The wild atmosphere and outrageous moves of TV wrestling have been faithfully preserved in WCW vs. NWO. The action can even take place outside of the ring and off of the ropes. The animation is smooth, and the characters are large enough to draw you into the action. With the addition of an official license, you can wreak havoc as one of several real-life TV wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan.

While the atmosphere of the game is quite enjoyable, there is one glaring flaw to the game: the control. The setup is unintuitive, difficult to use, and only uses the Control Stick for showboating to the crowd and executing occasional special moves. Aside from the poor controller setup, the control feels sluggish, and sometimes unresponsive. For example, if you push A to make your wrestler grab an opponent, it takes a fair amount of time for the grab to be executed completely. Often it takes long enough that the opponent will be able to counter with a hard punch. On the other hand, if you are the victim of a hold, it can be very difficult to get free. The odd control in the game can be adapted to, but it just doesn’t feel as good as it should.

Most die-hard wrestling fans should be able to look past the sluggish control and enjoy WCW vs. NWO for its atmosphere and enjoyable portrayal of TV wrestling. Even so, a rental is advised before purchase to be certain that the control isn’t going to hamper your fun. For non-wrestling fans, WCW vs. NWO is a fun rental for a change of multi-player pace, but don’t be surprised if you end up mashing buttons rather than playing with any real strategy.