ECW Hardcore Revolution

"Similar to Attitude, but with more Attitude"

ECW: HR is a great game in itself, although the comparisions to Attitude won't die out. I can't compare the violence of the game to the real ECW since I do not have the chance to see the ECW often.

Gameplay 9 - There is a long standing debate over the controls that Acclaim and THQ use in their games; I think both systems have their place in the wrestling game world. I find the moves fairly easy to pull off, although memorizing the move combinations, even when you assign them, might be difficult. I do find myself pausing the game to look up the move combination, which then can actually make it where I don't have time to execute the move. The Career Mode is nice, but I did find it a bit unbalanced in the number of handicap matches that it gave me. I found myself giving up without a care many times because I knew 3 on 1 was no match for me, especially when it was in a cage. I like the CAW feature and the variety of moves to choose from. While WM2000 may provide more moves to choose from, assigning them is a royal pain, so I enjoy picking the moves for ECW much more. The game moves at a decent speed; no problems here.

Graphics 8 - Good graphics, although you can immediately see the collision detection problem. Some of the entrances are lame.

Sound 6 - More than 10 theme songs would have been nice. I think the commentary is fairly decent, although at times it is off. More crowd noise would have added to the game.

Replayability 9 - Once the Career Mode is over, you may find yourself creating wresters and using those more than just playing, although just that feature will keep you coming back. If you play Attitude, you will play ECW. Different modes of play will also keep you coming back, such as the barbed wire mode.

Buy or Rent? - Wrestling fan? Buy. Definitely worth a rent even if you aren't a wrestling fan.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/29/00, Updated 02/29/00