When people think about classic wrestling games from the mid 90’s one of the few titles that instantly comes to mind when s WCW vs The World from ’96. For those who do not know WCW vs The World was released exclusively for the PS1 and was developed by Asmik Ace Entertainment; along with The Man Breeze who worked on Virtual Pro Wrestling which was also released in ’96. It was during the mid 90’s where the Monday Night Wars between WCW and rival company WWF (now known as WWE) started heating up. During the years of ’96-’97 it seemed like World Championship Wrestling had the advantage over WWF in terms of ratings and in the department of video games. WCW vs The World was probably the first major 3D pro wrestling games to have been published by THQ in America; it featured a variety of different wrestlers and game modes that players could choose from. WCW vs The World featured legendary wrestlers such as: Hulk Hogan, Sting, Ric Flair, Eddy Guerrero, Lex Luger and others who could be chosen to compete with wrestlers from different organizations and vice versa. The were exciting game modes featured in WCW vs The World including League Challenge, Best Of Seven, Tournament, Double Title Match, Elimination and Exhibition which added to the overall replay value of the game itself.
Hidden characters like Jeff Jarret and The Giant could be unlocked within WCW vs The World in League Challenge Mode along with additional wrestlers; depending on which league and organization players were competing in. The gameplay for WCW vs The World was not quite as good the likes of WCW/nWo World Tour & Revenge from ’97-’98 for the N64. However, WCW vs The World from ’96 was arguably better than WCW Nitro & Thunder from ’98-’99. In fact, many would go on record and claim that WCW vs The World was a game that helped put other 3D wrestling titles that came years after within the spotlight. The gameplay for WCW vs The World looked and felt somewhat like a spiritual prequel to the critically acclaimed WCW/nWo World Tour title for the N64 in ’97. The soundtrack for WCW vs The World was also one the redeeming aspects of the game; along with having a diverse roster of characters which most Americans were not familiar with. Aside from WCW being able to select and fight characters from other organizations including Dead or Alive and Independent Union made the game more interesting overall. While WCW vs The World was not the best 3D pro wrestling game from the 90’s it was also far from being the worst as well.
Gaming Hearts Collection 