WWE WrestleMania X8 is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published exclusively to the GameCube by THQ on June 10, 2002. The game is named after the WrestleMania X8 pay-per-view event that was held at the Skydome in Toronto, Canada on March 17, 2002.
The game was originally going to be called WWF WrestleMania X8, however the WWF became WWE on May 6, 2002, as a result of an on-going trademark dispute with the World Wide Fund for Nature. Whilst the external packaging labels this as a "WWE" release, its gameplay and inner contents fully retain all "WWF" logos and references.
Gameplay
WWE WrestleMania X8 features a simple grappling system. Each wrestler has five front grapples, five rear grapples, and miscellaneous grapples, such as an evade and grapple in which a wrestler will dodge and then perform a hold or throw. There are meters based on color for the competitors in a match, and a pin is possible when the player's meter is fully red and their opponent's is fully blue. A large portion of the gameplay revolves around counter moves, with different buttons countering different maneuvers and allow different responses, such as strike and grapple. The game features a wide selection of signature moves used by wrestlers, and all wrestlers in the game have their unique entrances. There are a variety of weapons available, as well as the ability to perform a number of different grapples with them.
Another mode in the game is the Battle for the Belts mode, in which a player can go after one of 51 fictional belts, some of which actually resemble real title belts from other promotions, such as the XPW World Heavyweight Championship, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the WCW Hardcore Championship, the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, and the AWA World Heavyweight Championship (circa 1970's). Battle for the Belts even has the WWF Women's Championship, despite the belt itself not being featured in the Path of a Champion mode, as well as the Smoking Skull and Brahma Bull Championships (the latter of which was never actually seen on WWF programming). A player can challenge either the CPU controlled wrestler who holds the belt or another player who has the belt in an attempt to win it. A player can customize the belt by naming it and changing its color.
Stone Cold Steve Austin was replaced with The Rock on the cover for the PAL version, and later NTSC releases, due to Austin's walkout following the game's release.
The game had a marketing budget of $3 million.
Reception
WWE WrestleMania X8 received "average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.
Sequel
The game was succeeded by WWE WrestleMania XIX for the GameCube in 2003.
See also
- List of licensed wrestling video games
- List of fighting games