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WCW/nWo Revenge is the sequel to the 1997 game WCW vs. nWo: World Tour. Like the previous game, it features AKI's revolutionary grappling system, heavily improved graphics, a better championship mode, and a large roster of wrestlers (real and fictional).

History

At the time of the game's release, the Monday Night Wars were starting to go in the WWF's favor. Despite this WCW/nWo Revenge was generally recognized[who?] as the best wrestling game of 1998 and the greatest wrestling game ever released at that point.

Revenge's main competition that year was WWF War Zone by Acclaim. In contrast to the simpler but more consistent visuals and accessible but slower play mechanics of Revenge, War Zone possesses more complex controls, inconsistent collision detection, a lack of impact on grappling moves and occasionally awkward animations, despite having more refined character models and faster gameplay. The Revenge/War Zone comparison is a notable example of the old debate in video games regarding graphics versus gameplay, with each game presenting vastly different design approaches to comparable results, not unlike the competing wrestling brands themselves.

The Revenge grappling system is part of what ensured the game's success and popularity. The graphics were improved from World Tour, and for the first time, THQ introduced actual arenas into games, such as Monday Nitro and Starrcade. The game also has an expansive collection of wrestlers, as almost every WCW/nWo wrestler of the time was included in the game. The Championship Mode enables the player(s) to select a belt and then fight various wrestlers until eventually the player(s) defeat the reigning champion.

[edit] New features and additions since World Tour

As the direct sequel to World Tour, Revenge possesses certain tweaks and additions. Some additions included wrestler entrances, a larger roster, ringside valets and managers, brighter more colorful graphics, a cartoon referee modeled after WCW referee Mark Curtis, and real TV and pay-per-view arenas. It also boasts EEPROM, which eliminates the need for a controller pak.[1] In addition, there are new gameplay mechanics such as more frequent reversals, the introduction of multiple reversals, tall wrestlers stepping over the top rope, being able to run into the ring, and being able to slide out of the ring.

New post match features include replays of the last moments of the match, as well as a scoring system for wrestlers' performance. During gameplay, players can for the first time "steal" their opponents taunts, as well as perform their "down" taunt more easily. Also, certain wrestlers can not ascend the top rope unless they are in "special" mode (the time when a player's spirit is maxed out and can perform their finishing maneuvers).

In addition, Revenge introduced a combo system where some wrestlers could do a combination attack followed by a move. The system was criticized as doing more harm than good as it is awkward to use and eliminated half of a wrestler's strong front grapple moves. Subsequently, the combo system was excluded from WWF's WrestleMania 2000 and No Mercy.

The game also saw many new moves added since World Tour, as well as existing moves improved or made more accurate. For instance, in World Tour, Kevin Nash's finishing move is a generic powerbomb, (which makes little sense since; for comparison, Chris Benoit has a kneel-down double under-hook powerbomb for a weak move.) In Revenge, it is unmistakably Nash's Jackknife Powerbomb, complete with trademark Nash flourishes during execution. Other moves which were improved included the "Stinger Splash," the "Outsider's Edge," and the "Diamond Cutter." Also, certain characters like the aforementioned Chris Benoit were given their real finishing moves for the first time. Each wrestler also possesses more than 700 frames of animation.

Added since World Tour were such superstars as Bret Hart, Bill Goldberg, and Chris Jericho. One notable omission, however, who actually was in World Tour, is Ric Flair who was fired from WCW for no-showing an episode of WCW Thunder in early 1998; although, he would be rehired by WCW late in the year. By then though, Revenge was in the final stages of production, and it was too late to add Flair to the game.

While World Tour has but a small game introduction, Revenge features a lengthy and impressive introductory montage. It focuses on the feud between nWo Hollywood and nWo Wolfpak but more specifically on the epic battle between Hollywood Hogan and Sting, who ultimately joins the Wolfpak. This reflected WCW's on-screen environment decisively and set the standard for following wrestling titles that would have similarly expansive introductions.

Also included is the ability to interchange wrestlers' costumes and apply different colors to them. Masks and other head wear are also interchangeable for wrestlers that possess them. This limited feature would be heavily advanced in future THQ wrestling titles which boast the create-a-wrestler mode.

[edit] Arenas

    * WCW Monday Nitro
    * WCW Starrcade 1997
    * WCW Halloween Havoc 1997
    * WCW Bash at the Beach 1998
    * WCW Souled Out 1998
    * WCW SuperBrawl VIII

[edit] Titles

    * WCW World Heavyweight Championship
    * WCW United States Championship
    * WCW World Television Championship
    * WCW Cruiserweight Championship
    * WCW World Tag Team Championship

[edit] Issues with the game

Complaints about the Asmik Ace/AKI engine include some major collision detection problems, ie: characters' heads and arms passing through another's, as well as animation lock-out issues where a player is invincible from attack, such as when they are getting up. The graphics are also infamous for the "floating arms," where a character's arms are often clearly disconnected from their torso. While the magic of the gameplay is the offensive attack/grapple versus the defensive reverse-attack/break-grapple mechanic, it is occasionally exposed for its lack of realism. Since defensively there is only "block" and no "evade" for an incoming attack, a player can successfully block a running kick to the head or say, Goldberg's spear, by standing firm and offering their chest. Players can also attempt a reversal by pressing the block button at the exact moment of impact from the attack, which may result in a reversal. However, reversing the spear for example is unrealistic as the attacker's speed and momentum was instantly canceled out and the defender catches the attacker and lays down into a front side headlock choke. In addition to these problems, Hollywood Hogan did not use his real finishing move (leg drop), instead he did a cheap low blow. This was seen to be quite disappointing as he had it in the previous title.

One of the major flaws in this game is in the 2-player mode; no matter how hard the player damages their opponent, all the opposing player has to do is toggle the analog stick and they will kick out of a pin every single time.[citation needed] Another gameplay anomaly is that when weapons were dropped, they fall through the floor into nothingness, an unrealistic aspect of the series which wasn't rectified until No Mercy. While the game has wrestler entrances, the music consists of the Monday Nitro theme and a generic, ominous sounding tune--not the wrestlers' actual themes (memory issues were a major concern during the old days of the cartridge).

Ultimately though, graphical, audio, and gameplay quirks aside, Revenge was heralded as an incredibly fun, detailed, and well-balanced title.[2] And because Asmik Ace/THQ signed with the WWF when Acclaim's contract expired in 1999, Revenge is universally accepted as the apex of WCW gaming.

[edit] Featured wrestlers

Revenge features about 63 WCW and nWo wrestlers divided into either factions (nWo White, nWo Red, Raven's Flock) or divisions within WCW (WCW 1-4). Generally speaking, wrestlers were placed in the WCW divisions based on their position in the company, with top-tier main eventers making up WCW 1, the mid-card wrestlers in WCW 2, and low-card wrestlers forming WCW 3. WCW 4 is reserved for cruiserweights. Note that WCW 1-4 are not actual factions.

Additionally, Revenge features several non-WCW/nWo wrestlers, mostly from Japan, in the form of two "fictitious" wrestling federations: EWF (Empire Wrestling Federation) and DAW (Dead or Alive Wrestling, originally featured in World Tour as DOA). In light of copyright concerns, the names and appearances of these wrestlers were changed, but their movesets remained intact.