WCW Nitro
North American cover art featuring Sting, Hollywood Hogan and The Giant
Developer(s)Inland Productions[1]
Publisher(s)THQ
Producer(s)Mike Cihak
Designer(s)Mike Cihak
D. Scott Williamson
Arnie Boedecker
Composer(s)Mike Cihak
Matt Scott
Platform(s)
ReleasePlayStation
Microsoft Windows
Nintendo 64
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

WCW Nitro is a professional wrestling video game based on the television show WCW Monday Nitro.[6] Released by THQ for the PlayStation game console in 1998, the game featured a large roster of playable WCW wrestlers as well as full motion video clips of the television show. The game was followed by WCW/nWo Thunder, which was based on Nitro's Thursday night counterpart. Ports for Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows were released later in 1998 and 1999 with the updated roster featured in Thunder.

Reviews for WCW Nitro were mixed, with many critics concluding that though the game is considerably flawed, it was better than most of the few wrestling video games out at the time and would therefore appeal to fans of the sport.

Gameplay

Diamond Dallas Page performs his finisher the "Diamond Cutter" on Lex Luger.

Moves are performed by inputting various button combinations. Each wrestler shares a repertoire of wrestling moves and possesses several of their own signature moves.

Modes of play include singles and tag team matches for one or two players, as well as a one-player tournament mode, where the player must defeat a number of wrestlers to be crowned champion.

There are initially 16 playable characters (each featuring a video introduction), with 48 others that can be unlocked, either by playing through the tournament mode with various wrestlers or by using a cheat code.[7] Some of these secret characters are WCW wrestlers or personalities, while others are fictional characters or THQ staff.

Versions for the Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows were released in 1999 and 2000 featuring the updated roster from the game's sequel Thunder. The Nintendo 64 version does not have any full motion video. The Microsoft Windows version has the selection screen videos and an intro video, but no wrestler entrance videos. However, the Microsoft Windows version does support network play via TCP/IP.

Development

Mike Cihak, president of the game's developer, Inland Productions, claimed during development that

We are the first to develop a seamless, closed mesh, fully texture-mapped animation system. What this means is that there are no separations between a character's arms and legs. The entire body is covered with a seamless skin that is texture-mapped with digitized images of the entire wrestler. ... The guys at Shiny Entertainment say they just invented this a few months ago,[note 1] but we've had this technology for over a year and now have the game to prove it.[8]

The game was ready for release by the end of 1997, but publisher THQ delayed it until 1998 because their game WCW vs. the World was still selling well and they did not want to create their own competition.[9]

Inland Productions released screenshots for an Nintendo 64 version shortly after the PlayStation version's release, but said a publisher for this version had not yet been secured.[10] Ultimately THQ would publish this version as well.

Reception

WCW Nitro received mixed reviews upon its release for the PlayStation. It was praised for its dead-on WCW atmosphere[12][14][15] and large roster.[11][14][15] Some reviewers, though, complained of drops in frame rate when more than two wrestlers are on screen at once,[11][12] and opinions on the controls and gameplay were varied and sometimes contradicting. For example, GamePro complained that "Some of Nitro's moves require too much patience and practice to perform,"[15] but Next Generation instead complained that "the moves are so easy to pull that gameplay is reduced to a contest of button-mashing rather than anything requiring a modicum of strategy, tactics, or skill."[14] Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot, in contrast, said the game does not have either of these problems: "Rather than rely on senseless button mashing to execute moves, Nitro instead has more of a fighting game style to it, with each move having its own set of buttons that trigger the move. Don't be fooled - there is still a bit of button pounding in the game, but not nearly as much as most other wrestling titles out there."[12]

The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly found the controls intuitive and the graphics moderately impressive, but said the controls suffer from delayed responsiveness. John Ricciardi deemed it a rental-only game, but Kraig Kujawa and Joe Fielder both said that while conspicuously less than perfect, WCW Nitro was one of the best games in the wrestling genre, with Kujawa giving the pragmatic assessment that "if you want a wrestling game, slim pickings make this the one to get by default."[11] Gerstmann similarly said that though the game has its flaws, it was better than previous games in the genre and so would not disappoint wrestling fans.[12] Next Generation likewise assessed it as a strong example of a genre with traditionally modest aspirations, concluding that "Ultimately, WCW Nitro, not unlike actual wrestling, delivers fun, if not terribly sophisticated entertainment."[14] GamePro argued that the gameplay lacks the depth of WCW vs. the World, but still recommended the game to wrestling fans.[15]

During the inaugural Interactive Achievement Awards, the PlayStation version of WCW Nitro received a nomination for "Console Fighting Game of the Year" by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.[16]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ This is in reference to the graphics technology used in Shiny Entertainment's game Messiah.

References

  1. ↑ "E3 Showstoppers!". GamePro. No. 108. IDG. September 1997. p. 40.
  2. ↑ "PlayStation Nation News". Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  3. ↑ "Home | THQ Nordic GMBH". 1998-01-17. Archived from the original on 1998-01-17. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  4. ↑ "News Briefs". IGN. November 30, 1998. Archived from the original on April 22, 2000. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
    First WCW Wrestler Hits PC: "THQ has released the first World Championship Wrestling (WCW) game for the PC, the company said today..."
  5. ↑ "PR - 2/8/98 - THQ'S 'WCW NITRO' FOR NINTENDO 64 SLAMS ONTO RETAIL SHELVES". 2004-04-16. Archived from the original on 2004-04-16. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  6. ↑ "THQ Brings World Championship Wrestling to Personal-Computer Users With WCW Nitro". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. November 30, 1998. Archived from the original on February 24, 1999. Retrieved June 16, 2019 – via Yahoo.com.
  7. ↑ "S.W.A.T. Pro". GamePro. No. 115. IDG. April 1998. p. 122.
  8. ↑ Scary Larry (December 1997). "Of Kingpins and Pin Kings". GamePro. No. 111. IDG. p. 74.
  9. ↑ "WCW Nitro Delayed". GamePro. No. 112. IDG. January 1998. p. 32.
  10. ↑ "Nintendo 64 Preview Gallery". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 106. Ziff Davis. May 1998. p. 38.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Rickards, Kelly; Kujawa, Kraig; Fielder, Joe; Ricciardi, John (February 1998). "Review Crew: WCW Nitro". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 103. Ziff Davis. p. 121.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Gerstmann, Jeff. "WCW Nitro Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  13. ↑ Buckman, Chris (March 15, 1999). "WCW Nitro". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "Finals". Next Generation. No. 38. Imagine Media. February 1998. p. 114.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Johnny Ballgame (February 1998). "PlayStation ProReview: WCW Nitro". GamePro. No. 113. International Data Group. p. 84.
  16. ↑ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details WCW Nitro". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
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