More Articles on WWE WrestleMania X8
WWE WrestleMania X8WWF WrestleMania X8WWF WrestleMania X8WWF WrestleMania X8
User Reviews
There are currently 0 User Reviews for WWE WrestleMania X8Write your own review for this game today and you will receive 100 Gamer Points.
Click here to register
WWE WrestleMania X8 Review
Anthony Wolfe
00/12/0000
WrestleMania X8 provides multiplayer enjoyment, but sadly there isnt enough depth for single players
Finally, Wrestling has come back to Nintendo! Yes, yes, here we go with another addition of WWE gaming madness. Now before I get deep down into this SOB, I would like to mention that I am one huge wrestlinā fan. Iāve been watching the sport (or lack there of) since the late 80ās, and Iāve even embarked on some personal adventures because of the sport. Now of course being a fan of Wrestling, I have taken the time to play just about every wrestling game known to man. Iām am very knowledgeable in the subject of wrestling games, and I fancy myself a good judge of them and whoās gonna mess with me???
After playing this game, I must say that I am very disappointed in my experience. I feel used and rather cheap and I do not like the feeling at all. The folks over at Yukesā have managed to release a game that not only sets sports entertainment gaming back a few notches, but also succeeds in making anything associated with it look like crap. Read on!
Letās start off by ripping apart the heart of the beast, gameplay of course. In simple terms, the gameplay aspect of Wrestlemania X8 is horrible, terrible, and heart breaking. I guess in order to explain why I feel so bad about the gameplay I must take a journey back to the good olā days of the N64. You see, the Nintendo 64 is the system that invented the ānewā face of wrestling and some of the best wrestling creations ever made were released on that machine. The people over at Asmik/Aki brought wrestling games into the mainstream with WCW vs. NWO: World Tour, and WCW/NWO: Revenge. From there, they built a freakinā legacy on the N64, they followed up those two excellent games with games that were even better. Wrestlemania 2000 and No Mercy simple blew the wrestling game genre away. Everybody was ranting and raving about the gameplay mechanics, and how Asmik/Aki had done such a fine job with the genre.
Well, in the year 2001, the movement was made from the Nintendo 64 to the GameCube. I will admit that I had very high hopes for the Wrestling Game genre and GameCube. Now, my hopes have been shot to pieces.
From the start you will notice a huge difference in the way that Wrestlemania X8 plays in comparison with any THQ wrestling game on the N64. The grappling system has changed from sleek, stylish, and smooth, to well Smackdownishā. Now I have no problem with the grappling implemented in Smackdown, if Iām playing Smackdown, but Iād much rather a unique system when playing my GameCube. It is clear that instead of trying to continue on the N64 legacy that was built up, the people at Yukes just got lazy and said āaw, the hell with it, lets make a watered down version of the Smackdown engineā. Grappling feels more arcadish in Wrestlemania X8, Iām more for the simulation feel, I need it to be smooth, that way I can get into it, itās real (ed ā“ since when!!!)
I am done beating around the bush though; I would like to now get down to business. One of the main problems in Wrestlemania X8 is how the matches progress. Now I understand that there must be an aspect of AI in the game, but Yukes have just taken it too far. I do not want to say the game is a hard game to play, but it is extremely irritating and annoying to play. If you want to win the match, you will be hard pressed to have any fun. When you are playing single-player mode, no matter what you do, your opponent gets up in a timely manner. You have to rush to do everything, you canāt celebrate and then make a move, you have to run around in a rush trying to do this or that. Itās very annoying, sometimes youāll just want to have fun with your opponent, set him up on a table, or hit him with a few turnbuckle moves. Good Luck! You have to rush around to do everything; there is no flow to the game. I go back to the topic of smoothness, this game isnāt smooth at all, itās just running around and hitting. It gets very repetitive and boring at times.
Another key problem in the gameplay of Wrestlemania X8 is the whole reversal system. Once again, itās not fun, there is no skill to it and you just press a button or two (L/R or L&R). Also the computer ability to counter seems mighty high. Now this isnāt a big deal at the beginning of a match, but I think itās interesting how I can beat my opponent to a bloody pulp, hit emā with weapons, and damn near kill himā¦yet he can reverse my figure four leg-lock. What do I have to do, I mean, itās just outrageous. I understand that there are reversals in WWE programming, but to an extent, you just have to give up.
Despite all of Wrestlemania X8s down points, there are a few good points worth mentioning. The Hell In The Cell match is just damn fun. Even as frustrated as I get from some of the other aspects in the game, I can always kick back and enjoy a nice Hell In The Cell match. I must also mention that my gripes are mainly with the single-player game as the multiplayer aspect of Wrestlemania X8 is very fun and filling. While there are much more productive things I could be doing with my time, I must admit that I would be hard pressed to find any activity as fun as sitting back with four of my friends and playinā some Wrestlemania X8.
Back to the gripes however, I honestly do not understand how a Wrestling title can come out without a career mode. Sure Battle of the Belts is pretty fun and challenging but come on, this really doesnāt cut it. Normally I would complain about the sad storymode in the Smackdown games, but hey, at least they have a storymode. This is the perfect example of a rushed game my friends. Yukes and THQ were so into getting the game out in a timely manner that certain aspects were just left out. Itās inexcusable in my opinion, and it just doesnāt make any sense.
Speaking of rushed product, it is time to get into the Create-a-Wrestler part of Wrestlemania X8. Once again itās a prime example of the rushed development, as there arenāt that many options to tinker and tailor with. I mean Smackdown had a plethora of options from writing text on your tights, to extending the length of various shorts and shirts. Sure Wrestlemania X8 has enough options to get by, but the selection of clothing, music, and options are very low.
Wrestlemania X8 is fitted with a pretty solid graphical engine. You can have up to four wrestlers on screen at a time plus the ref, all running at 60fps with not a hint of slowdown. Visually the entrances in Wrestlemania X8 are a sight to behold, wrestlers come out looking stunningly true to life and they have a certain glimmer to them that makes them look all the more better. The entrances are also for the most part exact replicas of their real life counterparts, leaving little to be desired in that field.
A downfall to the graphical engine in Wrestlemania X8 is how in-ring animations are handled. When everything goes together smoothly itās a real nice look, but a lot of times, the motion capturing rears itās head and makes the characters respond to each other in a choppy way. We have not yet advanced to the stage in which wrestling animations can be open ended. Everything is motion-captured. Acclaim did try to break the barrier with their Legend of Wrestling game, but hey, that sucked more than this game.
Then of course, there are the usual sad graphical aspects that any wrestling game faces, mainly the crowd. We all know the deal, basic sprites with a sign. They move up and down, whoop dee doo. Not a big deal at all, there has got to be something better in this day and age.
Wrestlemania X8 just canāt win in anything. First itās the horrific gameplay, and then the barely adequate graphics, now itās the terrifying sound. Firstly the crowd is unresponsive and sucks, there is no announcing yet the announcers are at the table, the entrance music for the wrestlers some how turned out muffled, and finally the create-a-wrestler expansion songs just plainā¦suck. Iām not pleased at all at the effort (or lack there of) put forth by Yukes in the sound department; itās the straw breaking the camels back (even more).
