WWE Road to WrestleMania X8

"Whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on your GBA?"

So here I am at the local toy store perusing the games. And lo and behold, what have we here? Why, WWE: Road to WrestleMania X8. And only for $22.99. Coolies. I'd misplaced WWF: Road to WrestleMania (still looking) and was hoping for the sequel (not to mention it would have Hulk Hogan in it, the one thing that was missing from the original, but hey, Hogan wasn't in the WWF at that point). So I pick it up.

Graphics:
Well, they weren't what I was expecting. I was expecting them to be more like the original and less like the GBA Star Wars game. Not that there bad, mind you, but I prefer the 2D look the original had. Characters here are a little stiff in their movements. And sadly, no video entrances like the original.

Gameplay:
Here's where the game shines. The gameplay of the original has been greatly improved on. Characters no longer share the same moves. Up+B for Hogan may be a body slam, but for Rob Van Dam it will be a Van Daminator. Down+A could be a Body Slam for Kane, but a Tombstone Piledriver for Undertaker. Controls are easy enough to get accustomed to, with the grappling system similar to that found in WWF: WrestleMania 2000 and WWF: No Mercy. And aerial specials have now been added (in RVD's case at least).

Features:
There are fifteen selectable characters (The Rock, Triple H, Hollywood Hogan- shouldn't he be Hulk Hogan since he wears the red and yellow in the game?-, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Kane, Kevin Nash, Rob Van Dam, Edge, Booker T, Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, Christen, and Test. Sadly, no Ric Flair or Chris Benoit, nor any of the WWE's women wrestlers such as Molly Holly or Trish. There are also several match types to choose from, such as lumberjack, tag team, three man elimination matches, 3 Stages of Hell, cage match, Royal Rumble, and King of the Ring. There is also a career mode where a player would fight his or her way to the top of the ranks to win either the Undisputed Title (Default Champ: Hogan), Intercontinental Title (Default Champ: RVD), Tag Team title (Default Champs: Angle and Jericho), or Hardcore title (Default Champ: Bubba Ray). Interference and managers are also commonplace. You can also create a PPV that will be graded by ''Vince McMahon.''

Sound:
Another shining point. The entrances for the characters are dead one. Hogan comes out to Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child, Edge to Rob Zombie, 'Taker to his current theme, and Christen to his music before joining up with Lance Storm. And for 'Taker, RVD, and Rock there are sound bites thrown in (''If ya smell what the Rock is cooking,'' ''Dead Man Walking,'' etc.). And the in-game music is better then most. Sound effects for punches, body slams and so forth are surprisingly good. Sadly, the audience only gets into a match, so to speak, when a finisher is preformed (Hogan's Big Boot/ Leg Drop, Angle Slam and so on).

Replayability:
A few things can be done in terms of replayibility. Unlocking all the items in the Shopzone can be accomplished (through I'm not sure their point just yet) and you can always try and outdo your last PPV score. 'Course, if the game gets old for you, the best advice is to put it on a shelf for a time and return later. ''Everything old is new again, brotha!''- Hogan.

Overall:

Can't say I feel disappointed at all for purchasing this game. THQ has done well. It's different from Fire Pro Wrestling, and that's a good thing. Both games are good in their own ways, but who wants two games from two different publishers exactly alike?

And now, back to the search for WWF: Road to WrestleMania.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/02, Updated 10/30/02