ECW: Hardcore Revolution Preview

I am sure that most readers will have caught at least a glimpse of WWF or WCW action. ECW is the third largest wrestling promotion in the United States and is possibly the best. Although hampered by a lack of resources until the near past, Extreme Championship Wrestling is regarded
by 'experts' as a better promotion than the WWF or WCW. ECW matches are usually bloody and brutal affairs involving weapons, tables and more often than not, more weapons. If you caught the HHH Vs. Cactus Jack match on this years 'Royal Rumble' then you will have caught a glimpse of what
happens at most ECW shows. Swearing, broken bodies, pools of blood and high flying, dare-devil stunts are common in even the non-televised shows, however the wrestlers are not just 'high risk' idiots, wrestlers such as Rob Van Dam, Mike Awesome and Lance Storm are excellent technical wrestlers. Former ECW superstars include Eddy Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Shane Douglas, Chris Benoit, The Dudley Boys, Raven, The Blue Meanie, Raven, Hak, Stevie Richards, Chris Jericho, Tazz, Taka Michinoku, Mick Foley (Mankind/Cactus Jack/Dude Love) and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Now that ECW has secured a nationwide TV contract with TNN it is looking to rival WCW in the ratings war and may soon emerge as a viable opponent to the WWF.

Anyway, back to the game. ECW Hardcore Revolution is based on the WWF Attitude engine, and this is in many people's opinions a great bonus. Although Attitude is regarded by many fans to have the best engine, it was rushed into release too quickly and was full of bugs (e.g.. Val Venis's
'Porn Pretzel' locked up the game). Hopefully Acclaim will have erased silly bugs like these and added to the engine a little. The game is guaranteed to have an adult rating in the USA (17 years and older) and in the UK the adverts state that it is for 'No Gamers Under 15. No Exceptions.'
ECW didn't want to compromise any interpretation of their product by censorship so they agreed with Acclaim to make the game orientated towards adults. Adult language is rife in the game, with wrestlers, commentators and the crowd uttering all different kinds of obscenities (up to 7 words
at the last count, and we are talking about the sort of language you find in Pulp Fiction). It may be shocking to closet wrestling fans, but in actuality isn't any more obscene than most ECW house shows.

The game includes over 20 game modes. Expect these to be similar to Attitude's (Tornado, Tag Team, Gauntlet, etc...), with the exception of the all new Barbed-Wire Match. In real life this match up involves replacing the ring ropes with reels of barbed wire. It will be interesting to see how this is carried out in the game. Hardcore matches will be resplendent in the game, infact
a few weapons have been leaked to the press and they include kendo-sticks, baseball bats, shovels, ladders and even cheese graters. Of course, over 40 real life wrestlers will be included. Ala Attitude, each wrestler has their own entrance, moves and gimmicks. ECW wrestlers range from the insane to the downright strange. For instance, Sabu is a high flying Arab who was actually banned from wrestling in the United States for a while because he performed such
dangerous stunts. Rob Van Dam, Lance Storm and Mike Awesome are what goes for 'normal' in the ECW while on the other end of the scale we have Amish Roadkill who is basically a man from the Amish country who can only say one word - "Chicken!" If you thought Goldust, Blue Meanie and Mankind
were strange - 'you aint seen nothing yet!' 3 unique arenas are included, as well as a career mode that takes you from hardcore house shows to ECW's version of Wrestlemania - "Anarchy Rulz!"
Also included is a Create-a-Wrestler mode. Since Attitude's was and is the best one available in grappling games, we can expect this one to be pretty good as well.

So, if you cannot resist the temptation to create yourself and your friends and then battle with them all over a crowded arena - smashing their bodies to pieces with bats and shovels that are covered in barbed wire - and then leaving them prone in a pile of their own blood then you had better mark down the 17th of February in your diary because that is when ECW Hardcore Revolution hits the shops.