At Long Last, A Playable Wresting Game

I haven't played many wresting games, but the few I played, pretty much sucked. Especially that WCW Nitro. However, Capcoms Saturday Night SlamMasters, showed the proper way of doing a wresting game and made it playable. It seems Acclaim took notes.

Give Them A Show

Attitude brings 40+ wrestlers to the table, some old (like Sgt. Slaughter), some downright strange (like The Head). Just for the occasion, Acclaim has also included a pretty heavy arsenal of moves. Everything from finishers to the trademark moves all dominate this game. Something does too: ease of pulling them off. For the most part, there are a huge set of "ready" moves you use, which includes grabs, throws and holds. Imagine, pulling off a Tombstone without grabbing the hapless victim. But that sounds cheap, right? Included are reversals, that prevents you using the same move over and over. But grabs and holds haven't been eliminated, theirs a tie up button to initiate a grab, but you better make sure you have a tactic when you do, since you opponent can do the same thing to you.

Have Plenty of Attitude

I've watched WWF Jakked, and it's funny, it's entertaining and Attitude brings home some of the action. Commentary is provided by Shane McMahon and Jerry "Toss Them Insults" Lawler. Each wrestler also has a number pre-fight phrases they say. However, a more colorful commentary is in order. It's still better than Nitro's, but if you want to go the distance, go the distance. Usually, it's pretty broad, with the occasional "Lawlerism" such as "THe Rock took an IQ test and the results came back negative." and "Kick him! Kick Him!", but to call out specific moves, such as finishers would have given the game a much more personal feel, not that it really needs it.

Fighter Maker

If nothing else, you can get Attitude for its in depth Create-A-something or other. Included is a very deep create a wrestler option, and very intricate. Just how deep can it go? Okay, you can start by designing your wrestler's frame, tall and thin? Short and scrawny. Big and fat? The choice is all yours. Give him a face, by choosing from a dazzling array of eyes, noses, mouths and hairline, and hairstyles. Please, let's not talk about the insane customization of clothes and accessories. It could take minutes, or hours to get the wrestler the way you want them. On top of that, after you've settled on how you want your killing machine to look, time to give him a good fine tuning for battle. Assign stats to him or her, make 'em fast, make'em strong, doesn't matter. But wait, you nowhere near done. Time to give your wrestler moves. Sure, you take an existing roster of moves, but now, take a move from the wrestlers of your choice. Want them to do a Stone Cold Stunner as a normal move, no problem. On top of that, want to use the Tombstone as your wrestler's finisher? It can be done too. Then, if you want, even assign a control scheme to your move list, though not totally customizable. Done, right? Nope. Now, give your monster a alias, something those commentating fools will remember you by, instead of just "Player 1." You've got around 20 to choose from. But a character really can't called you own if they don't have their own intro theme, either steal an existing wrestler's one or use one of 24 new themes, made just for this you. Finally, steal an entrance and your wrestler's ready to go primetime.

Looks Like A WWF Match

Attitude comes off as okay representative of an actual WWF match. The polygons come off as being great models, but still not Namco's Tekken 3. Fan's will also be relived to find out that Acclaim has included several ring types, House, Pay-Per-View, etc, recreates the respective ring atmosphere. Even more impressive are the freaks of nature you can create and watching them really throw down. The crowd animation however is not up to par, but that's just being anal.

What isn't anal is having more detail in the fights. I mean, where's the commentary table? I just want to slam Triple H through Lawler one good time and make him shut up. Let's not talk about the entrances of each wrestler, though faithful, still seem a little dull. Ah, well, that's what the PS2 is for.

Sound Stage

Suprisingly, Attitude works well without any in game music, usually a criminal offense in my book. After all, actual matches don't have music in real life, so why should it be here. But, it recreates each wrestler's opening song with minimal fuss. Also, each wrestler talks trash during the match (that is, when Lawler isn't flapping his gums), which contributes to the "Attitude" motif of the WWF. Even the crowd get's into the trash scheme, showing support for the wrestler who's put on the best show.

Control Scheme

Attitude is fun because it plays a little like a fighting game. Although there are still tie-ups, there's little or none rapid pressing of buttons anymore. Instead, you pull various controller motions followed by a certain button to accomplish a great deal of moves. This allows very intuitive gameplay, but still, it's not perfect. Moves won't come out as fast as DP or a Fireball in Street Fighter, but you feel completely lost when you try to execute a move and it won't come out. And other companies out there take note: Attitude includes a moves list, which tells which moves are available. But it only shows moves depending upon where you are. So if you tie up an opponent and show the move list, you'll only see the moves associated with tieing up an opponent, not the entire move set. That feature alone gives the game an extra point in my book.

The Big Show

Attitude has a slew of modes stuffed into the game, the best of which is the Career mode. Think of this as a wrestling "season" You start off in a House show, do good and it's time to go on television, WWF Raw, and WWF Jakked await you now. Then, it's time for a Pay-Per-View match. But alas, tourneys aren't my thing, so a regular match is what I mainly play. And baby, this mode got options up the wazzu. Sure you can adjust timing options, but you can adjust win conditions (I quit, Pinfall, etc.), adjust match type (Ladder, 1st blood, Lumberjack), and finally the ring. The options aren't limitless, but man, they're plentiful. If that doesn't float you boat, customize you own Pay-Per-View event. Choose everything from the color of the ropes to the rafters and select the fighters for the event. Save it to your memory card, and you're all set.

Do You Get It?

It's hard to admit, but this game is good. Acclaim has decided that their last game using the WWF franchise should be nothing short of amazing, okay it isn't, but the highly customizable options and fighters in the game definitely put it in a heads and feet above the rest. If you dig the WWF, you already have this game, if you don't dig it...well, give it a try. I didn't any like wresting games and I got a kick out of it.