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WWE: Crush Hour

Score: 5.9 / 10

THQ is the king when it comes to wrestling games. Their Smackdown series has been an enormous success and it would only make sense to build upon that with new ideas. Taking ideas from Twisted Metal Black and combining it with WWE characters should make a pretty amazing game, right?

Right off of the starts Crush Hour mimics almost everything Twisted Metal Black does, but fails to surpass Twisted Metal Black in any specific category. The game really lacks in all aspects, which range from a small number of weapons to less than average game modes. It should be noted though that all your favorite WWE characters are included and their vehicles come locked and loaded as well. The game includes a number of game modes, which include your basic Tag Team matches, Survivor series, Battle Royals and Cage Matches. Of course, the game has a Career mode as well, which is less than stellar. In the Smackdown games you have story-driven Career modes, but in Crush Hour it’s different. There is really nothing to call a story, as the entire focus is whether or not you get first (over and over) in each match. Even with the varying game modes each mode feels the same with basically the same search and destroy game elements. It really becomes redundant and tedious.

 

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The amount of weapons in the game are disappointing and the amount of ammo you receive from each power up is a joke. Sometimes you’ll only get two packs of ammo and trying to actually hit the target makes the weapons seem useless at times. The game has basic power-ups, but nothing more. There is also a multiplayer mode, but it has to be unlocked first which, some may find really annoying even though it's not difficult to unlock. Sadly the game only supports two 

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players, but the multiplayer is the only aspect of this game with some depth. You’ll find yourself in some intense firefights with each other or against your AI opponents. Another problem with the game is the AI. Sometimes the AI will be a breeze to defeat and other times they won’t be. In deathmatch battles you’ll end up seeing the AI team up on you when it’s really a free-for-all match. The controls aren’t perfect, but aren’t bad either. Some things such as reversing your car can be a little slow at times, but nothing unbearable.

The graphics are really not what you would expect from THQ. The graphics really lack detail and polish that have made other THQ titles a treat to look at. Some of the car models look great and the designs are awesome, but it really can’t compete with the likes of Twisted Metal Black. The effects also needed some work and more attention could have been paid to the environments. The intros are fairly cool though.

And matching the poor gameplay is the audio. Crush Hour does include commentating, but it’s so dull, it doesn’t keep up with the play all the time, and gets repetitive quickly. The characters fighting do say some taunts after kills, but nothing spectacular. The only good part of the sound is the music to the intros for each character. Too bad the intros aren’t longer.

THQ had a good idea, but its latest effort comes up short in all aspects. Twisted Metal Black still remains king when it comes to action racing games. The biggest reason gamers won’t be flocking to this game is because of the lack of depth. There is little to no replay value and the most fun you’ll get out of it will probably be a weekend rental if you have a friend over. WWE Crush Hour retails lower than an average price ($20US), but that still isn’t a good reason to snatch this game.

- Siddharth Masand

(May 3, 2003)

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