A decent wrestling game for the Gamecube
Story - 3/10 The story in this game is actually pretty bad. First, there is no season mode, just revenge mode which i will explain in a few. Basically, the story goes like this: Vince McMahon has kicked you out of the WWE and his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, has offered to help you get back in the WWE and get a shot at revenge. Not that great. Now onto revenge mode: Revenge Mode is THQ's bad attempt at a 3D wrestling beat-em-up. There are about 5 stages ranging from a construction site to a parking lot to a harbor each with about 6 missions. These missions range from eliminating security officers, workers and guards to getting to a certain platform. It may sound fun, but it really isn't. The problems of Revenge Mode are as follows:
-Bad Camera (You can control it with the C-Stick, but it still does its own things)
-Horrible A.I. (Often, Revenge Mode feels like a handicap situation, you will be ganged up by 2 or 3 guys at a time. Missions also become very frustrating due to this problem)
-Cash (This is the only way to unlock money to buy things in the shopzone)
We would have been fine with a normal season mode, but hey, this is at least better than no season mode at all.
Graphics - 7/10
The graphics are bright and look pretty decent, but some of the wrestlers look stiff or just too ripped. The superstars look like their real-life counterparts (except Stephanie McMahon who looks totally different) and the entrances look pretty decent as well. The animations are good overall but some of the wrestlers when walking down the entrance way look like robots.
Sound - 7/10
The sound in the is decent. Some of the wrestlers do not have their correct themes. Most of the songs in the game are rock instrumentals which mix in when you are wrestling. The sound effects such as hitting canvas and smashing a chair over your opponents head sound realistic as well.
Gameplay - 8/10 You have all your basic match types: Single, Tag Team, Handicap (1 on 2 or 2 on 1), and free for all (3-man or 4-man) as well as TLC, Hell In A Cell, Cage, Tables, Royal Rumble, etc. There is also a King of The Ring mode which adds to the gameplay factor. The gameplay is pretty simple: A is for grapples (tapping A for weak grapples and holding it for strong), while moving the control stick in different directions mixes up your moves. B is for strikes, again, tapping for weak and holding for strong. The D-pad is for taunting, Y runs/climbs/enters and exits the ring, X picks up your opponent/weapons and the L&R buttons are for blocking/reversing. A+B at the same time activate and perform your special when your special meter is full. The only problem is that moves will get reversed a lot, so be prepared for your opponent to counter your strikes and grapples.
The Create-A-Wrestler mode is pretty in-depth. You can select from many different moves, clothing, gear and facial options for your created male or female wrestler. There is also a create-an-entrance, which although isn't spectacular, adds a nice touch to CAW mode. You can also make custom logos with the Paint Tool. It won't take you long to make a wrestler since the load times between selecting parts are not even 5 seconds long.
Shopzone is where you purchase items with money you earned from Revenge Mode. You can buy more CAW attribute points, moves, move templates, entrance effects, clothing, hairstyles, weapons and more.
Overall, Wrestlemania XIX does not disappoint. Revenge mode was pretty hard but at least it's better than having no story mode at all. There are enough match types and a great CAW mode that you will enjoy.