ECW Hardcore Revolution
- January 01, 2000 00:00 AM PST
Say "ECW" to a wrestling fan, and you'll typically get one of two reactions - they either hate it or love it. The same goes with Acclaim's series of wrestling games, starting with the breakthrough WWF War Zone, then WWF Attitude and now ECW Hardcore Revolution. Unfortunately, even with new features and new wrestlers, Hardcore Revolution is just a remake of Attitude with the same old problems.
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As Hardcore As Warm Butter
ECW Hardcore Revolution will give hardcore wrestling fans most of they want in a wrestling title, from women and weapons to barbed-wire and blood. You'll see 43 of the ECW's best wrestlers over the course of Career mode, plus a handful of jobbers that you'll have to take down to rise in ranking. The ECW is all about violence, and so is Hardcore Revolution, as you wield buttloads of weapons, perform neck-cracking moves, or sling opponents into the barbed-wire "ropes." Those disappointed by SmackDown!'s lack of blood can get your rocks off here - there's more blood in Hardcore Revolution than in Count Dracula's icebox.
If you liked WWF War Zone, then you probably liked WWF Attitude, so you should also like ECW Hardcore Revolution, unless you've been seduced by the glitz and glamour of EA's and THQ's recent wrestling efforts. Acclaim's game is a workmanlike and relatively sparse overall experience, the moves and the match dominate over the pomp and circumstance.
The Same F'n Show
Hardcore Revolution looks like Attitude should have looked, and even on the N64 the textures are decent and the frame rate clips along. Characters look like they should, though they still move with the same lack of personality as those in Attitude. To compete with the current N64 king, Wrestlemania 2000, ECW needs quite a bit more show. It looks fine, but you may find yourself looking for something more interesting to watch.
You can hear the crowd and follow their mood swings, and the announcing is actually top-notch for the N64, right up there with the excellent play-by-play in WCW Mayhem. The problem is that the sound bites from the wrestlers themselves seem rather out-of-place, with quotes spouting off in the middle of a match, and gruesome grunts and whines when the characters are caught in holds.
After playing Mayhem or Wrestlemania 2000, ECW's controls seem needlessly difficult, but Attitude veterans will pick it right up. That's because the controls are exactly the same as Attitude's, with all of Attitude's frustrations included. Why is it harder for a character to whip the opponent into the ropes than it is to do a pinning powerbomb? Some would say the difficulty gives more depth, but Mayhem had more moves, and Wrestlemania 2000 is simply more fun.
Don't Give Me That Attitude
Attitude fans who dig the ECW might want to give this one a look, but if you really want to play ECW wrestlers, then try to create them in Wrestlemania 2000 or Mayhem. In an age where both wrestling games and wrestling itself are centering on the show behind the sport, Acclaim's difficult and bland engine is showing its age.
