WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game

"For a first attempt, this game isn't too bad, but please, pro wrestling not fighting!"

This was the first WWF game on the PSX. It is obvious that it was definitely not the best way to make a game, although it did add a lot of multiplayer fun and was above average overall, but it's not a spectacular wrestling game like Attitude or Smackdown.

GAMEPLAY
The roster in Wrestlemania is very limited. There are only eight wrestlers to choose from. Some of these include Doink the Clown, Bret Hjsman Hart, Yoko Zuna, HBK Shawn Michaels, and Razor Ramone. There are also no hidden characters, so like I said the roster is very limited.
There are four types of modes you can go on. For one player there is the WWF title mode and the intercontinental title mode, and for two players there is the tag team title mode and the Vs. mode. These modes are simply basic, and a few would be appreciated, but these are pretty good.
The title modes are set up like this. You start out facing one player. After a while, you get stuck in harder matches like handicap matches. At the end of the Intercontinental title mode, you will have a three on one match. At the end of the WWF title mode, you will face everyone else in the game in a battle royal type match. The computer AI though in the hard matches is really lackluster though.
The game is played a lot like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter. You press certain button combinations to execute the moves. There are also auto combos like the ones found in Mortal Kombat 3, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy. Unlike MK'S though, there is no finisher. Also, aside from the basic wrestling type moves found in the game, each character has an arsenal of unreal moves. For instance, Bam Bam has a flaming punch move, and Doink has a hammer that appears out of midair and smashes the opponent. In this way it is a lot like a fighting game rather than a wrestling game. I think this game should be listed under the fighting game genre!
GAMEPLAY SCORE 7.9/10

GRAPHICS
The characters in Wrestlemania are well designed, even if they do look a lot like paper men pasted onto a sheet of paper. The crowd looks flat, and it doesn't show much detail. However, the ring and wrestlers look for the most part pretty good. The wrestlers mostly look like their real life counterparts, and the ring also looks above average. The moves look decent, although some of the animation is sloppy.
GRAPHICS SCORE: 7.3/10

MUSIC/sound EFFECTS
The music is pretty good. You hear little snips of music during the game. However the wrestlers' theme music isn't all that great. It's mostly a cheap ten seconds of their music played over and over again. Like Shawn Michaels' song sounds really crappy.
The sound effects are plain awesome. Vince McMan and Jerry the King Lawler provide color commentary, and for a game made this early, the game has tremendous announcing. From time to time, the wrestlers will taunt their opponents. The sounds of all the weapons crashing into heads is great. And the ring and bell sound just like they should. This department really boosted the audeo a lot.
MUSIC/sound EFFECTS SCORE: 8.7/10

DIFFICULTY: EASY
The average gamer should have no problem with this game. The one on one's are pretty easy, and the computer AI really lacks in the two and three on ones.

REPLAY VALUE: LOW
With the modes very easy to beat very quickly, the game has very little single player replay value. The multiplayer is fun for a while, but it isn't good enough to make up for the lack of single player replay.

OTHER GAME INFORMATION
RENT/buy?: POSSIBLE BUY
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2
GENRE: PRO WRESTLING

OVERALL SCORE: 7.4/10
This game is definitely the first wrestling game on the Playstation, but it darn sure isn't a bad attempt. If you are a wrestling fan, pick this game up. If you're not, you should rent it and see how you like it. It's not a definite guarantee you'll fall in love with the game, but I thought it was decent enough for the two weeks in between this and WWF Warzone's release date, which is when I bought the game.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/03/00, Updated 06/03/00