Well, Here is part 1 of SWC Reader Reviews. I will be posting more as I recieve them, again if your interested in getting your review posted on our news board get information by clicking here. On to the reviews, good job guys.

hi. I am a huge wrestling fan and even bigger THQ wrestling games especially the ones on the N64(world tour, revenge, no mercy). I recently purchased a copy of Wrestlemania 18 for the gamecube and have had it for a total of 2 days. I was shocked and very disappointed. First of all i'm not a huge graphics critic but they were so so, a little sloppy here and there but they were ok. The roster was ok. No Mr.perfect, no goldust, no Shawn Michaels, no billy kidman or billy and chuck. The create a player was real bad. I couldnt make my version of Bret hart or even come close to Creating Sting. Bad selection of costumes and no face paint choices what so ever. The game play is weird, to be honest i got use to it and was having fun playing it but i prefer the no mercy style way of play. The music was so so. the intros were cool though some people dont come out to there theme music(Booker T, Hogan, Hardys, Edge etc). The matches u can have in it are great. Hell in the cell is sooo much fun and the TLC is crazy also. The custom belt mode i dont understand. I thought i was able to unlock belts and defend them against my 3 friends that come over to play these wrestling games but i cant. You can only defend them against someone who also owns the game or unlocked the same title as you on his/her game, which really really sucks. And another thing that really really pisses me off is that when u win a title you do not see the person wearing it. What is the point!? makes no sense! we are now on 128 bit systems and we cant even create a friggin belt on someone when they win it. unbelievable. If i were to make a sequel first things first it would have to play like No mercy. With the spirit system like WM18. I like getting my special up and using it whenever i wanted to. I would bring back the create a belt from WM 2000 for N64 so that its actually FUN. And when this time when you win a belt, you actually wear the friggin thing. I swear if thq put the ball in my hand I wouldnt screw up something that is sooooo easy. Hell you dont even have to pay me. Well thats what i think, dont mean to sound harsh but i'm very disturbed its sooooooo easy. thanks for your time

Eric Walters

The Apexual Analysis: WWE Wrestlemania X-8


I, Apex of SWC's currently defunct forum, would like to take this time to share with my fellow Wrestlemania X-8 goers my opinions on what may be the best overall wrestling game to date. I'd like to discuss some (but knowing my tendency to "trail on" a bit, probably ALL) aspects of the newest Gamecube wrestler.
WWE Wrestlemania X-8's gameplay is excellent. It is a medium between Playstation2's SmackDown! series and N64's No Mercy and Wrestlemania 2000, exemplifying the greater points of both. The move reactions, collision detection, speed, and semi-grappling/semi-"arcade" feel are all spectacular. I'm very proud of THQ for nearly mastering wrestling game engines, what with Raw (for Xbox) and Wrestlemania's X-8.
As far as for graphics go, they're astonishing. The graphics of Wrestlemania's prove nearly as good as those of Raw for Xbox. There are some proportional problems (ridiculously oversized weapons), but otherwise just about everything is fine as far as graphics are concerned. No awkward movements or animations.
The sound is a major negative of this game. The music playing during the match, to me, sounds like punk elevator music. Also, the themes (due to legal rights, I'm assuming) of the likes of Booker T., The Hardys, Tajiri, n.W.o., and Trish Stratus were not included. And no, the substitute music sounds NOTHING like the real themes. This game, to be quite frank, is much better with one strike of the mute button on your remote controls. Sound's really no big deal though.
Another low point of this game would be the Create a Superstar mode. Severely limited, it hardly allows you to express your creative talent at all. However, I was able to create my main character just fine. You can make just about any body shape you desire, though there are only 14 male faces from which to choose. Creating brawny, yet generic competitors is about the extent of it. Alien mutants and shiney robots that were conceiveable in Raw and Smackdown: Just Bring It are merely a far-off dream for Wrestlemania X-8.
In closing, WWE Wrestlemania did indeed live up to my expectations, and then some. Whereas the CAW was a bit lacking, it wasn't enough to keep me from creating the best version of my character thus far. The innovative gameplay engine, the superb graphics, the varying match modes, and the plethora of wrestlers from which to choose all make WWE Wrestlemania X-8 a real winner. I was expecting, "Hey, this is Gamecubes first crack at a wrestling game, so it may lack some essential components", but that's really not the case. I applaud this game and highly recommend it for those of you who enjoy WWE. It's well worth the purchase, and buying a Gamecube for this and many other great games wouldn't be a bad idea.
Long live SWC and remember to donate to the purchase of new forum space. Thanks for reading, all.

--- Case "Apex" Malekovic

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