WCW/NWO Revenge

"Slam your opponents into the ring mat as one of the top WCW wrestlers."

Several years ago, wrestling was one of the top entertainment producers across the world. The electrifying moves, spectacular feats, and wide range of wrestlers elevated entertainment to a whole new respect. While the sport was really considered nothing more than a staged fight, wrestling consumed spectators in every single region. WCW/NWO Revenge is one of the best WCW wrestling games out there. It features a seemingly easy control system, large amount of wrestlers, and an excellent combination of fun/replay value that makes it a worthy game for any collection. Technically speaking, there is no storyline. This is just another game based off of the WCW, or better known as World Championship Wrestling to some of those fighting gurus. Using your raw strength, and witty abilities, you must do your best to become a WCW champion. Fight for a few different title belts, or take it out in a Battle Royal in the ring. WCW/NWO Revenge is more proof that THQ knows how to make wrestling games. Aside from all the hype, Revenge holds a special feeling that isn't captured by other generic wrestling games.

Graphics [8/10]
Before wrestling hit the 32 and 64-bit systems, visuals were quite limited. Seeing your favorite character in a pixilated form was not a pleasant sight. Eventually though, the new 3D appearance of wrestling games has been a praised move. WCW/NWO Revenge continues tradition by providing a 3D environment ring, complete with third person views of your wrestlers, and spectators in the background. Each wrestler in the game has different face textures. Seeing Goldberg's gritty face, or Hulk Hogan's grin are so reminiscent to their actual characters. Bodies are shaped very realistically, and DO NOT look like they're walking on a stick. Even certain wrestlers have dreadlocks, fancy costumes, or special items they bring with themselves to the ring. Quite frankly, character models are supreme. As for the actual ring environments, WCW/NWO Revenge does a good job in simulating them. There are several themed arenas, for special events like ''Bash at the Beach'', or ''Monday Night Nitro.'' Nearly every WCW theme you could imagine is included in this large package.

There are also plenty of special effects, such as fireworks, flashing lights, and blood. However, what sets wrestling games apart from other simple ''beat-em-up'' games is the animation. Revenge holds some of the best wrestling move animations you will ever see in a game. Every type of suplex, reversal, and special move is detailed with vector by vector animation. Certain wrestlers even have special taunts which sets them apart from the rest of the group. Every gamer can appreciate the visuals that Revenge brings to the gaming system. Unfortunately, Revenge has some issues of its own that it needs to deal with. Clipping is the biggest conflict since wrestlers tend to ''mold'' together way too often. You can see polygons meshing with other polygons, and sometimes it turns into a mess. Framerate slowdowns are common with four wrestlers on the screen at once. Also, none of the wrestlers in the game have their authentic entrances. You won't see special entrances, but rather a large tendency of generic anthems. For the most part though, players can put these differences aside, and appreciate the breathtaking moves that your wrestlers will perform.

Sound/Music [7/10]
Usually, when you turn on the TV, and actually listen to a wrestling match, each wrestler has their own theme song. Sometimes based on that song alone, you can tell which wrestler is making an entrance to the arena. While it would've been such a beautiful idea to include theme songs in Revenge, this was a big problem. WCW/NWO Revenge suffers from a lack of music. The limitations of the Nintendo 64 cartridge didn't help the situation either, and instead, each wrestler in the game shares generic rock songs. THQ only added 3-5 different songs, which can sound neat for a bit, but wear off as time passes by. Aside from that, sound effects are somewhat good. Strike moves like a dropkick or punch make a quick thap sound, while your heavy slams and piledrivers make a crushing blow. Each move tends to exhibit their own intensity of volume, which is good. Even a few wrestlers have their own taunts where they'll say something quick, or a grunt of pain. For the most part though, Revenge suffers from a lack of audio. Gamers won't get too interacted with the wrestlers, since many of them seem muted in a sense. The lack of authentic theme songs and entrances really takes a bite out of the gameplay. However, crowd volume and background sounds are actually good. Perform a match winning move, and you'll hear the crowd roar.

Gameplay [10/10]
So what separates WCW/NWO Revenge from the usual wrestling game? Perfection. Revenge is probably one of the best wrestling games on the N64, if not ever developed. It features an extremely simple control system, which doesn't take too long to get use to. There are well over 60 wrestlers (45 being realistic, the rest fakes). There are even special game modes, like a championship title belt, Royal Rumble, tag matches, and a momentum system. But you need to know the basics first. WCW/NWO Revenge is modeled after the WCW federation, back when it was in huge competition with the WWF for the share of the wrestling market. Wrestlers like Goldberg, Sting, the Raven, the nWo, and numerous upcomers were making a rise. The entire federation was at its peak during the release of this game, which meant most of these wrestlers were active back in 1998. Basically, you take the role of any wrestler in the game, and you fight your way to the top. The control system though is probably the best fitting ever. One button (B) does a strike move (punch, kick) while another button (A) does a grappling move. Holding that button down longer will do a strong grapple/strike, while only tapping it will do a weak grapple/strike.

