WCW Backstage Assault

"One of the worst "Wrestling" games I've ever played."

Electronic Art's first WCW game, which boasted the wrestletastic title of Mayhem, was distinctly underwhelming. It was, however, notable for one thing: it was the first wrestling videogame to allow you to fight in 'backstage' areas such as locker rooms and parking lots. WCW Backstage Assault, then, takes the somewhat improbable step of dispensing with the ring altogether, instead offering a variety of environments dotted around an imaginary wrestling arena. As a concept, it's akin to having a football game without any goalposts in it.

It's almost as if everything about Backstage Assault is inherently wrong. While SmackDown! dazzles with its wealth of modes and options - from ladder matches to Hell in a Cell to, yes, backstage fights - Backstage Assault is incredibly limited. And even within its own narrow scope, it doesn't do what it sets out to do that well.

The lack of modes is almost criminal - Exhibition matches for one or two players, a standard one-player game under the guise of Hardcore Challenge, a seven-match survival affair called Hardcore Gauntlet and your standard create-a-wrestler mode. Oh yeah, and did I mention that this game has one of the longest loading times I've ever seen? Not to mention that it's downright impossible to even pin your opponent. I remember playing as Diamond Dallas Page once, and 10 minutes into the game, I hit my opponent with three Diamond Cutters (His special move) and I still couldn't get the pin on him!!!

Graphically, it's hardly a stunner and is nowhere near in the same league as SmackDown! or No Mercy. Instead it's blocky and sluggish, with the supposedly 'monster' wrestlers looking more akin to stick men. You'll also immediantly detect the poor collision detection and how when your wrestler is performing a move, he'll actually go through the opponent's body. Most of the wrestlers look somewhat like their real-life self, but games on the regular Nintendo had better graphics then this.

The commentary from Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan doesn't help matters either, with seemingly random phrases spewing forth from the two old-timers. Other then the commentary, the sound is pretty average. Some generic theme music plays while you're in the menu, but other than that, there is no music during in-game play.

The controls are downright horrible, as you'll be insanely pressing your control's buttons just to do a move, but to no avail. I've also had many problems when wanting my wrestler to do one thing, but he does something else instead. For example, I constantly find myself trying to pick up another weapon, but my wrestler just ends up pinning the other wrestler instead, all due to the awful control system.

Overall, I wouldn't reccomend this game to anyone. Even die-hard WCW fans will hate this one.

Reviewer's Score: 1/10, Originally Posted: 07/23/03, Updated 07/23/03