WCW Nitro
Reviewed by Diamond Dallas Steve
I am a pretty big fan of WCW, and I love to play Nintendo games, so naturally
I have to play any WCW game that ever hits the Nintendo 64. I didn't get a chance to
rent it until about 2 or 3 weeks after the release, so I at least wanted to
hear what other people think. I read numerous reader reviews, and everyone
else said it sucked. I still spent the 5 bucks to rent it for a week, and when
I was done with it, I wanted to buy it. Am I the only one who likes this game?
Maybe someone reading this will be a person who hasn't played it, and my
review might give good insight. Or you might have played and hated it, but
look at it from my point of view and become neutral.
Graphics 9 out of 10
I have never seen better graphics for a wrestling game. The animations are
slick like oil, smooth, and lightning fast compared to the other WCW games.
The wrestlers looked a LOT more like the real thing than the previous WCW
Nintendo 64 games, because on the other ones, there was barely even resemblance.
I also noticed the Giant had more of a realistic size difference from the
other guys.
Music and Sound 5 out of 10
Okay, so my ears have heard better... much better. One of the few (or numerous,
but NOT many) weak points of the game. I could scarcely hear the music, so
I can't complain on that, but I picked up the fact that Miss Elizabeth and
Kimberly made male voice grunts... sick? Other than that, it's positively
BONE-CRUNCHING, and that can be a pretty entertaining sound.
Game Challenge 10 out of 10
Come on, just because a game is a little hard, does that make it bad? OK,
so a few of us may get the occasional un-necessary temper flare, and
break an un-related object(which may or may not be important) because
of frustration from games, but a game is pretty stupid if it's too easy.
For example, Guerilla War on the NES seemed like I could never get a
game over, and if I remember correctly, I beat it the first time I tried it.
I sold the game to some game exchange, and almost never wanted to play it again.
Game Play-Fun 7 out of 10
I don't know about you, but I have a blast playing this game. Any wrestling
fan who used to play Mortal Kombat, and was quite good with that style,
might not have to turn it down. I got used to Mortal Kombat quickly, and
WCW Nitro is not much different. Other things that make this game fun
include the codes, except for "Unlock All Wrestlers". I can never get tired
of wrestling on a pool table, or in a disco where you do the "YMCA" as a
taunt. It is hysterical to watch Hollywood Hulk Hogan's head get bigger
with every second, because on TV, it does the same in a little different
sense of the expression.
Rumble Pak 5 out of 10
Well, to be honest with you, the rumble pak is just a useless feature to any
game at all, but this game does rumble at the right times. I still don't see
the point of making your hands feel the vibration, because if you suplex a
person, that's not the impact you feel. I should know. Why not a full body
rumble pak? That would really fit with a virtual fight of pro wrestling.
Frustration
Yes, I admit, I broke a handful of pencils, and a few pens, too (what a mess!),
but that was only the first day when I rented it. It was also because the
rental store refused to do instruction booklets, and I had NO CLUE how to
play. I found someone cool enough to post an FAQ on the web, and figured out it
was very much like Mortal Kombat, and now that I own the game, I don't get
frustrated much, until the AI starts getting unfair advantages. Still, the only
signs of frustration I show are changing from a relaxed sit or lay-down to
a tense sitting up position, and pressing random buttons rapidly.
Replayability 7 out of 10
There are 64 wrestlers total, and you have to win a tournament with a
different person to unlock each different character, and you only start
with 16 wrestlers. You have to accomplish this on Normal or Hard difficulty
only, and it might be a long process, but it is not boring. I have not really
spent much time doing battle royals, but with 2 or more players, there's
never a time when it's not fun. Tag team would be better if there was
tournaments and you could be on a team with a second player instead of
opposing only, but if those feature were there, it would be almost PERFECT
on replayability.
Game Value 5 out of 10
OK, I do suppose the price is a little jacked up, or a lot. I don't believe ANY
Nintendo 64 game should really cost $55, but that's reality. The MSRP's should have
some kind of limit of price to production cost ratio. But of course, I found
a pawn shop-type place that had this game for $20 with box and instructions
in almost flawless condition, as if it had been purchased and the person
only kept it for a day before getting rid of it... so if this is based on the
price I personally paid for WCW Nitro, I give it 15 out of 10.
Play Control 4 out of 10
OK, here's the rotten brown spot in the core of the apple. I do have a difficult
time with this, but in a different way than you might expect if you've already
played this. People say, it's too hard to remember and pull of moves, but
that is not what bugs me. The ACTION button, right-c on default, does too
many things. I try to throw my opponent to the ropes, and it makes me climb
out of the ring. A finishing move lands too close to the ropes, I try to drag
my opponent out, but instead, It picks him back up to standing position. I
never even use the L button at all, so there's one thing, and I only use the R
button to pin, so it could do something in a "Both Standing" situation.
What a gyp, a game made so cool in all other aspects, the play control just
butchers it, and that's why everyone hates the game.
Overall 8 out of 10
So bloody what if the control is a little screwy! I thought the Graphics,
Replay Value, Sound, Challenge Factor, and Fun Factor were not so bad, and
really, and I don't regret buying the game. In fact, I play this game more
than any other game I currently own at the moment, because I am probably
the only person in the whole entire world who enjoys playing this game. All
I have to say now is, "If you don't like it, it's your loss, not my problem."