[an error occurred while processing this directive] | WM X-8: SWC Reader Reviews Part 3
Posted On: June 24, 2002
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I know its been a few days, so here is a few more WM X-8 reader reviews to satisfy your appetite:
Entrances: 9.5
Graphics: 7
Sound: 6
Gameplay: 8.5
Overall: 7.3
Hi, it’s Nommy. I just got Gamecube and WMX8 on Saturday, cause it’s my
birthday(the 24th) and I thought I’d help SWC a little and post my views on the
game. I’ll split my reviews into two parts, good points and bad points, then
I’ll take it from there.
Good Points
- Alternate Costumes. Although there are just two costumes, this is a plus
compared to any of the Smackdown Series games, as they had no other variations
for clothing.
- Great Roster. WMX8 contains wrestlers that the WWE has never carried
before, including Booker T, Hogan, Nash, Hall, Rob Van Dam, Lance Storm, and
Hurricane. This is a plus, but the lack of their normal wrestlers kind of brings
this category down, as stars like Hardcore Holly, Billy Gunn, Kidman, and Al
Snow don’t make an appearance in the game.
- Easily Done Finishers. This adds to the realism of the game as the
finishers are done by just pressing A+B at the same time. This makes the moves
look more fluent.
- Entrances and Arenas. They look amazing. Although the wrestler’s walks down
the aisle look shaky, the pyros and taunts look spectacular. And the arenas are
beautifully imitated.
- Good Combos. The wrestlers of WMX8 are now equipped with combos, which can
be done by rapidly pressing the B button. The combos mimic the wrestlers actual
combos and when done properly in the game, look crisp.
- Fluent and Crisp Moves. I’ve already talked about them and that’s because I
think they play a major role in how you will like this game.
- “Here Comes The Money”. Yes! Finally, Shane gets his music put in. The
music my CAW will make his way out to the ring to. In such a dark section, which
the music happens to be in WMX8, there’s a bit of hope!
- Big/Normal Hell In The Cell. After all the complaining given to the
producers of the Smackdown Series and Raw, they came through and built the
original Cell. And playing HIAC is just half the fun. Putting your opponents
through the roof looks a lot more realistic then in SD and the fact that you
can’t fall off every time adds realism. I also enjoy that you have to Irish Whip
your opponent about three times into the cell to break it. It may be more time
consuming, but it ends up creating a better match. The one thing I don’t like
about HIAC is that the side of the cell just disappears into thin air once it’s
broken through. I thought they could have done something better with it.
Bad Points
- The Sound/Music. There’s no way to sugar-coat it. This is one of the most
noticeable flaws of the game, and it looks like the WWE didn’t care, as I’d
estimate about half the wrestlers don’t even have the right theme. As I
mentioned, the addition of “Here Comes The Money” boosts the points in this
helpless category.
- Graphics. Sure, the wrestlers look great and the entrances
make you want to buy the game immediately, but as far as the graphics during the
matches go, it’s not pretty. The graphics are quite glitchy. I started to notice
this once I put one of my opponents on an announcers table and I noticed that
half their face had some how been engulfed into the wood.
- Weapons/Wrestlers Oversized. As others have
mentioned, the weapons are oversized, such as cookie sheets being the size of
the Rock. It’s noticeable. I also took a look at the height of some of the
wrestlers and I noticed that some tend to be bigger than others. That’s normal,
but the fact that Hulk Hogan is two times as tall as Rikishi isn’t
comprehensible.
- No Blood. Yeah, the Smackdown Series didn’t
have it, but I had my fingers crossed on this one. I guess we can only pray when
WMX9 comes out(if there is one).
- Memory Card! Yeah, I’m lucky I picked up one
because I didn’t realize that a wrestling game would need the card. I just
figured that since No Mercy didn’t need one for N64, that WMX8 wouldn’t need one
for GC. The Card is needed for Path of A Champion (which I’ll get to in a
minute) and CAW(which I’ll also get to).
- Path of A Champion(PAC). It’s just WcW nWo
Revenge’s Championship mode. No story mode or anything. I had heard about this
before so it wasn’t a shock.
