World Tour, WCW/NWO Revenge and WWF Wrestlemania 2000. THQ now gives us their next Nintendo 64 offering: WWF No Mercy.

No Mercy uses a game engine almost identical to every game before it, changing the mechanics only slightly. The game mechanics, for those not familiar with THQ's games, focus on two types of moves, strikes and grabs, and a respective type of counter for each move. Everything, flying attacks, running elbows, power bombs, all fit into one category or the other. Pulling off an overwhelming choke slam can be as simple as holding down A then hitting B and up. However, ''simple'' shouldn't be confused with ''lacking''. There are enough different moves in No Mercy to keep any match alive for quite a while, everything from running baseball slides out of the ring to power bombs off of the top rope. The system is easy enough to pick up within an hour of gameplay, and favors timing and technique over button mashing.

No mercy offers an updated wrestler roster, new match modes (including the much-hyped ladder match), and a slightly expanded list of moves.

The game itself is almost identical to its predecessor, Wrestlemania 2000. This is what makes No Mercy a good game and a disappointment at the same time.

The Graphics:

+ No Mercy's single, 1 on 1 match graphics just feel smooth. The animations are fast, smooth, and realistic.

+ The animations in No Mercy, just as in every previous THQ wrestling title, are excellent. The way wrestlers move makes the game's power bombs, sliding kicks and massive variety of headbutts all the more entertaining.

- Four player is close to unplayable. The game slows down to a halt, with slow frame rates, clippy graphics, a camera pulled very far back and no entertaining replays or close up shots.

- Nothing is really improved. If you have any previous THQ wrestling game, you've seen everything No Mercy has to offer in the graphics department.

Sound:

+ Some of the moves sound very, very powerful. Its quite entertaining to listen to the entire mat shake after a devastating power bomb.

- The sound is the same generic music as in the previous Wrestlemania games, nothing new.

- The Wrestler's intro music, while at least present, still sounds quite poor.

- Some of the game's sounds are, for lack of a better term, wimpy. Any move performed outside of the ring sounds like it is performed on wet cardboard, even in the concrete parking lot.

Story:

+ Vastly improved career mode. No Mercy gives a player the ability to alter their career by the choices they make, by qualifying for special matches, being ambushed by the APA (again), and even by deciding who wins in a guest referee match. Its tempting to lose some matches just to see what happens.

- Everybody talks like The Rock. The dialogue used in the game doesn't vary by character, and its annoying to have, say, Chris Jericho or Mankind spouting out The Rock's catch phrases. A minor qualm, but it detracts from what could have been an otherwise excellent presentation.

Gameplay:

+ It's the same engine from all the previous wrestling games, and you know that means its good. Take a wide variety of maneuvers, add in an intuitive control scheme and you've got gaming goodness.

+ The ability to use special moves from almost any possible position makes putting on the Lion Tamer or a Crippler Crossface even more entertaining.

- The new matches. The cage matches are unchanged from Wrestlemania 2000 (and they're still pretty boring), the ladder matches are basically a normal match with a big weapon.

- The A.I. This is perhaps the game's greatest fault. The computer-controlled wrestlers tend to be quite stupid, but they can still beat a good or excellent player or plan. Why? The computer, especially on the harder difficulties, counters everything. Its almost pointless to try and even wrestle, as any counterable move is likely to end up hurting your wrestler instead of your opponent. This makes the game incredibly annoying instead of challenging.

- The A.I., again. The A.I., while able to counter every single move from every single angle regardless of your spirit, its spirit, how much damage you've done, etc., is dumb. Very dumb. The A.I. apparently can't handle most aerial attacks, and can't dodge or catch a thrown weapon to save its processing chip. Matches against harder computer opponents usually end by using one of numerous tricks or cheap tactics that any player could avoid, but will defeat the CPU every time.

- Perhaps the biggest flaw of them all, the ruined four player mode. The four player mode in No Mercy is slow, ugly, and offers almost nothing new from every previous incarnation of the game.

Overall:

No Mercy is a good wrestling game from THQ, a company known for making, yes, good wrestling games. Chances are, however, if you are interested in No Mercy, you already own Wrestlemania 2000.

If you do not own Wrestlemania 2000, No Mercy is a decent game. Its really a question of what you want out of your game. Wrestlemania offers better four player gameplay,
and a slightly less abusive A.I., while No Mercy gives you a more up-to-date roster and more options.

If you do own Wrestlemania 2000, No Mercy is just more of the same. The new options in the game are few and far in between, the new matches are pretty much the same old thing, and the lost gameplay from Wrestlemania 2000 doesn't help a bit. So little has changed between the two games its a wonder why No Mercy wasn't out sooner.

No Mercy is a good wrestling game, but a disappointing sequel to Wrestlemania 2000.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/25/00, Updated 11/25/00