WWF WrestleMania Challenge

Dropkick! Hulk Hogan has the Ultimate Warrior woozy. He's going for the cover. One... Two... Wait! The Warrior reverses with a Small Package. One... Two... THREE! It's all over for Hogan, folks! We've got a new champion of the NES wrestling world, and it's WWF WrestleMania Challenge... or is it?

Ready to Rumble

The Ultimate Warrior stunned the WWF with his dramatic upset of the Hulkster, and now Acclaim has pulled a surprise of its own by unveiling a new and improved sequel to WWF WrestleMania, WWF WrestleMania Challenge.

This time you have eight wrestlers -- Hulk Hogan, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, Ravishing Rick Rude, Big Boss Man, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Andre the Giant, Macho King Randy Savage, and the Ultimate Warrior -- instead of six, and each mauler has an extra move (eight total compared to seven in the original).

But the most obvious change is the addition of a tag team option and a three-man team "Survivor Series" in which you must defeat every member of the opposing team. Now, one or two players can participate in nearly every imaginable combination, either together against the computer or in a versus mode.

Go for the Glory

Would-be champs may quest for either the individual belt or the two man tag team title (which requires two players). In both tournaments, you are forced to use a generic grappler known simply as "Yourself" as you face off against all eight superstars. Also, your rematch opportunities are limited. In a one event challenge, you can play your WWF hero and rematch as many times as you like.

Big Splash Or Wipeout?

WWF WrestleMania Challenge is a Jekyll and Hyde video game if ever there was one, but it's a welcome improvement over WWF WrestleMania. On the plus side, the new, behind-the-ring scrolling graphics permit action outside the squared circle, the tag team options add to the fun, and you no longer have to worry about a time limit. However, on the down side, one of the stamina bars disappears when the screen shifts too far to one side and winning a championship is too easy. Also, a four player capability via the N.E.S. Satellite or the Four Score would have made this game even more enjoyable.

WWF WrestleMania Challenge wins about but not the title. As they say, you can't take the belt on a disqualification.

Acclaim's original Wrestlemania was a hit for two main reasons. It capitalized on the enormous popularity of pro wrestling (and particularly the World Wrestling Federation), and it took advantage of the continuing success of wrestling videogames in general.

The actual wrestling action in Wrestlemania wasn't terribly exciting, and the big-name wrestlers had relatively few moves for you to choose from. But the graphics were good and the characters were large, which helped the game become a success.

Now LJN is releasing Wrestlemania Challenge, once again featuring such well-known WWF stars as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. This time you can choose a team of up to three wrestlers for tag-team action, or go head-to-head against a single opponent. Either way you play, the opposing wrestlers can be controlled by the computer or a friend.

Each of the ten different WWF grapplers in Wrestlemania Challenge can perform eight special moves. Unlike the earlier Wrestlemania - which limited your attacks to punches and kicks, and allowed special moves only when your opponent was lying on the floor - Wrestlemania Challenge lets you use any move whenever you like.

Aside from the tag-team action and greater flexibility, however, this game is not much different from its predecessor. And although Wrestlemania left plenty of room for improvements, Wrestlemania Challenge doesn't offer many.

In fact, one of the best features of the original game - the large, recognizable characters - is missing in the sequel. The wrestlers are now tiny figures, smaller than the wrestlers in some of the very earliest Nintendo wrestling games. This makes it difficult to see when you're in the right position to perform certain moves.

The vast black void around the ring makes the game's simple graphics even less exciting - a bit of color would have been nice.

Perhaps, like the original Wrestlemania, this version will succeed because of its WWF tie-in. But even Hulkamania seems to be waning a bit these days. And facing such competition as Tecmo World Wrestling, LJN's Wrestlemania Challenge could use a little Hulkamania.

Pack up your gear and head on the go with WWF Superstars! Take on the likes of Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, and Mr. Perfect! The Million Dollar Man will put in his two cents too in this marvelous wrestling bash with your favorite WWF stars!

The game for Nintendo Entertainment System published by LJN, Ltd. and developed by Rare, Ltd. was released in 1990.

It game features many of the World Wrestling Federation greatest sportsmen, such as Ravishing Rick Rude, The Big Boss Man, Andre The Giant, "The Macho Man" Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, and The Ultimate Warrior. You have a chance to go through a small career trying to become the WWF Wrestling Champion by playing as you. There are such play options as ‘one on one play’ and ‘Tag Teams of 2 Vs. 2’. The survivor series is where 3 wrestlers fight against another 3 wrestlers. The last team standing after the other has been beat, is announced the winner.