WCW/nWo Thunder for Sony Playstation
Lately I've been in a wrestling game phase, enjoying some really good offerings from THQ WCW/nwo World Tour and WCW/nwo Revenge for Nintendo 64, and WCW Nitro for Playstation that have incredibly entertaining gameplay, especially for multiple players. You haven't
lived until you've experienced the manic energy created during a battle
royal against three friends. Oh, and the video games are good too.
So you'd think that THQ would be able to pull out all
the stops for their Playstation game, right? Oof. Wrong.
All they did was take the exact engine and mechanics from the existing games, added some new wrestlers and rings, and just painted by numbers. That's all.
Except for some minor cosmetic and gameplay changes this is EXACTLY the
same game as WCW Nitro. If you've played that game, you've played this
one. Even the button and controller combinations for the wrestler's
moves are almost universally the same. Let's see, what has actually
changed? Well, the wrestlers get introductions now, featuring short
video clips and snippets of their theme music. Yippee. You can change a
wrestler's "affiliation", i.e. you can make nWo members join WCW or vice
versa. There are foreign objects you can use. Ooh, there's an original
idea. One of the worst features added is the "test of strength". You can
lock hands overhead with your opponent, and then by mashing buttons, you
can simultaneously sap your opponent's strength and increase your own.
Now, it wouldn't be a bad feature, except for one small problem. Do it
once, and your opponent's strength is cut in half. Do it again, and his
strength is gone. After that, it's punch and pin. Possibly the ultimate
in cheese moves.
So many of the things that could have used improving were left
untouched. The graphics are still subpar, as the wrestlers are vague
apparitions of themselves, and the colors are drab. The wrestlers move
like your old arthritic uncle on an exceedingly cold day, and the
execution of moves is tricky at best. The response to button
combinations is spotty and slow. The digitized crowd looks like
something off a Sega Genesis, and the crowd noise and reaction is
virtually nil. They will shower the ring with debris if the heel
wrestler wins, but other than that, they're just window dressing.
This game is a loser all around. The enjoyment level
is non-existent, and one of the things that makes its Nintendo
64 cousins so enjoyable, the four-player support, isn't even an option
here. The huge amount of wrestlers is a great plus, with 60 or so hidden but easily unlocked with a code. But the hidden
wrestlers are all stuck with other wrestlers' finishing moves, which is
annoying. Maybe most disappointing is the fact
that due to the infighting between wrestling icon Ric Flair and WCW
President Eric Bischoff, Flair is not even on the game. You might say there's no Flair at all. The amount of
play modes is limited, the amount of moves are limited, and fun for the
player is extremely limited. Under no circumstances should you even
consider buying this game. As a matter of fact, don't even rent it,
unless you've got some kind of creepy fascination with awful video
games, or with big, hulking, sweaty men in tight nylon. And even then, rent Extreme Leatherman BDSM Dungeon for GameCube instead.
Review by ICE |