WWE Wrestlemania X8
Reviewed by JPeeples
WWE WrestleMania X8 was released in June of 2002 for
the Nintendo Gamecube. WWE WM X8 was developed by
Yukes, the development house that created the first
3D wrestling game series, Toukon Retsuden. Yukes also
handled the development for the WWF/WWE SmackDown
games on the PlayStation systems. As the pioneers of
the 3D wrestling game, Yukes' games are held in high
regard among wrestling game fans. We expect the best
from then, sometimes they deliver, as they did with
every Toukon Retsuden game. And sometimes they slip
up, as evidenced by the omission of number basic
features in their most recent PS2 release, WWF
SmackDown: Just Bring It. Yukes has gone back to the
drawing board for this game, and they have
incorporated some of the best features of both the
Toukon Retsuden games, as well as the SmackDown
games, into the creation of this game. WWE WM X8
combines the speedy gameplay of the SmackDown games
while at the same time managing to maintain a
realistic match pace, as evidenced by the Toukon
Retsuden games. This perfect blend of speed and
pacing really makes the game a joy to play.
WM X8 is the first game to be released under the
ÒWorld Wrestling Entertainment" (WWE) name following
their many court battles (which the Federation lost)
to the World Wildlife Fund, which now owns the WWF
name. The old World Wrestling Federation scratch logo
still appears in this game, but the extraneous parts
of the game (disc, manual, packaging, etc. feature
the new WWE logo, which gets the ÒF" out. This game
also marks the first WWF/WWE video game appearances
by many of the WWF vs. WCW/ECW invasion wrestlers.
Contractual problems with many of the invasion
wrestler prevented them from appearing in any WWF/WWE
game at the time (any wrestler signed to a ÒWCW Inc."
contract, namely, each and every wrestler in the
invasion that wasn't already a part of the WWF/WWE
before the invasion began. These ÒWCW Inc." contracts
prevented any of these wrestlers from appearing in a
WWF/WWE game because the WCW name is still owned by
EA for use in interactive media, such as video games.
This game also marks the first appearance of the New
World Order (NWO) in a WWF/WWE game. The in-game NWO
(Hogan, Hall, and Nash) hadn't appeared in a WWF/WWE
game since the 16-bit era. Hogan was last featured in
the 1993 Genesis release of WWF Royal Rumble, Nash
hadn't been seen since the 1994 release of WWF Raw,
and Scott Hall hadn't been seen since the 1995
release of WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game. Seeing
these three wrestlers in a WWF/WWE game, under the
NWO gimmick no less, is certainly a surreal happening
for those of us who thought that we would never see
these men in a WWF/WWE ring again, let alone in
another video game. Now that all of the pomp and
circumstance is finished, it's time to get down to business.
The all-new gameplay engine is a near-perfect blend
of the methodical wrestling engine featured in the
Toukon Retsuden games and the fast-paced striking
engine used for the SmackDown games. The ground
submission system, which has been a weakness for
Yukes in everything but the Toukon Retsuden games,
has been overhauled to the point of perfection.
Submissions now last a proportionate amount of time
depending on when they are executed. If you attempt a
submission early on, it will only last for a short
while because your opponent is too alert to allow
that move to last for too long. However, if you
execute that very same move five, maybe ten minutes
later, it will be applied to an opponent longer
because your opponent is more fatigued. The same
principles that apply to submissions in pro
wrestling, apply to this game. This is a pleasant
change of pace from the poor submissions in the
SmackDown games, which featured a fixed time setting
for each submission. Gaping logic holes like that one
made the SmackDown games a bane for fans of realistic
pro wrestling action in video games.
The fast-paced striking system perfectly replicates
what is seen on WWE television today. Your strikes
are quick and sudden, and, much like on TV, your
opponent's selling of the move varies each and every
time. Unlike nearly every wrestling game out there,
each and every strike can be sold in many different
ways. A kick to the stomach, for example, can send an
opponent back, hunch them over, or knock them down.
This variety in selling ensures that each match will
be fresh and helps to prevent a sense of stagnation.
