Solid but minimal (WWF Royal Rumble (DC))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	WWF Royal Rumble (DC)
Date:	03/09/09 (3 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great visuals, 9 wrestlers on the screen at once!

Disadvantages: 2 modes, not enough wrestlers

I've played virtually every wrestling game that has ever existed, and whilst the Dreamcast's Royal Rumble isn't jam-packed with the vast options that the Smackdown series of the same generation did, it had one killer feature that blew the PS2's wrestling games out of the water - the ability to have up to nine wrestlers on the screen at once, a mind-blowingly astounding achievement that really still hasn't been bettered, even on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

The game is very minimalist aside from this, though - there's an exhibition mode where you can pick any two wrestlers and have a brawl, and then there's the icing on the cake that is the Royal Rumble which, without this, the game would be a good-looking, but rather mediocre title. One notable feature, though, is the ability to get a manager to interfere during a singles match, which hadn't really been done prior to this, and no doubt influenced the use of it in the later Smackdown games.

One considerable weakness of the game is that the Royal Rumble match itself has 30 competitors in it, with you seeking to survive the match by throwing the other wrestlers over the top rope. However, the game only has 22 wrestlers, leaving a surfeit of 8 wrestlers, meaning that those 8 will simply be repetitions of wrestlers that have already entered, which seems rather daft. I'm sure the Dreamcast could have accomodated another 8 wrestlers, and if not, then perhaps it explains how they were able to have 9 wrestlers in the ring at once!

It's no masterpiece, and were it not for the impressive Royal Rumble mode and stellar graphics, few would even remember it - it's a revolution in some aspects, but also a grave disappointment in others. An interesting experiment more than a great game, it's still worth playing if you're a wrestling fan, perhaps for a rental (at least back in the day) more than a purchase.

Summary: An empty but great looking wrestling game