- Triple Threat Matches. More like a Handicap
Match. This is because the computer must have a tough time recognizing who’s
who. This makes the Triple Threat Matches during PAC long, and hard. Not to
mention boring.
- After Match. Although I’ve heard some
compliment this, I don’t like any bit of the after match. First, no replay. I
loved the replay in No Mercy. It made the match worth-while. Watching your
opponent eat canvas. And atleast in No Mercy, your opponent didn’t get up right
AFTER the pin. In WMX8 the opponent gets right up after he’s beaten and then
stumbles around the ring. I didn’t find it amusing.
- Create-A-Wrestler. The only plus I really saw
is that there are 16 CAW spots for each memory card. Not bad. But CAW is quite
limited. Only have 16 total faces to choose from makes the game’s CAW mode look
inferior when compared to that of SD. Moves are also quite limited. I don’t
remember seeing that many finishers for wrestlers who weren’t in the game. Maybe
a Fame-Ass-er here or there.
This concludes my review for WrestleMania X8
for GameCube(only ;)). I wound up giving the game a 7.3, because I felt as
though through all the bad things I was able to point out, that I thought the
game was solid enough to buy, but definitely worth atleast renting. I hope you
post this Soxx, or I wasted an hour of my time :(.
PeAcE,
Nommy
Reader Review: Wrestlemania X8 for Nintendo
Gamecube
Written by: SWC Forums' IAmTheGame Version 4.0
I'll first start by saying this game is not for everyone. If you hated
everything about Playstation 2's Smackdown games, then I would definitely not
recommend Wrestlemania X8. While the gameplay is a mix of the Smackdown and
Wrestlemania 2000 / No Mercy styles, I feel that it more favors Smackdown in
that it has an arcade feel to it, and the way moves are performed is very
similar to the Smackdown games.
Graphics: Wrestlemania X8 is the best looking wrestling game I have ever
played. The intros are absolutely beautiful, and the in-game character
models look frighteningly real at times. Body models are done very, very
well. The only problems are that sometimes a wrestler's body will partially
blend into the ropes or another wrestler, but this is not all that
noticeable, and to me not a major drawback.
Sound: Wrestling moves make very odd sounds. When a wrestler pulls back on
an opponent's head in a headlock, a very awkward crunching sound is heard.
When you climb the turnbuckle and touch the ropes, even stranger sounds are
made. The in-game beats are very non-wrestling like keyboard / electronic
music, and it doesn't complement the action inside the ring well at all. The
only bright spot as far as sound goes is the intros. Music is crystal clear,
leaps and bounds better than the previous Nintendo wrestler, WWF No Mercy.
Many people are complaining about the lack of music for the nWo, Booker T,
and many more, but I actually like the themes that replaced the missing
songs. With the exception of the Hardyz music, all the new themes either
have a sound or rythym similar to the real theme. No matter what others say,
I think the "new" nWo theme sounds great, it fits their style fine.
Gameplay: Like I previously mentioned, basic grapples are performed almost
exactly like the Playstation's Smackdown series. Most other actions are
performed with a combination of the A button and the X, Y, or B buttons.
This can be very awkward at times though, since you can easily do a running
attack to someone when all you wanted to do was irish whip them. Similar
problems occur when trying to pick up a weapon- if you are anywhere near an
opponent, you will probably do something to them instead. Fortunately, even
though moves are performed in an arcade-like manner, the match physics are
extremely realistic. Wrestlers sell moves very well, and the attitude meter
will shift colors very quickly with reversals, just like it should.
Basically, if you can imagine a perfect mix of Smackdown's move style and No
Mercy's realism, this is it. It also feels very comfortable to be able to
move with the control stick instead of the d-pad, something I have never been
able to do in a wrestling game till now. One glitch in the gameplay which
should be mentioned is that once you begin a taunt, you cannot end it until
the motion is finished, or you are attacked by an opponent. In other games
you can press strike or grapple to abruptly finish a taunt, but you can't
here, so be careful.
Overall presentation: Excellent. Great menus and overall appearance. The
game's intro is very weak, but the end credits make up for it. Once you
complete Path of a Champion mode and see the end credits, try and pay
attention to the music. Unlike the odd in-game beats, the music played here
is very, very cool to listen to, and it complements the movie extremely well.