The combo system from the SmackDown games is back,
and, thankfully, Yukes opted to go with the combo
system from their arcade and Dreamcast game WWF Royal
Rumble in regards to actual execution. That game used
the SmackDown engine perfectly, and the combo system
was integrated perfectly. You had two striking moves
to set up a third, and final strike, which was viewed
as the most devastating in the bunch. The best part
is, unlike the SmackDown games, which pretty much
forced you to take the abuse, Royal Rumble, and this
game, allow you to block, and counter the strikes as
they happen. This simple technique prevents you from
taking any unnecessary abuse at the hands of your opponent.
The grappling system in the game, is, sadly, a
completely different story than the near-perfect
submission and striking systems used in the game.
Yukes has hacked the grappling down to a mere five
grapples from either a front or back position. To put
this in perspective, the first 3D wrestling game
ever, Toukon Retsuden, enabled you to do six front
grapples and three back grapples. Now one would
logically think that will nearly seven years of
developing games for a genre that they created, Yukes
would actually ADD features to such a rudimentary
aspect of wrestling. Sadly, that is not the case.
Hopefully, this is just a case of growing pains since
this is Yukes' first Gamecube game, but I doubt it.
It isn't all bad in regards to the grapples though.
They are easy to pull off, and they can be executed
in an instant, keeping the pacing of the game fast.
This instantaneous grappling system also lets you
keep the pacing methodical if you so desire, so you
get the best of both worlds. Unless you, for some odd
reason, want some level of variety in grapples, in
which case, you are out of luck.
You'll be able to test out the mixed bag gameplay
engine in many, many modes. You can have a regular
exhibition match, which, in and of itself, gives you
the chance to have ladder matches, hardcore matches,
TLC matches and Hell in a Cell matches. The
exhibition match mode gives you a nice bit of
variety. It is also great for fine-tuning your
in-game skills. These exhibition matches are pretty
much what you would expect if you have played other
wrestling games on the market. None of them, except
for the Hell in a Cell and TLC modes, do anything
new. These two modes do some small things that have
never been done before in a video game, and they
really help to make these modes feel complete.
Whereas other wrestling games had a Hell in a Cell
that was simply attached to the ring, the one
included in this game features a cell that goes
halfway between the ringside barriers and the ring,
just like the real deal. This simply touch really
adds a sense of realism that the HiaC modes lacked.
The TLC mode adds a plethora of little touches.
Things such as more tables, ladders, and chairs, that
other games lacked. These types of things would be
seen in the TV/PPV versions of the match, including
the ECW versions of the match. ECW, by the way, was
the first company to ever do a TLC match. This subtle
increase in on-screen realism adds a sense of
believability to the mode. You actually feel like you
are a part of history, since you can now accurately recreate it.
Speaking of recreating history, there are a number of
championships you can go after in this game. You've
got the usual assortment of WWE titles to go after in
the Path of a Champion mode, in which you fight a
fixed number of matches in order to get a title
match. This mode is nearly identical to the
Championship mode in WCW/NWO Revenge, only with
poorer execution. You see, Yukes opted to give you,
the player, the most non-sensical matches to go after
per title. You'll see Hell in a Cell matches when
going for the hardcore title. Matches against the Big
Show when going after the Light Heavyweight title
(which should be called the Cruiserweight title,
since the Light Heavyweight title was killed off in
February), and other illogical matches when going for
gold. Considering how idiotic it gets most of the
time, I am amazed that you only have tag matches when
going for the tag gold. However, no matter how bad
this mode is, it is light-years ahead of the idiotic
story modes featured in other games.
Even though the Path of a Champion mode is pretty
much a blow out, hope is not lost for those who
desire gold. For you see, Yukes added the greatest
mode ever in gaming to quench your thirst for
championship gold; the Battle for the Belts. In this
mode, you'll go through a set of matches (just like
the PoaC mode, stay with me here, the end result is
worth this hard-fought journey) in order to gain a
certain belt, which you decide to go after. Depending
the difficulty level of the game, you will go after
different belts, there are 51 title belts in total.
