ECW Hardcore Revolution

ECW Hardcore Revolution is a professional wrestling video game released by Acclaim Entertainment, based on the professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The game was released for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Game Boy Color, and Dreamcast in 2000. It was the first wrestling game to be based on ECW, as well as the first professional wrestling video game to receive a Mature rating from the ESRB, although the Game Boy Color version was rated Everyone. Acclaim followed this title with the release of a sequel, ECW Anarchy Rulz, in August 2000.

ECW Hardcore Revolution
Developer(s)Acclaim Studios Salt Lake City
Publisher(s)Acclaim Entertainment
Platform(s)Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast
ReleaseGame Boy Color, Nintendo 64, PlayStation
  • NA: February 17, 2000[1]
  • EU: March 3, 2000
Dreamcast
  • NA: February 29, 2000
  • EU: March 17, 2000
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Gameplay for ECW Hardcore Revolution is identical to WWF Attitude. Much of the content was the same, but with ECW images replacing all WWE owned material. The match rules are also retained.

Two (or more) participants attempt to meet one of the win conditions over their rival. They can reduce their opponent's resistance by performing reducing their health. This is done by performing successful attacks and reversals.

  • Pin - Performing a pin cover on a downed opponent, or using a pinning move, to hold their shoulders done while the referee counts to three. Pin attempts are only valid within a ring. They are automatically voided if interrupted or either player touches the ring ropes.
  • Submission - Using a painful hold on a weakened opponent until they give up. These only work under same conditions as pin attempts.
  • Count Out - Whenever a player leaves the ring for any reason, the referee begins a silent count to 10. The count resets each time a player leaves the ring. Any players outside of the ring whenever the referee reaches 10 is defeated. It is possible for all players to lose by count out. These rarely happened in ECW.
  • TKO - If a player's health meter is completely depleted, they can be eliminated automatically. This option needs to be turned on in utilities.
  • Decree of ECW - This is a three-point system that is used if the time limit expires before anyone has met the other win conditions. The first determines who has the most remaining health. If this does not determine a clear winner, then the player with the most health who performed the most successful attacks, taunts and reversals is the winner. If this still does not produce a clear winner, then the player who meets those conditions and has the lowest player number is the winner.
  • DQ - This only occurs if a human controlled player wins a versus match after calling for their ally. Their opponent may be awarded the win by disqualification (DQ).
  • Decree of ECW - This is a three-point system that is used if the time limit expires without anyone meeting the other win conditions.

Nearly all of the main characters were performers and staff members involved with ECW during the game's production. Some personalities who had left the company before or during production were left in as unlockable content. The additional "jobber" characters are based on other ECW or Acclaim staff, or are completely fictional.

The season mode is similar to the one used in WWF Attitude. The first title that the player challenges for is a fictional Acclaim Championship. After clearing the first tier, the player moves on to the ECW Television Championship, and then the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.

The game features all of the attacks that appeared in WWF Attitude, with some renamed, as well as some new ones. However, many of the added moves are just duplicates of moves that already in the game. For example, Danny Doring's finisher "Whambam Thankyou Man" is identical to the "Double Arm DDT".

One of the unique features is match commentary by Joey Styles alone. This is one of the very few wrestling video games in existence to use just one commentator.

Match Types

Most of the matches in the game have been repeated from WWF Attitude, with many having name changes.

Basic Match Types
  • VS - The basic match type between two participants.
  • Lumberjack - A 'VS' match with two additional "lumberjacks" standing outside of the ring. The lumberjacks have unlimited health and will attack and players who leave the ring. The lumberjacks cannot enter the ring, or win. If a lumberjack somehow wins one of the win conditions, then the match is awarded to the defeated player's rival.
  • VS* - Player One must defeat 4 opponents, one after another. The opponents only need to defeat Player One to win.
  • 1 on 2 - Two participants work together to defeat one mutual opponent. The disadvantaged player may defeat either opponent to win.
  • 1 on 3 - Three participants work together to defeat on mutual opponent. Again, the disadvantaged player only needs to defeat on in order to win.
  • 3-Way Dance - A 'VS' match for three participants. The first person to meet the win conditions over either rival is the winner.
  • 3-Way Dance* - In this variation, when a player is defeated, he is removed from the ring while the remaining two participants determine an overall winner.
  • 4-Way Dance* - As the name implies, this is a match for four participants. Each time someone is defeated, they must remain outside the ring for the remainder of the match. The final surviving participant wins the match.
  • Battle Royal - A 4-Way Dance that is only won by removing opponents from the ring. This is done by performing a body slam or atomic whip when the opponent is stunned, or by running into the ring ropes as the opponent climbs a turnbuckle.
  • Battle Royal* - A recreation of the WWF's Royal Rumble. This match has a total of 30 participants, but begins with just two. Additional participants enter the match until the maximum of four are in the ring. Eliminations can only be achieved by removing rivals from the ring. The final survivor is the winner.
  • Tag Team - In this variation of a 'VS' match, both active participants have an inactive teammate on the ring apron at their designated corners. The inactive partners may only offer limited assistance. The active participant and inactive partner may switch roles by performing a tag in their own corner.
  • Tornado - A 2-on-2 match. Unlike in a tag team match, all participants are active at the same time. If a member of a team is defeated, they must remain outside of the ring for the rest of the match. Both players on a team must be defeated in order to win.
  • Tag Team - A tag team match where Team One must defeat two rival teams, one after the other. The other teams only need to defeat Team One to win.
  • 8-Man Tag* - Each tag team has four members, but only two are available at once. When an active participant is defeated, his inactive partner becomes the new active participant, and another member of the team is sent out to be inactive partner. In order to win, all four members of a team must be defeated.
  • Stable Match* - This match features four teams of four members, but only one member of each team is available at any time. Once a participant is defeated, he is replaced by another member of the team. If all four members of the team are defeated, then the final participant must remain outside of the ring for the rest of the match. The last remaining team are the winners.
  • Tournament - This is listed separately from all other Exhibition matches. It is an 8-person tournament consisting entirely of 'VS' matches without added stipulations. The winner of each match advances to the next round, while defeated players are removed from the tournament. In order to win, one of the players must win all three of their matches. It is not possible to suspend a tournament in progress.

