Wrestling is a unique animal in that encompasses such a vast landscape of...for a lack of a better term, stuff. So it goes without saying that creating a wrestling game that accurately gives you the full experience of all this "stuff" is a challenge. In the olden days, it was basically pure "Wrestling"--and one might argue the same thing can be said about the sport itself. But with the birth of Create-A-Wrestler modes, Championship/Season/Story Modes, and all sorts of new bells and whistles that aren't related directly to gameplay, it's hard to focus on the how the actual matches themselves go down, especially when making additions to an already well established formula.

Which leads me into THQ/Aki's WWF No Mercy, for the Nintendo 64. After last year's seminal WWF Wrestlemania 2000, Aki had a high standard to live up to in this title. And for the most part, they do. But the devil is in the details, and as such, not all is rosy in the house that Macmahon built.

Getting down to business, first is the graphics. While there are slight touches that are very appreciated (the arenas are constructed better, the textures have been cleaned up a little) I can't honestly say that the graphics are that far ahead of WM2K. In fact a lot of people have even said the graphics are worse, but personally, I don't really think so. The big problem here, however, is an issue that affects both gameplay AND graphics...the scourge of the N64....SLOWDOWN.

While WM2K suffered from a bit of slowdown, in No Mercy it's damned severe. Try this little experiment--play a regular singles match. Then try a four player ladder match. You should be able to immediately perceive the difference. It's like the difference between a bullet train and a tricycle. While it doesn't ruin the game, it more than breaks up the flow enough to take notice.

Thankfully, all is not bad in the land of the grapplers. Aside from new modes (including the infamous ladder match) we also a few nifty gameplay features. Running grapples (which were one of the few things that the original Smackdown on the PlayStation had on WM2K), Irish-Whip tag team moves...nothing major, but nice little touches everywhere.

On the sound side of things, well, hardly anything has changed from Wrestlemania 2000. The same smacks, grunts, and entrance music. The same cheesy fake rock music. Nothing to rave or complain about.

Now comes the interesting part - the "extras". The Create-A-Wrestler mode is exactly the same as it was in Wrestlemania 2000, only with more options. But this isn't really a bad thing as the CAW in WM2K was pretty good in the first place. Then there's the Season/Story mode, which in No Mercy, is called "Championship" mode, and allows players to compete for any of the myriad of the WWF's titles. I had a few problems with this mode are its lack of interactivity (In the time I spent playing it, I was given a choice in what my character would say a total of ONCE), and the fact that it seems to have only up to two scenarios for you to play for. As a result of this, no matter who you use, you will always get the same dialog. And in all honesty, I think I could've lived my entire life without seeing Kane use the term "candy ass".

So how does No Mercy shape up? Oddly, I'd say. While it does have enough improvements to separate itself from Wrestlemania 2K, the improvements themselves are awkward, and gives the game a, (dare I say it?) - rushed feel. Does this in any way take away from the game's enjoyment factor? The answer is a resounding no.

If you liked WM2K, you'll like No Mercy; and by all means, you should. Despite the fact if No Mercy's improvements live up to your expectations, when you look within the core of the game, you'll discover that it retains its original atmosphere and lives up to being a real slobberknocker.

· · · Riisuke