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DEVELOPER
AKI Corporation
PUBLISHER
THQ
AVAILABLE
Now
MEDIUM
128 Meg Cartridge
PLAYERS
4
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 s strange as this may sound to many readers, I've actually been looking forward to WCW/nWo Revenge more than many of this year's "big name" titles, not to name names. Last year's WCW/nWo World Tour was great, and Revenge does nothing but improve upon it. When you first turn on Revenge, be sure not to hit Start. If you let it go beyond the first few screens, you're treated to a very long intro that shows off the improved graphics of the sequel. This year's effort looks much cleaner and more refined than World Tour. Wrestlers have real height values (Rey Mysterio no longer looks eye to eye with Kevin Nash), and the faces, although many resemble cardboard cutout masks, are nearly exact representations of their real life faces. The only real polygon breakup that's noticeable is during the replays. After each match, the last 10 seconds or so is shown in a slow motion, close-up replay with a midi of the Nitro theme playing. Many times during the replay, you'll cringe at the missing polys, but again, it doesn't detract from the game play at all.  One of the biggest gripes I have with Revenge is with the horribly out of place music. Why put a painfully slow background track in time with a Lucha Libre Battle Royal? This problem could be easily remedied with a music select, since there are about three fast ones, but instead when you start a match you're stuck with the "randomly" selected one. In any event rather than taking a gamble every match, just turn the music off and play one of your favorite CD's in the background. Let's face it. Wrestling games are not unlike Mortal Kombat games in that many people just want to see the finishing moves. Fortunately the developer has gone out of its way to research the signature moves of each of the wrestlers. Everything from Saturn's DVD and Rings of Saturn to a much cooler version of Nash's Jack-Knife Power bomb are included. Jericho's "Come on Baby!" pin is even in here! And for all of you marks out there, the Goldberg moves look fantastic. Another cool new addition is the ring entrances. After choosing the venue, out of Monday Nitro and a few select PPV arenas, every wrestler comes down the aisle and poses, then walks to the ring and then does a different pose. Sadly there's no wrestler specific theme music, but instead just two songs. The first is an odd remix of the Nitro theme, and the other is typical heel music. Revenge basically features the same modes as World Tour, with a few new additions. The Championship mode this year allows you to win any of the WCW belts, and doing so unlocks a hidden character. Also added this year is the Forty man battle royal. The name is a tad deceiving since only four may participate at a given time, but as soon as one man is eliminated the next runs down the aisle. Lastly, there's a new Costume Change mode, which allows you to take any wrestler and give them an nWo or Wolfpac shirt. It's pretty much just a way to keep the game semi-up to date until next year. Unfortunately, there's still no create-a-player this year.  This is really a feature that needs to be in all sports games, wrestling included. I'm not sure exactly why it was left out, but I guess we'll have to wait another year. The game play is almost identical to World Tour. If you played WT at all, you'll feel right at home. If not, here's a quick summary. Tapping 'A' does a weak grapple, which in turn only allows you to do weaker moves. Holding 'A' for about 2 seconds does a strong grapple which lets you perform the wrestler's more powerful moves. There are also punch, block, and dodge buttons, but you should pretty much get the gist of it. You also have a spirit meter which fills as you gain momentum in the match.  As you do more damage to your opponent, your meter gains a bit until finally it fills up, letting you perform your finishing maneuvers. To most, the most appealing part of Revenge is the multiplayer modes. Just like last year, you aren't going to find a better party game on the N64. Use the Championship mode to unlock the hidden characters, and then invite 3 friends over to school them into the wee hours. If you're a WCW fan who liked the game play of World Tour, then there's no question about it: you need this game. WCW/nWo Revenge is easily the best wrestling game ever to be released here in the states.
-- Bob McTague
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