THQ's wrestling games are similar to a championship sports team, unstoppable and both feared and respected, but destined for disaster when it runs out of gas, rebuilds and loses players. When Aki was developing THQ's games for the Nintendo 64 they were excellent, some of the best games for the system and likely the reason why THQ's popularity skyrocketed, but like the Chicago Bulls success wasn't permanent, so after Aki's departure THQ's been bumbling ever since. Their wrestling games failing to best No Mercy, the game many fans still use as the benchmark for comparison. Well THQ's at it again, this time with Wrestlemania XIX, the sequel to last year's abomination, Wrestlemania X8 for the GameCube and surprisingly, while it's no where close to No Mercy quality WM19, barring some ridiculous decisions is a lot of fun to play and worth checking out.

What makes WM19 bearable is its gameplay, which is surprisingly pretty good. Like No Mercy, there are heavy and light grapples, it's easy to move wrestlers around and even easier targeting opponents. Each superstar has signature moves, and unlike No Mercy you're not required to do specials when your meter's going crazy. In other words, if you're feeling sneaky you can pocket those Rock Bottoms for later. This, combined with some great match types such as Hell in a Cell, Ladder, Hardcore and Tables, Ladders and Chairs matches bring WM19 to better than good status as the action is frantic and destructive. You're able to pull weapons from underneath the ring and bash them over your opponents' heads, the announcer's tables at ringside can be destroyed and wrestlers can bleed! Bleeding doesn't affect their status but there's something very satisfying about busting open a friend's noggin. I would've preferred the blood to splatter onto the ring, but there's always next year's installment.

WM19's gameplay is pretty good, but the game isn't spectacular; held back by some faults that are too glaring to ignore. Firstly, the visuals aren't GameCube quality. Spoiled by Raw 2's character models and entrances, I found WM19's to be quite lackluster, the entrances not as dramatic and the wrestlers too cartoon-looking and lacking in detail. Also, the Revenge mode, which is supposed to be a story mode of sorts, similar to ones found in Smackdown and Raw is terrible. The goal is to crush Vince McMahon's empire by beating up as many security guards as possible and the occasional wrestler who makes a surprise visit. I'll give THQ a nod for trying something different, but it's not fun...at all. At least the Create-a-Superstar, while not as deep as Raw 2's is adequate and fun to mess around with.

My last few quibbles are minor ones but are worth mentioning. You can purchase moves and items for your created wrestlers, and weapons to use during gameplay in the ShopZone, but some of them aren't worth buying. Sorry, but I didn't feel like blowing money on a simple pair of pants. Also, like other wrestling games, some of the superstars don't have their current theme music. I know it's all about licensing, but it also makes me angry that companies charge us $50 for products that cheat us out of the interactive experience. If it's a money issue THQ, aren't the people who purchase your games worth it?

If you want a quality wrestling game you'd do a lot better to pick up Bandai and Aki's Ultimate Muscle, but if you're craving WWE action, WrestleMania XIX has got the fun where it counts, even though Revenge mode is boring. However, if you also own a PS2 you may want to go with Smackdown!: Here Comes the Pain, because for some reason THQ puts a lot more effort into that series. It appears Xbox owners will lose again this year but Nintendo fans finally have a WWE game worth mentioning, and that's the bottom line, because Chris Buffa said so. Punk.

Our Final ScoreMediocre

What did you think of this game? Post Your Own Review