WWF Wrestlemania 2000

Written by Jonathan Nicklas  on August 30, 2000

Review: We get the best of the WWF and THQ into the ring for one great wrestling title

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Yet another wrestling title by THQ. They've mastered this genre and now take on the WWF license after 2 sports entertainment titles with the WCW license. Those two games both won "Fighting Game of the Year". Can THQ defend their reign? Is this game a rehash or is it something to rejoice about? Find out. Start reading...now.

WWF WrestleMania 2000 brings average visuals into the squared circle. The modeled characters try to implement as much realism as possible, and the job isn't too shabby. Although, the models are noticeably pixelated just like THQ's previous efforts in the sports entertainment area. The rest of the game is pretty much top notch though. The arena is pretty much well done. Besides that THQ retained the 2-D crowd, the atmosphere is good. The rings are nicely crafted and look realistic. Perhaps the most detailed aspects of WWF WM2K are the entrances. Each individual performs excellent taunts that go with their real life counterparts, from the walk down the aisle, to entering the ring. The addition of a select-able Cage looks fairly impressive too. As for the attacks, most of them have been well refined, as well as the reversals. This time around, there have been many additions of signature movies, taunts, etc. The Rock performing the "People's Elbow" is solid, although he doesn't really take off his elbow pad, but everything else looks fine. Another addition THQ added were some Titan-Tron videos, but honestly, most of them are in bad quality. Like always, it's better than nothing. In all, I must say, that WWF WM2K does the job.

The audio absolutely stinks. That's the best way to put it. The music throughout combats gets too repetitive and boring. I'd advise you to turn on the radio and mute your television. The music of entrances isn't as bad though. Although the quality isn't the best, you can still tell the differences of one theme from another. A dose of realism is that some taunts result in cheering, and some in booing. There are also sound affects of attacks, and speech of somebody that counts the "1, 2, 3" when a grappler is being pinned. A definite plus would have been commentary. The audio is satisfactory, but could have been way better. Next.

As for the gameplay, WWF WM2K retains the grappling engine from their previous sports entertainment titles. A grapples, B attacks, etc. If you have mastered World Tour or Revenge, you'll adapt to WWF WM2K very quickly. All the control schemes are pretty much identical. The tapping of the analog up, down, left, or right will result in a taunt. All the battling in WM2K consists of grappling mostly. There are two grapples - small and large. After grappling, you a direction and a button. In the game, you can also grapple from corners to do a sweet move, and other various maneuvers. When your "Attitude" meter reaches it's highest point, you are allowed to perform your wrestler's signature move by doing a large grapple and tapping the analog stick.

There are many features of gameplay in WWF WM2K. The career mode sets you in a schedule as you try to win a precious belt. That's one of the features that will make WWF WM2K more replayable. Other modes include "Triple Threat", "Cage", "Tag Team", "Hardcore", and other types of battling. There's also a Create-A-Wrestler feature that allows you to create a wrestler, hence the name. You can nit-pick your wrestler to your liking, from attire to taunts. Also, the multiplayer accounts for a good time with WWF WM2K. It allows up to 4 characters to combat at once. In most of these modes, you can set your preferences to maintain a good experience. As for paks, WWF WM2K makes use of the Control Pak to save Create-A-Wrestler characters, etc. In addition, WWF WM2K features 60+ WWF superstars, and finally there aren't any other peculiar federations present.

The replay is pretty deep in WWF WM2K. Create-A-Wrestler is great, and the Career Mode is entertaining, and takes a while to complete. WWF WM2K is also good for parties, where four characters can square it off. The game won't last you that long if you have other THQ sports entertainment titles, but I'd consider buying it with the many differences.