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WWF No Mercy

Score: 80%
ESRB: Teen
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Jakks Pacific
Media: Cartridge/1
Players: 1 - 4
Genre: Fighting

Graphics & Sound:

Once again, THQ has done a masterful job detailing every possible thing in WWF No Mercy. The graphics look bad ass. End of story. Muscle definition looks incredible, and wrestler models fit the mold. Also, the ten different Backstage Areas follow the real-life show magnificently. You can tell that a lot of the graphics and other things were used from WWF Wrestlemania 2000, which also was a killer game. But why not follow up a great looking game with another great looking game?

The sounds are something I've always had a problem with from THQ. Nobody talks!!! All they give are bubble icons. Plus, no Good Ole J.R. or King for the play-by-play. I know that is a little too much to ask from Nintendo, but can't a man dream? I will say that the music is top notch, and you can hear the smack being laid down on everyone. It's just that I miss the commentary.


Gameplay:

WWF No Mercy is back to follow up the very successful WWF Wrestlemania 2000. The big difference between the two is the new wrestlers, moves and match styles. You can play around with 65 wrestlers, including all your favorites, with all new weapons and stables. Be the Hardy Boyz and take on a tag team in the all new Ladder Match. Or enter in as the Dudley's, and give the infamous Dudley 3D Death Drop! Anything's possible with the brand new tag team moves. Plus, each wrestler has their signature taunts and finishing move, including The Rock's People's Elbow, Rikishi's Stink Face, Stone Cold's Stunner and many, many more.

There are a number of different matches to play around with in an exhibition setting such as Guest Referee, Ladder Match, Iron Man, Royal Rumble, Survival and King of the Ring. Plus, there are a few game modes to play with: Multi-Play, Single Play, and Commissioner. With the Multi-Play, you play with the computer or your friends in whichever types of matches you choose. In the Commissioner mode, you can Create-A-Wrestler, Edit a Superstar, change wrestling stables around, along with being able to improve your superstar by purchasing anything from ring attire to more powerful moves. Finally, the Single Play mode is much like a career, where you take a wrestler from the beginning of his/her career, and try to win the Championship Belt. Throughout the game, enter into the rings with numerous types of matches, or go backstage and kick someone's ass back there. Make alliances with wrestlers along with enemies, to intertwine with the new storylines. However, I did think that the storylines didn't follow what the real life wrestler would say or do. For example, I was the Undertaker who called Stephanie McMahon a sleazy, trashy whore bag in the game (ala Chris Jericho), and then apologized later on. What the hell??? If anything, Undertaker would Choke-Slam her to HELL!!!


Difficulty:

There are five different levels of difficulty for WWF No Mercy: Beginner, Easy, Normal, Hard and Expert. Believe me, the higher the difficulty, the more your opponents will show no mercy. Plus, the AI will catch on to your tendencies regarding your attacking style, so be prepared for some reversals and counterpunches. Also, change up the settings like TKO's, Rope Breaks, and Count Outs to increase the difficulty if you get too bored.

Game Mechanics:

So with the great graphics, gameplay and difficulty, all we need is a sweep with Game Mechanics to make this a top-notch game. Guess what? No sweep. I think that with the amount of detail that was put into the graphics, things got slower. When you're playing a single player game, the game speed runs fine. However, when there are more than two people in the ring, it almost seems like everything goes into slow motion. This is the only thing that kept WWF No Mercy from getting a perfect score.

The controller configuration was just as easy as years past. A and B perform your moves, with a little help from your control stick. And save what you want, when you want. Both of those features were easy.

Like I just said, it came down to game speed for the perfect score. Although that didn't deliver, the rest of WWF No Mercy did. Enjoy, and don't show any mercy playing your friends!


-Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications
AKA Alex Redmann

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