WCW vs The World

Get ready to butt heads with the big boys of professional wrestling. Some of the WCW's most outrageous characters kick their way onto the PlayStation with the free-for-all fisticuffs and raucous, roughhouse style the most popular organization in the world of wrestling.

When it comes to options, WCW vs The World pile-drives its competition through the mat. An unprecedented 52 wrestlers from around the world are featured, including 12 of the WCW's top stars, such as Hulk Hogan and Sting. Combatants compete in League Challenges, Tournaments, Exhibition, and Elimination matches, but it's the detailed mat techniques, barbaric brouhahas, and countless signature wrestling holds (from Lex Luger's Torture Rack to the Ultimo Dragon's Asai Moonsault) that will ultimately crown WCW "Lord of the Rings."

Graphics

The polygonal wrestlers capture the authentic looks and attitudes of the real-life brawlers, while the hair-raising holds of havoc are performed with great detail.

Sound

Finish off an opponent in a submission hold and you'll hear the eerie crack of his bones breaking! The lack of a ringside announcer, though, is disappointing.

Control

Whether you're leaping off the top turnbuckle with a Missile Dropkick or pounding opponents with Power-bombs, WCW has the controls that make it easy to pulverize your opponents.

Fun Factor

From pillar to post, wcw vs The World gives wrestling fans what they've been lacking: A game with real wrestlers and real wrestling holds. WCW's one of the best wrestling titles ever to "walk the aisle" into the home arena. It pins Power Move in almost every respect.

There haven't been too many wrestling games on the PlayStation, or any 32-Bit console for that matter. So far, the best wrestling games have been those brought over from Japan with some minor gameplay tweaks and other graphical changes.

WCW vs. the World is no different. Originally a Japanese game, THQ promises to bring the game to the U.S. with a more localized flavor-namely nine different WCW wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Lex Luger and Scott Steiner. Each wrestler will also have his own special "signature" move. In addition to these well-known names in wrestling. 43 other wrestlers will be available originating from different countries and Federations. The Federations will include the WCW and six other wrestling federations from different parts of the world.

The graphics in the game look pretty good so far. The 3-D rendered wrestlers are well detailed and move fluently. Once the new WCW wrestlers are added, THQ promises that they will also look just like their real life counterparts and brawl like them too. Moves such as body slams, pile drivers, sleeper holds and reversals are only a small sample of their repertoire.

With all of these features and some great complimentary graphics, THQ hopes that they will have the most realistic wrestling simulation yet.

Overview

Could this be the first realistic wrestling...wait, realistic and wrestling don't work together. Let's try that again. Could this be the first believable wrestling...ummm, no, that isn't correct either. Okay, I've got it. Could this be the first wrestling game to capture the drama of real wrestling? That is much more accurate. All joking aside, if wrestling is your thing, you won't find a game that more accurately depicts the feel and moves of professional wrestling.

WCW Vs The World earns its title by allowing you to play as 15 of the WCW wrestlers or one of 45 other wrestlers from around the world. Do a little math and you will see that you have the choice of playing as one of 60 different wrestlers. Now if you can't find one that you like out of that bunch then this game is definitely not for you. Each of the wrestlers has between 30 and 40 different moves, including signature moves, modeled after the real wrestlers. All of the top names are here including the Hulkster himself, Lex Luger and Ric Flair so lace up your boots because it's time to climb to the top rope and see if this game will pin the competition.

Gameplay

This is a wrestling game. It is that simple. You don't play football, drive a car really fast or blast space aliens. You wrestle other wrestlers. That is it. Nothing more, nothing less. If this sounds up your alley, please continue on.

Let's talk game modes. The first mode available is the Tournament mode. This lets you create a pool of up to eight wrestlers that compete for different belts. The tournaments can be saved on the memory card so you can always defend your belt later or try and regain it. The second mode is the league match. This is a cool mode because it is a round robin tournament that crowns a winner on overall points, not wins and losses. This means you can lose a match or two and still win the whole thing. Finally, you have the Double Title Match. This is only available to wrestlers who have won a belt. You put your belt on the line against another champ and see who comes out with both belts.

In the previous paragraph I mentioned belts. I know it was rude of me to mention these without explaining what they mean. Well, I hope it is not too late to explain. A belt is the prize won by the champion wrestler. The first belt available can be won in the tournament mode. Just defeat all of the opponents and you win a belt. Other matches allow you to win different belts and you can always add to your collection. But remember, once you have a belt, everyone else wants to take it from you.

All of the modes and belts are just fine and dandy but what really matters is if the gameplay sucks or not. You can have 600 wrestlers and belts up the yang but if the gameplay sucks, nobody will stick around long enough to see all your fancy stuff. I can say without hesitation that the gameplay does not suck whatsoever. It is actually pretty decent. The designers have gone for a realistic (there is that word again) feel that was obviously modeled after real life wrestling. There are no over-exaggerated moves or unrealistic actions. Everything is very responsive and the moves are easy enough to pull off. They can get a bit complicated at times but there are so many moves, you are bound to accidentally pull something off if you keep hitting buttons.

Graphics

THQ seems to be making quite a name for itself when it comes to good graphics. WCW is no exception. The wrestlers all look like their real life counterparts. The special moves look like you are watching a real wrestling match. I am very impressed with the way everything comes together including the crowds and the arenas. The character animations are also done fairly well but I did find a glitch or two when the wrestler was overlapping the crowd in the background.

Bottom Line

This game best represents professional wrestling. Everything is as true as a wrestling match gets, and there are plenty of wrestlers to choose from. It is nice to see a game that focuses on preserving the actual moves of the wrestlers instead of falling for the ever-tempting exaggerations. If you are a wrestling fan, you will love this game. If you are not, like myself, you will still find it fairly entertaining. It is by far the best wrestling game on the market.