ECW Anarchy Rulz
Reviewed by Jeremy Peeples
ECW Anarchy Rulz was just released in August of 2000 for the
Sony Playstation; it was developed and published by Acclaim.
This is the sequel to ECW Hardcore Revolution which was
released in February of 2000. Many wrestling fans wondered
if this game would succeed were ECW HR failed; they wondered
if it would fix the control problems that have plagued games
that have used this engine, and most importantly, they
wondered if it would capture the spirit of ECW. I'm happy to
report that this game captures ECW's spirit better than any
game so far, it's not perfect, but it succeeds were it needs
to and that's what counts. I will score this game based on
other Playstation wrestling games, not on games on other systems.
Graphics-8/10- For the most part the graphics in this game
are great, the characters look just like their real-life
counterparts and most of their trademark moves look great,
some have questionable animation (Tommy Dreamer's Dreamer
Driver comes to mind), and others have perfect animation
(Nova's Kryptonite Krunch shows this.) The animation on a
whole is questionable though, some basic moves look great
(the belly-to-belly suplexes), while others look strange
(the Sleeper Hold), collision detection is also a flaw, it
is very loose and makes some moves look horrible (the
(Crippler) Crossface is an example of this, your characters
arm goes through you opponent's head), overall the collision
detection and animation problems knock my score down a
couple of notches.
Sound-8/10- The sound is great, the commentary is pretty
witty and is very amusing. The sound effects are well done
(especially the weapon effects, each one matches the weapon
perfectly.) The only real downside is the theme music (this
isn't really a fault of the game, ECW uses
commercially-released music, they don't make it themselves,
this means that in order to get the real music in the game,
Acclaim would have had to pay a ton of money for royalties,
this isn't a practical cost in game design, so they had to
make sound-alikes for the wrestler themes. Some of them
sound perfect (Tommy Dreamer's, Simon Diamond's and the
opening of the Sandman's theme), while others sound horrible
(Francine's theme and Justin Credible's), there is one
exception to the sound-alikes, Rhino has his real there in the game.
Gameplay-8/10- There is a ton of stuff to do, you have many
options available to you, you can have a Dumpster match (you
win when you throw your opponent in the dumpster), a
Brimstone match (A. K. A. Inferno match) you throw your
opponent (s) into the lava to win, you can have a barbed wire
match, it's a regular match except the ropes are now barbed
wire, if you throw your opponent into it they will bleed,
you can have a Table match, it's a regular match, except
there are 4 tables outside the ring for you to slam your
opponent through, Acclaim also added a Backlot Brawl match,
you and your opponent (s) fight in a backlot, you can use all
kinks of weapons and can climb a fence an jump on you your
opponent, you can also throw them into a side of a truck or
a door, there's a ton of things to do in this mode, the same
thing applies to the Rage in the Cage mode, it's you and
your opponent (s) in a UFC-style cage that takes up most of
the arena, needless to say, you have a ton of room to move
around and tons of ways to hurt your opponent. There is also
a Create-a-Wrestler mode which allows you to make your own
wrestler, a Create-a-Stable mode which allows you to make a
stable, name it, give it music, and pick a symbol for it,
and a Create-a-PPV mode, this allows you to have your own
wrestling event, do you have a favorite PPV that you?d like
to recreate? Go ahead make it, you can customize the arena
and make your own wrestlers for it.
Control-7/10- The control is a mixed bag, Acclaim simplified
it, but it's still too unresponsive, basic things like
climbing the turnbuckle are far too difficult because of the
sluggishness of the control. The good news is the rest of
the game control well, most of the moves are easy to do
(including finishers).
Replay Value-10/10- This game has a ton of replay value,
beating the career mode in certain situations unlocks
secrets such as secret characters and various comedy modes.
For wrestling fans, this game has a ton of replay value.
Presentation-9/10- Everything fits ECW perfectly, from the
chairs, to the tables, to the barbed wire.
Overall-8/10- Almost everything is this game is great, if
you're a fan of wrestling, go out and buy this game.
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