awoolcott's Full Review: WWF Royal Rumble for Dreamcast
WWF Royal Rumble is the third wrestling game on Dreamcast, the second WWF one. Following the "legendary" tradition of such all-time "classics" like WWF Attitude and ECW Hardcore Revolution (for those who don't know I'm being sarcastic), WWF Royal Rumble thankfully is a lot better of a game than those two. THQ, since gaining rights to do WWF games, has done a excellent job, producing one of the best wrestling games ever in WrestleMania 2000 for N64, and WWF SmackDown for PlayStation ain't too bad either. While WWF Royal Rumble doesn't completely stack up to those two games, it still is a fun diversion while it lasts.
First off, if you expect the depth of WM2000 or SmackDown, you WILL be disappointed. There is very little features or depth to Rumble, and for good reason. This is an ARCADE game, not a wrestling "simulation" (don't laugh). It's sort of like a wrestling version of NFL Blitz or NBA Jam, or even better, it's WWF Tekken. It takes the core of wrestling, the actual matches, and adds a fast-paced frenzy to the action, like Blitz does for the NFL. At the heart it's a fighting game, just not with complex combos and complex moves. It's button mashing at it's best (or worst), with a handful of actual moves you can pull off with relative ease. Hint - don't expect a lot and you will enjoy this game (at least for a while).
Features - The features are indeed very limited in this game, especially for a $50 dollar disc. There isn't a lot of wrestlers to pick from (19 regular and two hidden), due to the arcade nature of this game. The game modes are just as lacking, though that isn't always that bad - the two they present are very entertaining if you are in the mood for mindless action. And those modes are...
Arcade Mode - Arcade is split into two modes itself - Exhibition and Royal Rumble. Exhibition is your typical ladder-style arcade mode - fight 10 opponents and beat the game. For this particular game mode, you select your wrestler (obviously). As an added bonus, you select a partner, who sits outside of the ring awaiting your command. You select their move set (from three different types) and head to the ring. Now when you fight your match, you may do one of the combinations that you chose for your partner and do doubleteam attacks. Some of them are usual doubleteam moves like double slams or suplexes, and some are individual sneak attack moves (for instance you can get Stone Cold to run in and Stun someone and slither out of the ring). This adds some drama to the fast-paced (and short) matches, because both you and the computer opponent can pull this off as well (or a human opponent can enter the game and do the same tactics). It's a nice innovative feature, keeping the game fresh for a while, trying out the different doubleteam moves.
Then there is the Royal Rumble mode. As you might expect, it revolves around the WWF's version of the 30 man battle royal match. Oddly, because there is only 21 wrestlers, there are a LOT of repeats. Add that to the fact that up to 99 participants can participate, it makes it even worse. You see, YOU have to eliminate everyone. You can't just sit there and dilly-dally around and wait until there is no one left. If the computer keeps eliminating wrestlers, they will just regenerate. Now if you get eliminated, you get to re-enter the Rumble as well, picking up where you left off. While the really bizarre nature of this Rumble is irritating sometimes, it does add some more excitement to the frenzy of NINE men in the ring at a time. This mode is also available for multiple human opponents, which is really what this game is supposed to be, a multiplayer game.
VS Mode - Obviously this is the standard multiple player mode of WWF Royal Rumble. This mode is sort of like a Tornado match, where 2 to 4 players can choose their wrestler and interference partner for the match. So up to 8 wrestlers can be in the ring at a time, with interference, but it's a more typical 4 player (known as a Fatal Four-way) match.
Graphics - Looking at the graphics, you can immediately tell they are built off of the SmackDown engine, right down to the animations. Just look at Austin pulling of a suplex to see the uncanny resemblance. That definitely isn't a bad thing, because SmackDown's engine was excellent. The actual graphics themselves are touched up quite a bit from SmackDown, presenting a much cleaner and less rough looking game. The wrestlers look more human-like than robots (definitely a good thing). The other areas, like arena details are also improved with a WWF Royal Rumble stage setup, and TV announcers at the side of the ring (yet..). There is even a ref in the ring, something that hasn't been seen since the days of Power Move Pro Wrestling (SmackDown DID have a ref in the be-a-ref mode, but that was a wrestler as a ref, not an actual referee). While the graphics aren't mind-blowing, they are more than adequate.
Sound - In typical THQ fashion, not much there. As with SmackDown, there is NO announcers, and NO wrestler voices. Actually the only voice is the sound of the referee counting to three. While I don't really mind that, it DOES take away the feel of the game. You can't tell me that in an arcade game that an announcer screaming off moves and generally bantering wouldn't add to the game's excitement. And a wrestler's voice clip every once in a while ain't all that bad either. THQ probably needs to learn that voices and announcers add a tremendous amout to their games - they SHOULD know, they had announcers in WCW Nitro and WCW/NWO Thunder (oh...nevermind). During the matches though, there is some hard rock music that you fight to - but you probably won't notice it during the matches - it's that forgettable.
Control/Gameplay - Controlling the action CAN be a chore at times, until you get used to it. One really nice feature is allowing both digital and analog control (something that ALL DC games should allow), so if you are uncomfortable with analog, you can use both that and digital as part of the learning process. The problem is, you have to point to the opponent to attack. Normally you would run in the general direction of your opponent, but in Rumble you have to aim perfectly with the pad in order to pull off the moves. Before you get used to it, it can get annoying when you miss, creating an opening for your opponent to take advantage of you. Also, once you perform a punch combo (pressing the punch button 4 times), if you miss one, you still have to execute all 4, leaving yourself WIDE open for attack. This is especially a pain in the Rumble mode, because missing the punches can leave you open to be tossed out of the ring. Sure you could chalk it up to experience learning, but it can get annoying when you get smashed because one punch got all air.
But pulling off the moves isn't too bad though. Of course there isn't a lot of moves either, just the trademark moves of each wrestler. If you can successfully stun your opponent, you may pull off a mid-level attack move (like the Rock's over the flip-over DDT, or Rikishi's press-neckbreaker). As you pull off the moves, you build up your "S" meter. Once you get three "S" icons, you can execute your finishing move, by pressing the R trigger button. Some wrestlers have two finishers (The Rock has the Rock Bottom and the People's Elbow depending on the situation). A cool graphical effect of the finishers is the blur effect that shows when you successfully pull them off. Careful though - miss the move once and you have to start over gaining the "S" icons.
Overall - I give WWF Royal Rumble three stars for one reason - I found this game to be a LOT of fun, despite the short shelf life (a couple weeks at best) for the single player mode. The multiplayer mode can have a longer life (maybe a month). While I don't really care much for button mashers like Rumble, I realize that this is an arcade game - NOT a simulation. So, if you take this game as the arcade game this is supposed to be, you will definitely enjoy it. If you don't like arcade games, and want a simulation, you will be highly disappointed. While there are a lot of weaknesses in this game, it still is a lot of fun to play. Give it a rent and see for yourself, or play the arcade game (which I assume is at arcades now). Who knows? You may just like it!
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