Review By: Roger Taylor
Developer:	Asmik Ace Entertainment
Publisher:	THQ
# of Players:	1-4
Genre:	Wrestling
ESRB:	Teen
Date Posted:	11-27-00

Other added features: weapons no longer disappear when you drop them (which means you can do various moves onto chairs, ring steps, etc.); backstage areas have now been included for your hardcore brawling pleasure; Iron man matches (where you try to gain more pinfalls than your opponent over a set time) have been included; and a announce table has been included at ring side. Did someone say Swanton Bomb off of a ladder onto your opponent and through the table?

However, the most important and exciting new feature of all is the improved championship mode. Instead of having one "career mode" like in Wrestlemania, No Mercy allows you to go after a single belt, and experience various storylines along the way. The more important the belt, the more epic the storyline that accompanies it. It is the best representation of actual televised wrestling ever produced in a video game. This is also where you will unlock the games hidden wrestlers (I've unlocked 12 so far, and there are more to come!) And if you are tired of always seeing Shawn Michaels as the big hidden wrestler, let me tell you that there is at least one other WWF legend in the game. I don't want to spoil the surprise so I will say no more about that.

Remember how disappointed you were when you discovered that the characters in WWF Wrestlemania were just as ugly and blocky as they were in THQ's WCW games? Well, prepare to be disappointed again, as the character models in WWF No Mercy are just as poor as in its predecessors. These kind of cartoony, chunky graphics may have cut the mustard when the game engine was first made in 1997, but they don't now. Similarly, the grainy slide show-like Titantron "videos" found in Wrestlemania return in No Mercy. Believe me, you'll skip them after watching them once. Another mark against
the graphics is the drop in framerate with four wrestlers on the screen at once. This is really unacceptable for a 4th-generation title. On the flip side, the backgrounds and sets look better than ever (especially the new backstage areas), and the character animation is outstanding as always.

The sound in WWF No Mercy is not much better. Like in Wrestlemania, the entrance themes are present, but they are of fairly poor quality. The menu music gets irritating quick, and you'll turn off the in-game music as soon as you find the option to do so in the pause menu. The sound effects are extremely good, though. Apart from the standard crunches and thumps of wrestlers being slammed to the canvas, you'll find a satisfying 'dong' when you whip someone into the ring post, and sickening 'crack' when you body slam your opponent onto a steel chair.

An innovative and huge championship mode, a decent amount of gimmick matches, an enormous roster and great multiplayer action will keep you playing this for a long time. If you're a wrestling fan, look at it this way: you can get at least 40 hours of fun with this game with the same amount of money it would take to watch 6 hours of Pay Per View wrestling.

Highs:

-Great gameplay and control
-Innovative championship mode

Lows:

-Lousy graphics
-Not a big step above Wrestlemania

Final Verdict:

The best wrestling game ever made. However, if you own WWF Wrestlemania 2000, definitely rent this one first before deciding to spend $60 on a very similar game.

Overall Score: 9.0