Getting Even With David Hoffman

Videogames.com spoke with David Hoffman, producer of THQ's WCW/NWO Revenge, the upcoming N64 wrestling game. We have a full preview of the game already up (follow the link to the right), but we had a few more questions about the game and how it's going.

Videogames.com: Will there be a create-a-player feature?David Hoffman: Yes, in Revenge the player will be able to not only alter the wrestler's costume, but also their full name, nickname, and various color shades for the outfits. This change will be saved via the battery back-up allowing the player to keep the new costume for as long as he/she wants.

Videogames.com: How much fighting will you be able to do outside the ring?David Hoffman: If you play with the referee (Mark Curtis) turned on, the player will be able to fight outside the ring until the end of the count. If you turn the ref off, feel free to play as much as you'd like.

Videogames.com: How many secret wrestlers will there be?David Hoffman: I can't comment on that since it is a secret. Let me assure you that achieving title belts is one of the ways to unlock secret characters.

Videogames.com: Do you have a list of wrestlers?David Hoffman: Yes, we have a list of wrestlers. However, in WCW wrestling, things change on a weekly basis. Wrestlers get hurt, change costumes, move affiliations (NWO/WCW), etc.... So we are constantly updating our roster to bring the most current happenings to the players' living room. Let me assure you that we will have in excess of 50 wrestlers and all of the top wrestlers new and old that people love. This is quite a bit more than our friends at Acclaim who are bringing out WWF Warzone, I might add.

Videogames.com: Will there be blood?David Hoffman: This has been a subject of great discussions ever since I started this project. There will be an option to toggle realism on or off thus affecting the damage you see to your opponent. At this time, we are planning to have blood, yes.

Videogames.com: Will the real wrestlers' voices be in the game?David Hoffman: Although, the N64 is a terrific platform in many ways we've experienced difficulty in putting a lot of sound samples into Revenge. We will have some voice-over recorded by professional talent at the WCW, but how much is still under investigation.

Videogames.com: How will you spend the remainder of your development time?David Hoffman: Making sure that our title WCW/NWO REVENGE is clearly the best wrestling game ever developed on any platform. At THQ, wrestling has become our breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and we will not rest until we prevail!!!