WWF WrestleMania 2000

Ndewo na ịnabata aka ToriJ si Video Game Nyocha. WrestleMania XXXI has come and gone and you know what that means, it's time for the annual wrestling game review and this time we're looking at THQ's WrestleMania 2000! This was at a time where THQ was still partnered up with Asmik Ace Entertainment and AKI and made some of the best wrestling video games the N64 had to offer, and after they no longer had the WCW license, they went on to make WWF games, starting with the one I'm reviewing this week.

The game opens up with clips based off of the last year of WWF programming like the Ministry of Darkness angle, Austin versus the Corporation, and the Austin/Michaels match at WrestleMania XIV before taking us to the title screen. From there we have plenty of options to choose from to keep us occupied like a good game should. This was the fourth wrestling game by Ace Entertainment so the A.I is a lot better this time around. In WCW/nWo Revenge you could wail on your opponent, get up to your special, perform it, and still only get a two count. Here it's more well rounded and by WWF No Mercy it was a non-issue.

  Give me a Hell Yeah!

While the game may be called “WrestleMania 2000” the roster is still very much based on the 1999 roster, and man is it huge. Not as huge as WCW roster, but then again nobody's roster was as huge as WCW's. You still have a lot of wrestlers to choose from and all your favorites are on here. Mick Foley even gets three slots instead of Dude and Cactus acting as alternate costumes this time around.

WrestleMania 2000 also allows you to create your own wrestler and customize existing wrestlers costume. Unlike Revenge which only allowed you change the guys costume in rather limited ways, you can change wrestlers entire wardrobes on here and even give them a different face. This gives the customization a lot more depth and the addition of created wrestlers allows your imagination to run free, and is a staple of all WWF games since War Zone.

  We are LIVE on RAW is WAR and you're just in time for the Main Event of the evening: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock! This promises to be a slobber knocker and you won't find this action anywhere else except in the World Wrestling Federation!

Instead of having to perform combos like in War Zone and Attitude, we have a more straight forward control scheme. There are light strikes, heavy strikes, grapples, blocks, counters, and turnbuckle moves. Easier to get into than having to memorize a bunch of combos like you're playing a fighting game. Future games would carry on this tradition with the introduction of the SmackDown series. When your meter is in the red that's your cue to taunt to activate your special. Then all you have to do is perform it and go for the cover. Assuming the computer doesn't stop you from performing it, or you forget how to pin...

Matches are split into the usual singles, tag, triple threat, and cage deals we've received in previous installments. Actually, WrestleMania 2000 was the first exclusive N64 wrestling game to have cage matches. I guess they were a bigger deal to WWF than they were in WCW as those games never had any. Okay, with the exception of the one, but we don't talk about that game! You even have your traditional King of the Ring Tournament and Royal Rumble match. If you have a memory card you can even create your own title belts and have them be defended in exhibition.

  The WWF Tag Team Titles are on the line! Edge and Christian may dethrone the New Ages Outlaws here tonight!

I hate to say it, tag team matches are annoying. Every time you go for the cover the partner comes in and interrupts the pin, and if you try to take the partner off the ring apron your guy gets up before you can pin him! Your partner A.I. is always an idiot in these scenarios as he always... ALWAYS misses the opponent. The worst thing about it is that in Road to WrestleMania you HAVE to have a partner. You can't just compete in singles competition. They ask for your guy and then his partner. What kind of bullshit is that? Thankfully WrestleMania 2000 is the first and last game that makes that mandatory. That I know of.

This wouldn't be so bad if you could get a second player to play the game with you, but no. Just the computer. Why? Why is it so important to have a partner? I don't understand, but I digress. Road to WrestleMania is all about climbing the ranks and making it to WrestleMania. Although that mode nowadays would have you win the title at WrestleMania, you can actually win it a lot sooner depending on how well you do. Some times you'll be booked in a Singles match, but a lot of the time you'll have Tag Team matches. Win multiple titles, and end up booked in multiple matches. The thing that separates this mode from past games is the occasional cut-scene that plays, but it's nothing spectator, at least the ones I've seen. You can even trigger a cut-scene of your partner being fed up with you if you lose too much. They don't stick out as much as they do with No Mercy and there's only a year difference between the two so I'm not sure what's up there. I guess a lot can happen in a year.

Austin and Kane lock horns inside the Steel Cage!

Ah, the Steel Cage. It's such a satisfying feeling just smashing somebody into steel. This was the first time you could actually see the ropes and the turnbuckles inside the cage. Weird mentioning it, I know, but seeing that the past games only had a cage around the ring with no ropes or anything it's kind of a worthy progression to note. Funny how the technological inferior N64 would be the first one to have that over the wrestling games on the PlayStation.

Cage matches are actually kind of relaxing. I remember a time when they used to annoy me, but I might be thinking of a different game. They're close enough to regular single matches so they're not as annoying as tag teams or 3 way bouts can be, but special enough that it's not just a regular one on one match. The match can still be hard since it relies on beating your opponent so bad they can't get up to stop you from climbing the cage, which you have to constantly tap buttons to get out of once you reach the top as if the guy forgot how to climb as soon as he got up there.

  Time to climb the ladder of the World Wrestling Federation!

The CAW setup has all your basic appearance, clothes, and moves setup. What helps with the moves this time around is you can preview what each one does instead of having to go off the name alone. There are also a lot more moves to choose from than on WWF Attitude. You can even edit a wrestler's fighting style, his rivals, and if anybody comes out to the ring with them.

This was also the first time you could pick an entrance video with your theme. Though you're limited to what's available from the other wrestlers. The titantrons are pretty pixelated considering the limitations of the N64, but for the time they were pretty good. Overall, better than what Attitude offered, although not as good as what War Zone had.

  Now Mankind knows how Austin felt in his triple threat match against these two.

If you're a fan of wrestling and this game has somehow eluded you over the years, I recommend you try it out. While not as good as No Mercy, the game still has a lot to offer and plenty to create in your spare time. This is ToriJ signing off.

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