Match Types

Match types are additional options that can alter match rules.

  • Cage Match - The ring ropes are replaced with climbable cage walls. In addition to other win conditions, the first person to climb over a cage wall to the outside wins the match for themselves or their team.
  • Barbed Wire - The ring ropes are replaced with barbed wire that causes extreme damage if either player runs into them.
  • Street Fight - Pin and submission attempts are valid outside of the ring. There are no ring out counts.
  • Death Match - Not only are pin and submission attempts valid outside of the ring, but the arena is littered with objects which may be used as weapons.
  • Last Man Standing - This variation of a 'Death Match' cannot be won by pin or submission. After suffering moderate damage, the referee will begin a silent count each time a player lies on the ground stunned. The count is reset if anyone attacks the downed player. If the downed player does not recover before reaching 10, he loses.
  • Toughman Match - In a '1 on 2' or '1 or 3' match, the disadvantaged player must defeat all of his opponents before they can win.

Win Modifiers

These are more additional options that can be added to a match that will change the win conditions.

  • Iron Man Match - Meeting the win conditions will earn the successful player one point. Each time a point is scored, players are returned to their starting positions with the defeated player gaining a health boost. The player with the most points when the time limit expires is the winner. If there is a tie, then the match is a draw (all players lose).
  • 2/3 Victories - Under the same rules as an 'Iron Man Match', the first player to score 2 points wins the match. If the time limit expires and only one player has scored a point, then that player can still win.
  • First Blood - An opponent is automatically defeated if they bleed.
  • I Quit Match - This is essentially a 'Street Fight' with pin attempts disables. Players are encouraged to win by submission.
  • Finisher Only - As the name implies, players can win by performing their finishing move.

Playable Roster

The game features numerous wrestlers and other on screen personalities who appeared on ECW programming prior to its release. Most are available by default, with the rest being un-lockable through game play. Non-wrestlers have move sets based on characters from WWF Attitude e.g. Joey Styles moves are copied directly from WWF star Edge. Several wrestlers left the company while the game was in development, but were left in as they had already been paid a fee for having their likenesses and voices used. Even though Spicolli had left the company and died years before this game was pitched, he was added as favor by Paul Heyman to Tommy Dreamer. In one of Dreamer's pre-match taunts, he can be heard saying "This one's for you, Spicolli."

Aimish RoadkillFrancineMike AwesomeSteve Corino
Axl RottenJack VictoryNew JackSuper Crazy
Balls MahoneyJasonNovaTaz
Beulah McGillicuttyJazzRavenTommy Dreamer
Big Sal E. GrazianoJerry LynnRhinoTommy Rich
Bill AlfonsoJoey StylesRVDTony DeVito
Chris ChettiJudge Jeff JonesSabuTracy Smothers
C.W. AndersonJustin CredibleThe SheikWild Bill
Cyrus The VirusLance StormSimon DiamondYoshihiro Tajiri
Danny DoringLittle GuidoSpanish Angel
Dawn Marie BytchLouie SpicolliSpike Dudley

The game also includes several "Jobber" characters. These characters are loosely based Acclaim and ECW staff, and have moves sets borrowed from the WWF Attitude video game. They appear as opponents in the earlier stages of Career Mode. At first there are only three available, but you can unlock the rest by beating Career mode, and then pressing 'Right' on the character selection screen.

