International superstars take on the WCW and the nWo!!


     WCW vs. the World, T*H.Q.'s response to Activision's Power Move Pro Wrestling, features 60 (yes, that's sixty) wrestlers from organizations around the world, including World Championship Wrestling and the infamous new World order. While license has not been granted by these international organizations, discovering the identities of the characters becomes just another challenge in this excellent title, since the only item changed about a character is the name. All the most famous WCW wrestlers are included, such as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, The Giant, Ric Flair, Rick and Scott Steiner, Dean Malenko, Eddy Guerrero, Masa Hiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Steven Regal, Sting, Lex Luger, Chris Benoit, and Jeff Jarrett. Other stars, known as other names, of course, include Vader, ECW's Sabu, Ken Shamrock, Terry Funk, Road Warrior Hawk, Hakushi, and Jyushin "Thunder" Liger. Overall, with an unbelievable amount of wrestlers to choose from, this game most completely portrays the sport of professional wrestling.
     Graphically, the game has many positives and negatives. On the positive side, almost all of the wrestlers are recognizable upon first appearance, and each, for the most part, executes his signature moves just as in real life. The only variations are those characters that were added just for this port of the game (It was released as Virtual Pro Wrestling a while back); they don't have any outstanding holds. The characters are animated very well, with all of the moves smoothly being pulled off in 3d real time. On the down side the game suffers from awful polygon breakup and uneven character sizing. Many characters, especially the larger ones, completely sever in half when performing various holds. Some characters, who are supposed to be lightweights, have limbs the size of large hams. Overall, however, there is a nice variety in the graphics between the characters in terms of moves and animations.
     The sounds in this game stink, in plain English. The music is awful, as are the sound effects. The only redeeming quality is the sound of bones breaking during submission holds. Other than that, turn it off.
     As far as originality goes, it's a toss up. While the general style is quite similar to New Japan Pro Wrestling, the system of grappling and striking is quite innovative. The sheer number of characters is also groundbreaking, as 60 different styles compete for the various international crowns.
     This game has many different modes to choose from but only for one or two players. What this game really could have used is a Battle Royal or Tag Team option. The control for the most part is responsive, occasionally however it seems that some moves don't register properly. Most of the moves you perform depend upon the length of time you hold down the specified button. While you are holding down the button, however, you are very vulnerable to attack.
     This game is fun at first but after a while it gets boring. Some matches end way too quickly and even have one wrestler killing the other. Wrestling fans will continue playing because of the many different moves possessed by all of the characters, but casual gamers may tire of this one rather quickly.

And now for the grades...


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