WWE Wrestlemania X8 (GameCube) Review

In every wrestling game to date and any one to be made in the future, the prospect of playing as one of your favourite WWE Superstars and leading them through many wrestling matches, pummeling your opponent with various moves, or opting for the choice of using various weapons not normally found in a wrestling ring to beat your opponent to the ground and pin them down for a three count. However while in most wrestling games there was an option to take any wrestler you wished and lead them on a career going through various matches, building grudges, friendships that lead to tag teams and even a chance to snap up some of the various belts, going from the low light weight belt to the world title itself. Unfortunately X8 has no career mode what so ever, but merely has a dilute version of a way to earn belts and then defend them.

The models of the wrestlers themselves are far from the realism found in the Playstation Smackdown games, but not as cartoon like as the models in WWF No Mercy on the N64. While they are relatively smooth, they are still rough around the edges and look a little obscure in places. The appearance of each wrestler in detail varies greatly. Some appear just like their wrestling counterparts, while others are unrecognizable; Chris Benoit falls under this category. The huge arenas are also very detailed and look quite impressive, but once again there is a mass failure to produce a crowd that looks like nothing more than card board cut outs. Sadly the lighting alters from being extremely eye pleasing to looking very poor, this is very apparent in the entrances when you are very under impressed by the fireworks that appear as the wrestler strolls down the titantron. Having said that the wrestler entrances are one of X8's best aspects as they are all nearly exactly like the actual entrances that gives the game a much more authentic feel, even more so when you see the camera pan in, and have the wrestler's name scroll across the bottom. It is a very valued asset, especially when you see large teams, such as the NOW, waltz down the aisle.

Better still after a match is won a wrestler parades around the ring and it also resembles what the wrestlers would do in real life, such as Too Cool and Rikishi dancing to celebrate a victory. The animation of the wrestlers is somewhat atrocious, wrestlers seem to glide more than walk and when moves are performed they look extremely unconvincing and even more irritable sometimes when a move is being performed sometimes the wrestler is sent sprawling quickly across the mat by a small kick. Over all the animation feels slow and constricting and on too many occasions the wrestler falls to the ground without warning. The finish moves themselves do look good when they are over blown but at times they look too weak and weedy.

The screams of the audience are very feeble and add little to nothing to the atmosphere of a match, and even each wrestler's music doesn't give off a loud blare that you would expect to find at a real WWE match. Even more saddening some wrestlers have got completely the wrong music, including Hollywood Hogan, Booker T and the Hardy Boyz, why they are missing there music is a complete mystery, as the music appeared on all the other WWE games on the other platforms. The music in match is very repetitive but thankfully does not get in the way much, however the sound of a punch or kick is often very poor, in fact the only real satisfying sound is found when you slam your opponent on the mat.

As in every wrestling game the usual system of using punches, kicks and grappling moves is added to get your opponent down to the three count. Unlike in No Mercy where you had multiple grappling moves in X8 a grapple move goes into an immediate move, which means the amount of moves is lessened as there is a lack of strong and weak grappling moves. As well as this working on an opponents leg will be pointless for there is no location damage, so they will never limp even after you have put them in an ankle lock for the fifth time. This means the gameplay lacks any real depth and with a lack of grapples, you are often forced to use your striking moves to slam them to the canvas. All the usual moves to be found in wrestling games are present with, turnbuckle moves Irish whip moves, high risk moves and submission moves. Along with a new reversal system where madly tapping the R button will have you kick out of an opponents grapple or strike, even finishers and weapons, while the idea is very awkward it is usually pulled off effectively. However the opponents have a ridiculous method of beating you when you're down along with double-teaming you, and with this very unfair AI matches turn into long frustrations more than an enjoyable match.

The environments are very interactive with announcer's tables to break and weapons beneath the ring to pull out and use. The Finishing moves themselves are very easy to pull off, but sadly are too easy to stop, unlike in No Mercy where finishers were unstoppable. Four player is definitely the games selling point with frantic and hectic fun, however with four people in the ring it becomes far to crowded and should a big move be pulled off such as a suplex all the wrestlers will topple over, very unrealistically and often the game stops as everyone in the ring slowly gets up off the mat. But where four player excels are with the relatively hard to pull off double team moves, that look spectacular when done and are extremely rewarding. However at the end of the match when your opponent is beaten they sometimes get to their feet far too quickly which is only a little detail but feels very awkward as with the rest of the game.

In four player mode X8 will last for a good long while with so many match modes like Hell in a Cell, Cage match, Table's Ladders and Chairs (TLC), Ladder matches, Iron man match, Hardcore, table match and Royal Rumble, with different options like Fatal Four way, triple threat and tag team, but it lacks any real story mode, and instead has a path of the Champion mode where you earn the belts, and can also make your own belts and unify them as done in recent times. There are also 36 wrestlers to play as to begin with, and 6 wrestlers to unlock like Rhyno and Chris Benoit along with several arenas to unlock. And of course the necessary Create a Wrestler mode where you can alter your wrestlers clothes, hair colour, eye colour, physique, build, down to every last detail, however the actual variety is quite limited compared to the other wrestling games on the market.