WWF Rage in the Cage

"WHAT!? No Royal Rumble or Tag modes?"

WWF Rage in the Cage was one of those games I longed for back in the early 90's but was never able to play because my mom refused to but me a 16-bit system after pouring so much into the ol' NES. Earlier this year (ten years later), I finally got my hands on a copy. I knew it was like Royal Rumble and had an amazing 20 characters which was unheard of at the time the game was released, but somehow I expected a little more from this title. Sadly, it is just another sad WWF game released my Acclaim.

Roster: 7

By the standards of 1994, the roster was excellent. Sure, it was a bit outdated (Nasty Boys were in WCW when the game was released, and Kamala and the Bossman had been off TV for months, etc) but it was no more outdated than any other releases. What I find more unforgivable was the fact that Luger and Crush had both gone through costume changes which were not at all reflected in this release. Still, 20 wrestlers was astounding for the time and was not toped in a WWF game until WWF Attitude six years later!

Gameplay: 4

I always have believed that the gameplay (not graphics) in wrestling games are always about a system behind. What I mean by this is games released on the 32 bit systems would have been acceptable on the 16 bit systems, the 16-bit games would have been acceptable on the 8-bit systems, and the 8-bit games would have been acceptable on the Atari (or a wristwatch). The gameplay in Royal Rumble/Rage in the Cage SHOULD have been the gameplay we experienced on the NES (a universal move set with an individual finisher for each wrestler). I would have been satisfied with a finisher and signature move for each wrestler in this game but not even being able to do Undertaker's chokeslam or Yokozuna's legdrop is frustrating! However, the gameplay itself is just like Royal Rumble.

Graphics: 7

About as good as you can expect for the day. I really don't have much to say about them either way. The FMV's look like they were recorded with a B&W webcam and blown way up though.

Sound: 9

Good MIDI themes, awesome ring intros, and verbal taunts before the match. Way better than anything before it, that's for sure!

Features (or lack of): 5

You mean they, for the first time, put tag teams in a wresting game? Sweet! I loved the Nastys, Money Inc. Headshrinkers! But wait. . .no, it can't be! THERE IS NO TAG TEAM MODE? You gotta be kidding me, every wrestling game has a tag mode! Oh, they added a lame Cage match, that's kinda cool. Say, 20 guys, that'd make a pretty awesome Royal Rumble match, I'll go try it. WHAT THE HELL? NO ROYAL RUMBLE MODE EITHER?! So I paid all this money (like $60 new) for a slightly larger roster, a singles match, and a cage match and some choppy FMV's but everything else from RR cut out? Hey, there aren't even weapons! This blows.

Overall: Dismal

I was very disappointed in this game but should have expected that it would be as such. Acclaim only started making decent games towards the end. Everything before the 32-bit era was just an embarrassment. But ya know, I sill play them!

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/03