Awesome reviews guys, keep them coming! Here are three more SWC Reader Reviews:

"I got this game on Monday afternoon, and i've played it with all the free time I've had since then. I was very anxious for this game to come out. Nintendo's track record of Wrestling games has been stellar, could they carry it over? Here's my thoughts...

I'll start by saying I love this game. It beats both Sony's Smackdown! and Microsoft's Raw in almost every area. The gameplay is completely different. It's a perfect blend of the high points of Smackdown, and the high points of No Mercy. The counter system is the best in a game yet. Reversing finishers takes some practice, but it's possible. I was kind of concerned that Yukes (smackdown) was making this game, and I was further concerned when I saw the speed in the movies released of the game before release. All my concerns were dashed when I played it. It's considerably slower than Smackdown, and considerably faster than No Mercy. They sell the moves very, very well. When they take big bumps, you know it. They stay down for quite a long time, and they squirm in pain. Also, if you've been beaten a bit, and you go for a breathtaking move, you stay down for a little bit as well. The gameplay, surprisingly to me, is one of the best aspects of this game.

The choice of characters is great. This is the first WWE game to include the likes of RVD, Booker T, The Hurricane, and nWo. Also, the usual WWE wrestlers are all there. Yes, it is missing a couple of people, (Brock Lesnar, Goldust, and a few others) but what you get more than makes up for it.

The weapons, I thought from the media that we saw before release, were very oversized, and I thought they wouldn't be that great. I've had no problems with the weapons yet. Some are a bit big, but it's not a problem. The use of tables in this game is great. I love setting up tables in the corner and suplexing your opponent off the ladder through it. The weapon useage in this game is great.

The match options in this game are what really makes it great. The first game to feature a full size Hell In A Cell...and it's the best to date. A top the cell, any panel is breakable, as opposed to just the middle one on the Smackdown! series. It takes more than one throw to the cell wall to break it, it usually takes 3. The TLC match is great. In a table match, you get an almost endless amount of tables. I've had times where i've had like, 5 on screen at once, then 2 announce tables. That's great. The cage match, I think, is the best one ever made. It's not extremely hard to get out, but also not extremely easy. All these match options really make this game shine.

The multiplayer level of this game is spectacular. Having Unification matches with your friends was a great idea on THQ's part. Battle for the Belts is one of the best add-ons to a wrestling game in recent memory. You can go for 51 custom belts based on what difficulty level you're on. You can then, after winning them, re-name them and customize the color.

The only area of this game that's really lacking is the Create A Wrestler. Not a lot of choices at all for clothing or faces. Still, even though it's not that good, I still managed to make a pretty good representation of myself, so it's ok. However, it's definetely the weakest spot of the game.

Good and Bad things considered, this game is great. If I would rate it, i'd give it an 8 out of 10. It's not without it's flaws, (but what game isn't?) but out of the 3 next gen wrestling games, this one shows the most promise. If THQ is able to just polish this one up, and add a story/season mode to the next one, there won't be any stopping it. This is a great game, and I would buy a Gamecube just for this one game. (and all the other great games they already have for it)"

