ECW Hardcore Revolution Review

Have you ever seen those Batman action figures that are all painted differently but essentially the same doll; except that one is Arctic Batman and another is Jungle Batman? That's like WWF Attitude and ECW Hardcore Revolution. Different coverings, same game.

Highs:

Features the Wrestlers of ECW

Good Announcing

Create-A-Wrestler

Lows:

Collision Detection

Control Issues

Doesn't Capture the Spirit of ECW

Fans who follow ECW do so because they love the "rawness" of the action. This sport looks like it really hurts! When I first witnessed ECW on TV in a bar a couple of years ago, I couldn't take my eyes of it; and I'm not a wrestling fan. I couldn't believe what these guys were doing to each other. It was the first sport called "Extreme" that I thought actually deserved the word. So by all accounts, this game should be raw and edgy, but it comes off limp and weak. Imagine ECW playing by WWF rules, and that's exactly what this is. I thought this was supposed to be Extreme? The only thing Extreme about ECW Hardcore Revolution is the distaste I have for it. Oh sure they swear a little more and there is more emphasis on blood and violence (barbwire match), but it's nowhere near the table smashing, folding chair fisticuffs fest that fans of the sport should expect. Basically, it's Jungle Batman.

The game engine needed overhauling for Attitude, which it didn't receive. We could turn our heads back in August but we can no longer accept the overbearing flaws of this game code. The collision detection is terrible, the wrestlers are blocky, stiff and constipated and the action is slow and plodding, although it is slightly faster than Attitude's. Graphically the game looks brighter and prettier (gasp!) but not enough to warrant a whole new look.

Musically the game is decent enough, and it seems to have all new sound effects. The announcing by ECW's own Joey Styles, is excellent and matches up quite nicely with the action. As usual the crowd gets into the act by shouting, which is a great feature, but some new phrases would be nice.

My favorite part of this game is still the Create-A-Wrestler mode, which doesn't say much about the game itself. Yes you can create all the guys you created in Warzone and Attitude. It's like playing dress up Barbie, but electronically and with real ugly dolls. Be that as it may, I'm still hopelessly addicted to Create-A-Wrestler. Anyway, the gameplay still relies on having the advantage. Pull off some stock moves and get your advantage meter up, which makes grappling moves and whatnot easier to accomplish. Keep doing this, and maybe you'll win. I don't know; I think the CPU fights dirtier than anyone in the ECW does. Just when I thought I had him pinned for the umpteenth time, the CPU would push me off and eventually do me in! Considering this didn't happen in 2-4-player mode, I'm left to assume that the AI cheats big time!

Pulling off complicated finishers and different special moves is difficult and makes doing anything really cool almost a Godsend. Trying to face your partner for a tag in tag team mode is just as clunky as it was in Attitude. Collision detection is still way out of whack, and there still instances of polygon clipping. 4 player mode is cool, and there is no real loss of framerate, but the action just doesn't ever seem to get out of hand, and that's ECW's biggest downfall.

It's easy to see where this game came from: Acclaim lost the WWF license in November, and hastily grabbed the ECW license to fill the void. But aside from playing as a bunch of wrestlers you may or may not know, you've played this game as Warzone and Attitude countless times already. Tread carefully around this one.