Reception
Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
DreamcastGBCN64PS
AllGame[2][3][4][5]
EGMN/AN/A6.75/10[6]N/A
Game Informer7.75/10[7]2/10[8]8/10[9]8.25/10[10]
GameFanN/AN/A40%[11]N/A
GameProN/AN/A[12][13]
GameRevolutionD+[14]N/AN/AN/A
GameSpot5.6/10[15]4.5/10[16]4.2/10[17]4.2/10[18]
GameSpy2/10[19]N/AN/AN/A
IGN6.9/10[20]3/10[21]5/10[22]4/10[23]
Next Generation[24]N/A[25]N/A
Nintendo PowerN/AN/A5.9/10[26]N/A
OPM (US)N/AN/AN/A[27]
Aggregate score
GameRankings43%[28]38%[29]56%[30]54%[31]

Daniel Erickson reviewed the Nintendo 64 version of the game for Next Generation, rating it one star out of five, and stated that "One of the few games to inspire active anger and hate. Just having to handle the cart with our bare fingers made us feel dirty."[25]

Daniel Erickson reviewed the Dreamcast version of the game for Next Generation, rating it one star out of five, and stated that "A blatant insult to the intelligence of wrestling fans and Dreamcast owners."[24]

ECW Hardcore Revolution received "mixed or average", according to review aggregator GameRankings.[28][29][30][31]

Critics praised Joey Styles's commentary, and the use of weapons during the game. However, many reviews criticized Revolution for being a near copy of its predecessors, WWF Attitude and War Zone, and not reflecting ECW's unique style, just covering over everything with ECW wrestlers and themes.[15]

The Game Boy Color version was heavily criticized by critics and fans alike. Players complained about sluggish controls, poor sound effects and graphics and glitches. It was rated as one of the two worst GBC games of all time by MobyGames.com

See also

References
  1. Cove, Glen (February 15, 2000). "Acclaim Release Schedule 2000". Archived from the original on August 17, 2004.
  2. Licata, Jonathan. "ECW: Hardcore Revolution (DC) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  3. Melville, Bryan. "ECW: Hardcore Revolution (GBC) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  4. Ottoson, Joe. "ECW: Hardcore Revolution (N64) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  5. Ottoson, Joe. "ECW: Hardcore Revolution (PS) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  6. "ECW Hardcore Revolution (N64)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. 2000.
  7. "ECW: Hardcore Revolution (DC)". Game Informer (84). April 2000.
  8. "ECW: Hardcore Revolution (GBC)". Game Informer (84). April 2000.
  9. McNamara, Andy; Fitzloff, Jay; Reiner, Andrew (March 31, 2000). "ECW: Hardcore Revolution (N64)". Game Informer. Archived from the original on June 1, 2000. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  10. Fitzloff, Jay (April 5, 2000). "ECW: Hardcore Revolution - PlayStation". Game Informer. Archived from the original on December 6, 2000. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  11. Mears, Rick "The Wanderer" (February 18, 2000). "REVIEW for ECW Hardcore Revolution (N64)". 'GameFan. Archived from the original on April 11, 2000. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  12. The D-Pad Destroyer (February 17, 2000). "ECW Hardcore Revolution Review for N64 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  13. Lou Gubrious (February 19, 2000). "ECW Hardcore Revolution Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 1, 2005. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  14. G-Wok (March 2000). "ECW Hardcore Revolution Review (DC)". Game Revolution. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  15. Gerstmann, Jeff (March 13, 2000). "ECW Hardcore Revolution Review (DC)". GameSpot. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  16. Provo, Frank (March 14, 2000). "ECW Hardcore Revolution Review (GBC)". GameSpot. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  17. Gerstmann, Jeff (February 17, 2000). "ECW Hardcore Revolution Review (N64)". GameSpot. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  18. Gerstmann, Jeff (February 17, 2000). "ECW Hardcore Revolution Review (PS)". GameSpot. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  19. Fragmaster (March 1, 2000). "ECW Hardcore". PlanetDreamcast. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  20. Dunham, Jeremy (March 3, 2000). "ECW Hardcore Revolution Review (DC)". IGN. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  21. Nix, Marc (March 7, 2000). "ECW: Hardcore Revolution (GBC)". IGN. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  22. Casamassina, Matt (February 17, 2000). "ECW: Hardcore Revolution (N64)". IGN. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  23. Nix, Marc; Gil (February 23, 2000). "ECW: Hardcore Revolution (PS)". IGN. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  24. Erickson, Daniel (May 2000). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 3 no. 5. Imagine Media. p. 97.
  25. Erickson, Daniel (March 2000). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 3 no. 3. Imagine Media. p. 89.
  26. "ECW Hardcore Revolution (N64)". Nintendo Power. 130. March 2000.
  27. "ECW Hardcore Revolution". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. 2000.
  28. "ECW Hardcore Revolution for Dreamcast". GameRankings. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  29. "ECW Hardcore Revolution for Game Boy Color". GameRankings. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  30. "ECW Hardcore Revolution for Nintendo 64". GameRankings. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  31. "ECW Hardcore Revolution for PlayStation". GameRankings. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
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