 WCW Mayhem for Sony Playstation
After WWF Attitude pushed me to the brink of obsession, and then sold 300 quintillion copies after its release, it was inevitable that the WWF's main competitor, WCW would get on the bandwagon and release its own new wrestling title. WCW's previous wrestling titles for the Playstation included the average WCW Nitro and the positively disastrous WCW/nWo Thunder. Those games were produced by THQ, the same outfit which produced the great WCW games for the N64. This time, though, WCW went straight to the top, enlisting the video game design industry's resident 800-pound gorilla, Electronic Arts.
The gameplay in Mayhem is decidedly different than that of Attitude, this much is apparent right away. First off, the wrestlers move much, much faster in Mayhem, at least twice as fast. Even "Big Lazy" Kevin Nash skitters around the ring like a luchadore hopped up on crystal meth. The system of executing moves is also notably different. Whereas Attitude relies on specific button combinations that differ from wrestler to wrestler to execute moves, Mayhem uses the same system with each wrestler; only the moves executed change. Each wrestler has a number of moves he can execute from the "grapple" position, which is when the wrestlers lock up. When a grapple is done, the player will hit either a single button, or push the D-pad up or down and hit a button. This system is very simple and easy to learn, but it seems very limiting. Where Attitude had seemingly countless moves that a wrestler could do, Mayhem seems to max out with maybe twenty moves per character. Part of this results from the fact that Attitude allowed moves to executed from the "ready" position (wrestlers are near each other but not grappling) and in fact, it heavily favors these moves. Mayhem doesn't allow this; all you can do from the ready position is basically punch or kick your opponent in various ways (an elbow or a drop kick, for example). They could have made up for this by adding moves to the grapple, simply by adding different moves when the player pushes left or right and a button, but this isn't the case. As is, a Mayhem wrestler has a maximum of nine moves possible from the grapple (not counting the Irish whip, which is done by holding the R1 button and hitting X) which is inexcusably low compared to Attitude. The moves executable in other situations seem to be sparse as well, Generally, a wrestler has one move that can be executed off the top turnbuckle, and one that can be done after whipping an opponent into the ropes.
Graphically, Mayhem is nothing special either. The wrestlers look pretty good, and are reasonable facsimile of the real deal, but I'm just not blown away. They did a nice job capturing each of the different WCW rings, like Monday Nitro and Thunder and all the various pay-per-view rings, but no one buys a wrestling game because the rings look cool. The wrestler's entrances are pretty good, but they suffer compared to Attitude. Most of the theme songs are there, but many aren't; rather the wrestlers come out to what's called their "faction theme," which is the theme of another wrestler they're aligned with. Crowd noise gets very loud at times, but there aren't any chants or specific comments toward wrestler from the crowd as in Attitude. The commentators, Tony Schiavone and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan have a lot to say, but they repeat themselves on occasion, and Schiavone gets just as annoying here as he does in real life. It is pretty cool, though, when he tells you that "I can't believe a WCW star of his caliber would use the same move OVER AND OVER" when you use the same move too often. "Mean" Gene Okerlund also pitches is with the ring introductions. The camera is very dynamic, swinging around, and zooming in and out to get the best view of the action. At times, it gets obnoxious, particularly when you leave the ring, because you can easily lose track of your wrestler.
The game has most of the modes you'd expect. The "Quest For The Best" plays like Attitude's career mode. You start out at the bottom of the ladder, and have to win matches to reach the WCW Championship, and you also unlock hidden wrestlers along the way. It isn't nearly as long as Attitude's career mode, though, nor is it as varied in types of matches. There is also a create-a-wrestler function, which is nice, but it's nowhere near as deep as Attitude's. Several other "gimmick" matches are available as well, but again the depth of modes cannot compare to that of Attitude.
There are some large differences between Mayhem and Attitude; there is no penalty for leaving the ring in Mayhem, as there are no count-outs. This is pretty much an excuse to exploit the fact that the wrestlers can fight up the ramp and into the back. Once the wrestlers head to the back, they end up in a randomly selected area. These areas include the ticket offices, a restroom, a locker room, a boiler room, and even a parking lot. Various weapons litter the areas, like chairs, pipes, and even an electrified stun stick. This is fun for a while, but to win a match you have to get your opponent back to the ring for the pin. Another change in Mayhem is the presence of a "momentum meter" rather than energy meters for the wrestlers. As the match progresses, the crowd will get behind one of the wrestlers. As they do, the momentum meter climbs. When the meter begins to flash, you can execute your wrestlers finishing move. However, due to the way the game is set up, you can get the crowd really into it so early that you can execute your finisher multiple times but have your opponent get up from it each time. It doesn't actually become a "finishing" move until you've done enough damage to your opponent, which is only indicated by the screen briefly flashing "finish him" when your momentum meter is flashing. There's no other on screen indication of your opponent's energy level.
I've seen other write-ups of Mayhem saying that it's the best Playstation wrestling game to date, which I wholeheartedly will disagree with. Knowing that the game was from Electronic Arts gave me great hope that it would be something truly special, but it just isn't. Don't get me wrong, it is a good game, but the flaws are very evident, and the strange approach to gameplay takes some getting accustomed to. The momentum meter is particularly baffling, as it takes much of the drama away from executing finishing moves. The graphics are just not all that good – the wrestlers in Attitude look much more like their real-life counterparts. As for sound, Mayhem definitely could have used some quotes or taunts from real wrestlers to spice things up. And speaking of Spice, where the hell are the damned Nitro Girls? That would have made things about ten times more interesting right there. Anyway, if you're a fan of WCW wrestling in general and a gamer, go grab this game. If you like wrestling games but you're one of the simpering, mewling flock of whining "purists" who say the Attitude system of button pressing is an abomination, then by all means go out and pick up this game. Just don't do it expecting anything groundbreaking. Overall, Mayhem was a hearty disappointment, on par with my failed attempt at stand-up comedy awhile back. I just wish someone had told me that wearing blackface was out.
Review by Mario Speedwagon |
