WCW Backstage Assault

"A good idea that went wrong."

Shortly after the release of WCW mayhem, WCW Backstage assault was released. The game had a completely original concept - It wont have a wrestling ring. You heard me correct, the whole thing is held backstage. BIG MISTAKE.

Gameplay-7/10

One of the only good things about this game is the gameplay. The controls are easy to master, and there is a variety of weapons backstage for you to use on your enemies. The only problem is, the wrestlers do not have enough moves to preform on each other. There is nowhere near enough compared to games like no mercy, which has roughly 75 moves per wrestler. This game only has about 20 per wrestler maximum.Overall, the gameplay is average.Not bad, but not good.

Story2/10

The game has a built in story mode, but it is nowhere near as good as rival wrestling games.In Fact, there isn't really much of a story at all, You just get put in a load of matches until you win the title(which is painfully quick and easy) The game developers promised us a good story mode.They broke that promise.

Sound1/10

Horrible.The wrestlers don't speak AT ALL. The commentary is pathetically repetitive and the wrestlers don't even have the patented entrance music.

Replayability6/10

There are good amount of WCW Wrestlers at your arsenal, but the actual area's where you can open them up for a brawl are few and far between. If they aren't going to put a wrestling ring in the game(WHY?) then they could have at least put a few more backstage area's in. Sure, its fun to throw people through tables for a while, but after a few hours it gets old. This is not one of those games that you'd invite you're buddies round to play.Giving it a 6 is generous.

Buy, Rent, or leave alone?

The game is actually quite fun .... for a while. I wouldn't say leave it well alone, because it can be quite enjoyable if you are just a casual gamer. Just don't make my mistake and buy it, because quite frankly folks, its a waste of money (Unless you could get it really really cheap of course) Its definitely one to rent.

Overall Summary

WCW Backstage Assault is one of those games that gives you fun and enjoyment for a while, and then gets old fast. I think the game developers come up with a good, original concept, but designed it poorly and rushed it to the market too fast. If they would of put a bit more time into developing it, it could have been the next big wrestling game. It was also a shame that they didn't put a real wrestling ring in it. Lets face it, what fun is a wrestling Game without a wrestling ring?
The game is quite simply, average.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 07/12/02, Updated 07/12/02