Top 10 Wrestling Video Games
This past week marked the 20th anniversary of two of the greatest wrestling video games ever, WWF No Mercy on Nintendo 64 and Smackdown 2: Know Your Role on playstation. Man there was a time back when I had plenty of time to b.s. when I had damn near every wrestling video game released. The anniversary of these two had me thinking about the top ten wrestling video games I've played. Of course this list is very subjective, some entries nostalgia plays a huge factor others are just damn good games, but let's get into my top ten.
Honorable Mention:
10. Power Move Pro Wrestling
Power Move Pro Wrestling was actually the first wrestling video game that I played when I first fell in love with wrestling. The game has no affilation with any organization and is comprised of entirely fictional wrestlers with basic ass names and gimmicks, but it works. The gameplay was to the point, controls and graphics were smooth for gameplay at the time. It was a highly enjoyable game that I recommend playing if you can find it.
Between I'll say 2002 to 2005 I didn't really play wrestling video games. Can't really say there was a real reason why, just wasn't a priority at that time. Smackdown vs Raw 2007 was the video game that bought me back into playing wrestling video games frequently. The advanced create a wrestler features and interactions with the environment made this game top notch to me.
WWE 2K16 probably was the last WWE game that I've thoroughly enjoyed. It kept features that had became standard by that time, create a wrestler or create arena's. My career mode and awesome game play, what I enjoyed the most was the Stone Cold showcase. In this mode players would go through different moments in Stone Cold's career replaying them and trying to achieve certain measures established within the game play. I wish this feature had been kept in subsequent versions of the WWE 2K series.
9. WCW Nitro
WCW Nitro released on the original Playstation in Feburary 1998. This game translated the complete vibe of WCW Nitro onto a video game console. At the time of it's release Nitro was still riding high off the NWO and Sting battles, and it was awesome to play as Sting and kick every member of the NWO's ass in this game. The game also got bonus points of the wrestler promos as you made your selection of who to wrestle as.
8. Smackdown vs. Raw 2007
7. WWE 2K16
6. WCW vs. nWo: World Tour
WCW vs. nWo World Tour was the game that showed N64 and WCW were ready to compete with anyone. It was released November 30, 1997 on Nintendo 64 and the gameplay was simple but awesome. There were no entrances, custom wrestlers, or anything to that effect but the game included about 20 active WCW wrestlers at the time and several international wrestlers with fake names to play off the world tour aspect. This drew you into the game as you got straight to the point of whipping ass.
Before Attitude there was War Zone released in 1998, and War Zone did not disappoint. I can't stress enough how much I love the create a wrestler function, the ability to be as outlandish and cartoonish as I can think of is just priceless to me. If I'm correct War Zone was the first playstation game where this feature was first enabled. Besides that there were unlockable characters, graphics were top notch, cage matches, hardcore matches all you could think of were available. The wrestler promos during load screens were also entertaining.
5. WWF Attitude
Released in 1999 and a follow up to WarZone released a year earlier, Attitude released during the height of the attitude era lived up to it's name. What I loved most about the game at the time was the ability to make up my own pay-per-view events complete with event name and set layout, and the ability to create a stable to watch my created superstars back. I think I spent more time creating environments than actual gameplay sometimes.
4. WCW/NWO Revenge
Released in 1998 and a follow up to the great WCW vs.nWo World Tour. It took what made WCW vs.nWo great and amplified it. It also set the precedent for later WWF video games on N64. For a N64 system the graphics were top notch, the grappling between the wrestlers were awesome. Arenas were introduced and move sets were included. One of the greatest games ever period.
3. WWF War Zone
2. WWF No Mercy
WWF No Mercy released November 17, 2000 and is without a shadow of the doubt a video game classic. The championship mode was a great feature that had players chasing and winning various championships. Storylines also followed each championship, and the storylines had different outcomes and consequences based on what decision the player made. The create mode was enhanced with female wrestlers being able to be created and ring attire and ring entrances could have attire seperate from in ring attire. Using the game engine of WCW/nWo revenge, No Mercy took gameplay to a higher level.
1. WWF Wrestlemania 2000
WWF Wrestlemania 2000 is the greatest wrestling video game I've played. Like No Mercy it used the game engine of WCW/nWo revenge, and raised the stakes on it. It also set the standard for WWF video games to come. My love bug of wrestling video games was added here in create a wrestler and very well detailed compared to other games at the time. Players could also create custom championships, the storyline mode was detailed and long truly spanning a career from rookie to world champion. Cut scenes were cutting edge. You could change the attire of actual wrestlers and switch between them. Many longggg weekends were spent playing this game and for it being the stepping stone it is number 1 on my list.
WWE and their partners have had some missteps through the years with their video games. Most notably 2K20 which was so bad they took this year off to regroup. ECW had two games ECW Hardcore Revolution and ECW Anarchy Rulz, while TNA had TNA Impact!. None of these games were able to match what these games offered. AEW has a video game on the horizon and with the Elite being noted video game aficionado's this list could very well change. Time will tell....
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