These belts are all real title belts, only the
non-WWF belts have some minor appearance changes to
prevent legal problems. There are WWF title belts in
this mode, WCW belts, ECW belts, AWA belts, NWA
belts, New Japan Pro-Wrestling belts, Pro Wrestling
NOAH belts, and even XPW belts to go after in this
game. This mode allows you to right the wrongs of
wrestling. Want to give ÒThe Crippler" Chris Benoit a
WCW World Heavyweight Title reign without
controversy? Go right ahead, while you're at it, give
him both versions of the WCW Word Title belt, just to
dot the exclamation point. You can also give Steve
Austin the WCW World Title reign he always should
have had, but didn't get due to the political games
of Eric Bischoff and ÒThe American Dream" Dusty
Rhodes. On top of being able to right the wrong of
the past, you can relive some of the greatest moments
in pro wrestling. Thanks to the NWA World Heavyweight
Title belt being in the game, you can recreate ÒThe
Nature Boy" Ric Flair's first World title win. Or,
you can give Lance Storm three titles at once, in an
effort to recreate his super-hot entry into World
Championship Wrestling. If you would like to get a
friend involved in the mix, you can unify your
titles. Hopefully, you won't go overboard, and unify
everything a few dozen times like the WWF did in late
2001 with their constant unification, then splitting,
of the WWF and WCW titles.
This mode is stroke of pure genius, and it is the one
think that really sets this game apart from the rest.
It can be the greatest mode ever made, if you embrace
it and use it to its fullest potential. It can also
be the most monotonous, pointless mode ever made, if
you just take it at face value and don't examine the
sheer history encompassed by the belts featured in
it. This is definitely one mode that gives you back
exactly what you put into it. If you have the
patience to go through the hardship of the chain of
opponents, you wall be rewarded with a title belt. A
belt which you can customize, albeit minutely, and
add your own personal touches to. If you choose not
to embrace this mode, you will be cutting the game
off at the knees. You will only be hurting yourself,
so just take advantage of what Yukes has bestowed upon you.
The game's Create a Superstar mode will let you
create many legendary wrestlers, who you will want to
create if you want to recreate some of wrestling's
most legendary battles. However, the mode is very
flawed. The amount of moves in the mode is stunted.
Yukes' first Create a Wrestler mode ever, in Toukon
Retsuden 3, gave you more options than this game
does. The appearance features of the mode are also
lacking, however, the game does give you appearances
that make the wrestlers look like they belong in the
game, unlike in the SmackDown games, where it was
near-to-nigh impossible to make anyone look like an
in-game character. Yukes saw fit to include some of
the faces of wrestlers who should be in the game to
begin. Diamond Dallas Page's face is in the game, as
are Billy and Chuck's faces, Maven's face in the game
as well. These men definitely should have been in the
game to begin with since they were all champions
going into WrestleMania. Not to mention that Billy
and Chuck had been World Tag Team champions since
February, and a team since October of 2001. DDP was
European champion going into, and coming out of
WrestleMania X8, there is no reason he shouldn't be
in the game. Maven is in the same boat as DDP, he was
the Hardcore champion going into, and coming out of,
WrestleMania. I can't believe Yukes would do such a
copout as this, but, they did. At least they put
their parts in the CaS mode. The best thing I can say
about this mode is that it could be worse, and that
at least the wrestlers you create look like they
belong in the game.
Now that I am done dissecting how this game ranks as
an accurate representation of pro wrestling, it's
time to judge it as a game. Graphically, the game is
splendid. The character models are full of life, and
they really give off the same kind of personality as
their real-life counterparts. The character models
are nearly perfect, and they are even shiny, which
does a great job at reflecting the copious amounts of
oil used by wrestlers. I could do without the shiny
look when it comes to the clothing though, the
Hurricane looks like an action figure. The
animation for nearly everything is nearly perfect.