This sets up a huge amount of possibilities for Revenge. You can strong grapple, and then press different directions or buttons to perform different moves. Not only that, but the ring itself has three different designated areas. You can perform your normal moves on the ring mat. Toss someone into the ropes for a rebound, or even throw them into the turnbuckle and perform an aerial move. Revenge really exploits the amount of possibilities with wrestling moves. The C-buttons allow you to perform special abilities, like picking an opponent on your shoulders, throwing him, tossing him out of the ring, or getting out of the ring yourself. Weapons can be picked up from the outside, or you can shove your opponent's head into the metal ring corner. After you get a basic understanding of how the game works, next comes your gameplay modes. Different modes consist of being able to contend for a championship belt (World, TV, Tag team), exhibition (tag matches), special matches (royal rumble, handicap match), and even costume changes. You can edit previous wrestlers in the game to your own likings. Ever wanted to be a masked ninja with a trenchcoat? Now's your chance!

We're just getting started. One of the bigger problems with previous wrestling games is a life bar. Some games like the WWF series would incorporate a life bar, and that would get depleted in a matter of seconds. THQ came up with the biggest innovation in a ''Spirit meter.'' Each wrestler starts off with a green spirit meter. Based on how momentum shifts in the match, each wrestler will either gain or lose 'spirit' as the match progresses. Eventually, when the meter turns red hot and starts flashing, you twirl the joystick to perform your special taunt. This now allows that wrestler to perform his special move during this limited time. This is a great inspiration for wrestling games because momentum can easily shift in a match based on 1 or 2 reversals. Also, the game features an extensively fun multiplayer mode. Up to 4 players can play at once, in different ways too. Want your 2 buddies to gang up on you? Set up a handicap match. Just about everything is possible, and teamwork moves are very doable in Revenge as well. Quite frankly, this is one of the most well-balanced wrestling games I've ever played.

Fun [9/10]
Even to this day, I solely believe that Revenge is what inspired my thirst for the ''fake'' wrestling. Revenge shoots out fun like a hot air balloon shoots out warm air. To start off, Revenge is capable of entertaining just about any type of gamer. I've seen people who don't even watch wrestling become engrossed with fun when they get to slam people to the mat. The ability to pick up weapons from the crowd, and use them on your opponents is pleasing. Not only that, but each wrestler has their own array of moves. Combatants like Goldberg have that trademark spear move that lays a crushing blow on whoever it hits. Plus, momentum can shift just with the flip of a finger. This makes comebacks a lot easier now that you can lay the smackdown in many different ways. By far though, excitement is the key motivator in every single match of Revenge. The player is thrilled when he lays a powerful blow, or counters a dooming attack. This is why Revenge is so different than most of your usual wrestling games. It performs well out of the boundaries of a limited wrestling game, and feels more like a fighting/brawling game.

Replayability [9/10]
In any old fashion, wrestling games provide so much replay value because of how random a match can get. The fact that there are 60 different wrestlers, and hundreds of moves is enough to satisfy any avid wrestling fan. Most wrestlers in the game are each equipped with their own specials, and you can even edit existing characters with new uniforms/details. There are plenty of different game modes ranging from title belts to special matches. Nearly every option is customizable in the game. You can set your own playing arena, the ending factors (ring out, no DQ, TKO), and even the difficulty. Matches feature a nice little instant replay feature to catch your attention, and the easy-to-use control system attracts to most gamers. There's even a scoring system after the end of a match that can put you on the ''top'' board of best players. Still, it's that resenting feeling of fun and entertainment that brings me back to WCW/NWO Revenge. Even to this day, despite the game being outdated and the WCW eradicated, it can be picked up and played any time, any place. Best of all is that all of these changes and features can be saved via the game's battery pack. So you don't have to worry about pesky controller paks, or what slot they were saved on.

Difficulty [5/10]
If I had to name one consistent flaw in WCW/NWO Revenge, it would probably be the difficulty. Unfortunately, Revenge doesn't challenge the gamer enough. While it does provide three different difficulties (easy, normal, hard), the change and basis of each difficulty is too varied to measure. Normal feels too easy, and hard makes a huge jump in difficulty. Computer AI is somewhat limited at times. You'll notice that the CPU tends to stand like a crash dummy on lower difficulties, which really takes away from the fun of wrestling. One of the biggest features that makes momentum shifting easy is a counter/reversal system. Revenge allows you to counter almost 80% of the moves in the game. By rapidly tapping the R button, you can sometimes reverse or counter a grapple you're in. This is great because you can completely turn the tables on an opponent in a matter of seconds. Plus, you're forced to use strategy in your game plan to a victory. It's actually smarter to weaken your opponent down with weak grapples, and then go for the big moves later on when his spirit meter is low. This way, you can use your special move when he's in the pits, and go for the easy three count pin.

Final Factor [9/10]
For all those horrible wrestling games out there, WCW/NWO Revenge has stood the test of time as one of the top 5 wrestling games ever. Revenge features one of the best gameplay systems I have ever played for a sports/fighting game period. The idea of a spirit meter, a well executed control system, weak/strong moves, taunts, and the whole shenanigans makes this worthy of a top classic. Some of the fun is unmatchable to other games, and even to this day is one of my most replayed games in my collection. Not only that, but this is probably one of the best (and last) WCW games out there. Even if you're not a wrestling fan, I strongly urge you give this game a try. Revenge laid down the pavement that would allow future wrestling games to have great success. If you're considering in owning the perfect collection, consider WCW/NWO Revenge a part of that collection (or WWF No Mercy if you want a slightly better rendition).

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/03