Post by Ayen on Apr 2, 2012 20:34:51 GMT -6
In the aftermath of WrestleMania 28 I decided to take a look back at the first 3D video game based on WWE (then WWF) sports entertainment company published in 1998 for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and the original Game Boy. While I have both the PlayStation and N64 ports of the game available I decided to review the PlayStation port exclusively.
The roster is mainly based off their roster in 1997 and it consist of Ahmed Johnson, Bret Hart, British Bulldog (Davey Boy Smith), Faarooq (Ron Simmons), Goldust (Dustin Rhodes), Kane, Ken Shamrock, Mankind (Mick Foley), Mosh, Owen Hart, Rocky Maivia (later dub 'The Rock'), Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Thrasher, Triple H and last but not least The Undertaker. Like a lot of WWE games the roster would be a tad outdated as by the time the game came out Shawn Michaels would have been out due to a back injury and both Bret Hart and the British Bulldog would be in then rival company WCW.
Right off the bat the main menu is pretty creative. After pressing start on the title screen we get a clip of a run-down office that looks to be literally, if you'd pardon the pun, a war zone and it leads you into an elevator. The main menu acts as the elevator with the gamer feeling like he's inside of it and each option available to you bring you to a different room.
On the main menu we have; Start Game, Training, Create Player, Options, High Scores and Biographies. In Start Game we're taken to our modes. One Player has Challenge, Versus, Tag Team, Cage and Weapons mode. Two players gives us more option with Tornado Tag (where both teams are in the ring at once) and cooperative which allows both players to be on the same team. Three players gives you the option for a 3 man versus match and four players a 4 man versus match and adds a coop cage mode.
Challenge mode is the main single player mode in the game where you fight to climb up the ladder of the WWF (or television monitors in this case) to become the HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD!!!! through a series of singles matches. During your climb you can run into people you faced before wanting revenge, when this happens you'll get a little live action game promo performed by the Superstars themselves, some are good and some are clearly reading from the teleprompter. After the promo ends you'll be in either a Steel Cage or Weapons Grudge match with that person. Get to the top, become the WWF Champion and win the game.
Then you have your Training which is pretty self-explanatory. Pick your wrestler and learn how to fight with them against a special extra simply dubbed 'Trainer' in either a single move exercise or a free for all. Press the pause button to pick the position of yourself and the trainer.
Create Player mode, still to this day, is a ton of fun when you're feeling creative. Now mind you this came out in 1998 so you aren't going to get a lot of details like you do now but there is still a nice variety of selections to choose from. You can also make women wrestlers (while there isn't any default women wrestlers in the game to my knowledge) but you have to unlock that ability by playing through Challenge mode.
High Score keeps a record of wins and losses against you and the computer, or you and a friend between wrestlers and Biographies lists the attributes of every WWF Superstar in the game with a mini profile at the bottom and their alternate outfit which you can see through cycling through them all twice.
Now in actual matches your moves are performed in the same way you'd expect from most fighting games. Triangle, Square, Circle and X all have your standard moves. You have a button for blocking, dodging, running, leaving the ring, etc. For bigger moves that do more damage you have to do combos like left, left Triangle. Or right, left, Circle. That kind of thing. If you ever forget your moves just look at the moves list by pressing pause. You also have a health bar which starts at green and as damage is inflicted it changes colors from green, light green, yellow, orange and red. When it reaches red you're more vulnerable to a pinfall attempt.
When you're stunned a blue meter will appear and you'll remain stunned until it decreases. During pins or submission a red meter comes up and decreases either slowly or quickly depending on your wrestler health or if they'll getting a power up. When you perform big moves you get the fans on your side, when the fans are on your side and start chanting your name you get a power boost making you come back from stuns and pin attempts quicker.
Most of the Superstars featured in the game lend their voices and Vince McMahon and Jim Ross perform audio recording for commentary in the game. For all its strong points WWF War Zone comes off more as a fighting game than a wrestling one. With having to perform bigger moves through a combination of buttons on your controller (and you're on your own in figuring out most of their finishers) to the health bar and not doing the best it could have to bring you into that pro wrestling atmosphere and there are some inaccuracies in the biographies; like billing Kane as 6'9 when he was always billed at a seven feet tall giant. But if none of that matters to you then WWF War Zone may be right up your alley.
ToriJ signing off.