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Rating: Awesome I'm always talking about what "the ultimate wrestling game" would be like in my reviews of wrestling games. Well, it's here. This is it. The combination of WCW/NWO Revenge's gameplay engine, the WWF's wrestlers, and the Road to Wrestlemania mode make WWF Wrestlemania 2000 the best wrestling game ever released by far. Even the best wrestling game of all time isn't without its fair share of flaws. The sound quality of the entrance music is incredibly low, to the point that it makes you wonder if it was made that low-quality intentionally as a practical joke. The crowd noises aren't a whole lot different than they were in Revenge, which means they're pretty bad. The TitanTron videos that play during entrances should have been removed from the game because they're so grainy. All of the wrestlers are pretty much the same size in the ring, and moves are executed regardless of anybody's real-life size. Fortunately, these flaws are very easy to ignore when you're playing the game because it's just so damn fun. The gameplay is based on the same engine as WCW/NWO Revenge. There haven't been any drastic changes made, but everything seems to have been tweaked for the better. In particular, the Artificial Intelligence is much more fair, smart, and balanced than it ever was in Revenge. The control interface and basic gameplay mechanics put WWF Attitude to shame. Wrestlemania's control set-up is a lot more intuitive than having to enter a Mortal Kombat-like button sequence to do even the simplest of moves. Wrestlemania 2000 could have been exactly the same as Revenge, and it still would have been much more entertaining due to the WWF's wrestlers and personality. Based on the fact that WCW is a distant #2 in the ratings, most people probably agree with me. Most of WCW's wrestlers are either over 40 or doomed to be under-utilized for the rest of their careers, while the WWF has a very likable cast of characters that fit very nicely into a video game. Road to Wrestlemania mode is what really puts Wrestlemania 2000 over the top in terms of replay value. It's a lot like WWF Attitude's Career Mode in that you choose a wrestler to guide through a virtual career and try to win as many title belts as you can. In the Road to Wrestlemania mode, you can actually see all the other matches taking place (or simulate them), which makes a very big difference. As you see titles changing hands and new feuds developing, it makes you feel like you're just one of many wrestlers trying to make a name for himself. It's not like Attitude's Career Mode where it's a linear progression up a ladder with everyone's ranking set in stone, and you seem to be the only one who ever wrestles. The only complaints I have with the Road to Wrestlemania mode are that most three-way matches are a long, drawn-out, pain in the butt; and there are way too many non-title matches. Fortunately, these are minor gripes, not major flaws. This game is a wrestling fan's dream come true. Even if you're not a fan of wrestling, WWF Wrestlemania 2000 is a must-have game for everyone who owns a Nintendo 64. Send your thoughts on this review to ivan@mastergamer.com
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