However, the collision detection is horrid in some
places. Arms and legs tend to pass through the
opponent's body, which sure doesn't help to achieve a
sense of realism. Also, collision detection for the
game's many weapons is spotty, at best. When things
such as chairs, and other weapons with relatively
simple shapes are used, it's all right, but when you
use a garbage can, or a fire extinguisher, the odd
shapes really cause problems. Entire portions of the
weapon will pass through an opponent, and it really
harms the sense of realism in the game. There is some
good with the collision detection though, which,
given how specific it is, makes me wonder how on
Earth a simple issue such as weapon-based collision
detection can be such an issue. You see, when you
execute a move on someone, it will actually cause the
ring to shake. When more than two wrestlers are in
the ring, a third or fourth wrestler will be knocked
a little bit loopy if they are too close to the
people executing the move. The severity of this
effect depends on the power of the move. A body
slam's effect would likely just lead to the other
wrestler(s) being dazed, while a high-powered move,
such as a Rock Bottom, would likely lead to the other
participants being knocked down. The graphics in the
game are, for the most part, great. The only real
hang-up lies in the collision detection, which really
does need some work.
The control of the game is spot-on perfect. The
button configuration is logical and adds to the game.
It works with the player, instead of against him, as
is sadly the case in other wrestling games on the
market. The controls are responsive, and perfectly
suit the game engine. However, the inability to use
the directional pad, even for menus, is a negative
point. The analog stick is simply far too sensitive,
and it can lead to you picking the wrong match type,
or other needless errors that waste time, and could
be easily avoided if you were able to use the d-pad.
The sound in the game is yet another mixed bag. The
game features quite possibly the worst in-game music
ever in a wrestling game. This is coming from someone
who actually liked the faux-techno featured in the
Aki games. This game features generic music that
sounds like grade-A elevator music, the kind of stuff
you would hear in a dentist's office, although not as
bad as the shrieks coming from the office of the
dreaded Isaac Yankem. Speaking of music, the theme
music for many of the game's wrestlers has seen some
radical changes due to these wonderful things called
copyright laws. You see, the WWF has had the habit
over the past few years of using production music,
and other copyrighted music, on their telecasts. Now,
most of the time, they only used a couple of songs,
which made their transitions to games relatively
painless. THQ, who, as the publisher, is responsible
for dealing with this kind of thing, had the time to
take care of the legality in getting a couple of
songs featured in their games. However, this game
features around 20 wrestlers who use either
production music, or copyrighted music. Herein lies
the problem, there were simply too many themes to
secure the rights to, and not enough time to get the
rights. So THQ, knowing they couldn't get the rights
in time, simply went with music they could use. They
either had Yukes make it, or they used WWF-owned
tracks which fit the wrestlers. In some cases, like
the Hardy Boyz, who now use an instrumental version
of ÒLive For the Moment", off of Forceable Entry, the
song fits. In some cases, like the in-game NWO theme,
it doesn't. It's a give-and-take battle here. Some
themes fit, some don't. This kind of thing will
happen, and it could be worse. Be thankful the theme
music situation turned out as well as it did.
The replay value for this game is simply through the
roof. You've got tons of secret characters to unlock,
and the deep gameplay will keep you glued to the
screen for weeks as you try and unravel it. The
Battle for the Belts mode is the make-it or break-it
mode for the replay value. You can make the most last
for years, or you can just toss it by the wayside.
Hopefully, you'll go with the former.
All in all, WWE WrestleMania X8 is one of the finest
wrestling games I have ever played. The game features
an excellent submission and striking system, as well
as a sub-par grappling system that needs to be
severely retooled. The game's constant use of
animation helps to keep the game fresh, especially in
regard to the selling of moves. The game's Battle for
the Belts mode is the bread and butter of the game.
It will either give you the most bang for the buck,
or send you crying back to return the game. Those who
are tough enough to endure the hardest of the game's
many difficulty settings, and be rewarded with some
highly sought-after belts, will love the mode. The
game's controls are great, and perfectly suit the
game engine. The CaS mode is a huge disappointment,
but it could be worse. The omission of some
wrestlers, especially those who were champions at
WrestleMania, is simply inexcusable. Especially since
the game is named after the event. The missing
wrestlers have been wondrously omitted from the
game's video packages, although these omissions
really show just how much butchering was done to them
since they are missing. If you are a wrestling fan
looking for the best that money can buy in regards to
next-gen wrestling games, you will get your money's
worth out of this game. You can't go wrong with this
game, it combines the best of two game engines into
one nice package. If you are a fan of WWF Royal
Rumble for the Dreamcast, you will love this game. It
is basically a souped-up version of it.
Overall: 7 out of 10