Matches: Hell in a Cell is perfect, much, much better than Smackdown's
version. You get a full, expanded cell instead of just a linked cage, and it
is easier to break through the top, something everyone loves to do. Ladder
and TLC matches are very similar, and are both very fun, but not quite as
perfect as No Mercy's ladder match. In Wrestlemania X8, if you have the
right positioning, all you need to do is climb and press X once to grab the
belt. No Mercy's ladder match was very dramatic in that you needed to
rapidly press B to grab the belt, and this added so much intensity to the
match. I'd like to see something more dramatic like this implemented into
the ladder match for the sequel to this game. Table match is a weak point.
All you need to do is perform any basic move which will smash your opponent
through a table, and you win. If done properly, you could win the match in
about 10 seconds like this. Once again, in the game's sequel, it would help
to add something in to make this match more dramatic and harder to win.
Royal Rumble is unique, in that once someone is thrown over the top, they
will always hang on to the bottom rope. As you stomp them, they will
drastically become weaker, and if you throw them over when their attitude
meter is already blue (blue = danger, green = regular, red = powerful), you
should be able to eliminate them with a few stomps. However, due to this
innovative idea, it can take a very long time to win a Royal Rumble match.
Modes: Path of a Champion is the mode which you use to unlock wrestlers. You
fight through 8 matches (the final which pits you against the champion for
the belt you selected), and you try to win each bout to become the champion.
Basic stuff, a decent mode, but nothing special. Battle for the Belts is
structured in a similar manner, but instead of becoming the champion of a WWE
belt, you are competing for made-up belts, many different titles for each
difficulty level. The main attraction for this mode is that once you win one
belt, you can face a friend with a memory card who also has won this belt in
a unification match, and the person who wins is the official holder of the
belt. This is exciting at first, but quickly loses its flair.
Lasting Appeal: High. There are many wrestlers to choose from in this game,
and you can always try and win each belt in the Battle for the Belts mode,
something which is clearly not an easy task. Multiplayer is very exciting in
this game, with its heavy counter-based engine.
This game definitely met my expectations, as I grew up on the Smackdown
series and learned to love the N64 wrestling games like WWF No Mercy. Yukes
has definitely made a large accomplishment by blending these two very
different styles so well. I would recommend this game to any WWE Gamecube
fan, unless you absolutely despise the Smackdown series, since it is a very
large influence on this game.
Final Rating: 8/10. Not quite as good as Wrestlemania 2000 or No Mercy, but
is anything?
- SWC's IAmTheGame Version 4.0
Hey guys! First of all I really really think that thq
could have done a much better job on this one. I mean really, Booker T's music
is some generic ya hoo beat, and no hollywood hogan (jimi hendrix) voodoo child.
I can not believe that you can't even edit an existing wrestler. Like make hogan
the red and yellow. I mean come on really. The thing that makes me more angry
than anything else is how all the finishing moves look like they did in
Smackdown! Just Bring It. When you do the stunner on a 600 pound big show, he
decides to join the circus, and do some backflips. I mean come on we all know he
ain't going to do all that just from getting stunned. Nice nwo theme, nothing
like the real thing. It looks like they were a bit lazy while putting the
finishing moves in. The Rock Bottom, Stunner, Show Stopper, Angle Slam,
Chokeslam from hell, Undertaker Chokeslam, Last Ride, Edge ddt, Razor's edge,
Jacknife Powerbomb, Walls of Jericho, Regal Cutter, and Bubba Cutter all look
the same as they did on Smackdown for the Playstation 2. No DDP, X-PAC, BROCK
LESNAR, JAZZ, TORRIE WILSON, KIDMAN, BILLY AND CHUCK, AND NO CHIA PET LOOKING
RICO! But, I have never played a better wrestling game, because of the graphics,
and collision detection was tremendous. I give them an applause for that.
Definetely worth $49.99, and definetely worth buying the nintendo gamecube for.
I rate this game on a one to ten scale, a 8, and it is because of the games lack
of storyline, and create a wrestler. My personal review is now over. Thank you
SWC.
Sincerly, Shane NELSON
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