- Anonymous

TheUnprettier2k's WWE Wrestlemania X-8 Review

"Well, for quite a long time I have been awaiting this game and I finally
have obtained it. The following is how I feel about the game and how it met
my expectations. When I first put it into my Nintendo Gamecube console it
looked pretty good. I went into an exhibition bout to test things out. I
must say the lighting effects and the arena's look spectacular. The two best
arena's in my view are the WWE Royal Rumble 2002 and WWE Wrestlemania X-8
arena's. They look very realistic and superb. The entrance's ended up better
than I ever had even expected them to be. The pyro's look great, the light
effects, once again, are spectacular. However, I must admit the audio is
lacking a bit. It sounds very low, sort of like WWE(F) Wrestlemania 2000 for
Nintendo 64. However, some music did sound higher quiality, but some very
low. Rob Van Dam's music sounded extremely low in my view, but Chris
Jericho's sounded very crisp and clear. So far, I'm overall impressed. The
bell rings and I get to the bout. The control's were rather easy to learn
and to get used to. The gameplay is very WWE Smackdown!-esque as far as
conrols and so on, but the move selling is done very well and I really do
like the length of time wrestler's stay down, opposed to the WWE Smackdown!
style. I do think that there could be more moves, such as weak and strong
grapples like WWE(F) No Mercy for Nintendo 64, but I did truly enjoy playing
it. I really love the counter system that is featured in WWE Wrestlemania
X-8 and I do believe that it definetly adds to the momentum and excitement
of a bout, especially during multi-player matches. The finishing maneuvers
are fairly easy to pull and while sometimes you can easily slip, it is still
rather easy to set up your opponent in the appropriate position for a
finishing maneuver. I like the momentum meter with the colors.....it nicely
reminds of that used in WWE(F) No Mercy, which I like. I do find quite a few
similarities to WWE(F) No Mercy that I am pleased with in this game. The
fact that you can perform ANY move on a table is a huge relief. Just being
able to do two moves or only doing a move besides a table is good, but
doesn't cut it for me. That really made me happy. Another feature that made
me very, very happy that may not seem like such a big deal to most players
is the return of multiple ring attire. I would have prefered four different
attires, but two if just fine for me and I'm just glad to see this feature
re-emerge. Finally, some wrestlers that should have had new attire game's
ago, got it! The Rock's tights have been the old, 1999 style for the last
few games and now, finally they are updates. Same with Chris Jericho and of
course Christian! I really like the bump and pixel mapping. Seeing the light
shine and reflect off of wrestler's tights, jackets, baby oiled-down skin
and so on is a really neat looking effect in my view. I really do like the
wrestler models. WWE RAW's wrestler models are obviously better and more
advanced, but I actually did find some examples where I thought a certain
few wrestlers looked actually better in this game than in WWE RAW like
Triple H and Chris Benoit. One thing I was a little dissapointed in. I
originally thought you would be able to defend titles against the CPU and
while in a sense you can, it is not quite like that of WWE(F) No Mercy for
Nintendo 64. You need to face a friend with a memory card to defend a belt
and can only edit the name and color while I originally thought the entire
belt, including the golden plates could be edited. That was a little bit
dissapointing, but it's still all good and I'm very, very satisfied. I like
the wrestler face motions and gestures and so on. Hmmmmm.....there's enough
fun arena's and wrestlers to unlock to definetly keep you busy. While it
does not feature an in-depth story mode, it's still fun and some really good
quality and entertaining bouts do come out of it. A couple of flaws, but not
many. Also, this is the first game that I have had as much genuine fun and
enjoyment, especially in the Hell In A Cell matches since WWE(F) No Mercy
for the Nintendo 64. I recall a bout where I was watching the entrances and
actually getting really, really hyped up for my bout. No game is perfect,
but this is as damn close as it gets thus far!"

TheUnprettier2k

"From the mind of the ManWhore comes a review of WWE's brand spanking new wresting title, Wrestlemania X8 (only for Nintendo Gamecube :p). My first impression was that this game ruled the school. Since I don't own an X-Box or a PS2, I haven't seen much at all of the highly touted Smackdown: JBI and Raw games. I'm used to playing No Mercy, so this game was a huge step up graphics-wise. My first disappointment came rather quickly, though, as the game's intro video was short and basically pointless. I shrugged it off and kept playing, but it wouldn't be the last time my hopes were broken.
I loved the intros although, as many have already stated, the lack of true music for a handful of grapplers really takes away from the game's so-called "theatrical feel". If this is supposed to be like how World Wrestling Entertainment is presented on television, shouldn't these athletes be allowed to come down to the music they use in real life? Ignoring that fact, I did like the gameplay. I was skeptical at first, but only because it's not something I'm used to. After playing through Revenge, Wrestlemania 2000, and No Mercy, it's hard to just switch over to a new engine, let alone a whole new system and controller. After a few bouts, I was having loads of fun. As I've already stated, the graphics blew me away, and the progress of the matches was fun and efficient.
The one element that really made me cringe, though, was the Create-a-Superstar feature. Come on, Warzone had more options than this! I admit, I had fun playing with the figure editor, creating shrunken heads and outrageously bloated waists, but other than that it was seriously lacking. I really do hope there are ways to obtain more clothing, moves, etc., because I expected so much more than this.
In conclusion, Wrestlemania X8 certainly did not live up to my expectations, at least not in some very crucial areas. Still, I will probably play it for years to come, just because I'm that big of a wrestling fan. If you like wrestling as much as I do, there's no way you could hate this game."

Sincerely,
Doug "The Immortal ManWhore" Applegate

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