WCW Backstage Assault

The Good
WCW Backstage Assault is unique for a wrestling game in that it features no wrestling ring at all. Players can fight in anyone of the backstage arenas from bathrooms, locker rooms, boiler rooms, loading bays, and more. This easily helps this title to standout from other wrestling experiences.

The variety of weapons available to players is unparalleled for a wrestling game. 2 x 4's, pipes, chairs, garbage cans, computer screens, and other unorthodox weapons can be found and used to harm your opponent. Some weapons can even be combined with other objects to make deadlier weapons. For example, a 2 x 4 can be stuck into a flaming barrel to create a flaming 2 x 4.

The Roster and create options are very good for their time as well. Players can edit any character they want or make their own wrestler with the robust create options. There are several wrestlers to unlock and many secrets within the game to help keep players going.

The Bad
Unfortunately, Backstage Assault is a poor wrestling game that pales to other games available. The fact that there are only backstage encounters ensures that the match types you face are few and far between. And since the game only does 1-on-1 matches, you don't really have a lot of options when you have friends over.

The graphics are nothing to write home about, even for the Nintendo 64. All characters are disproportional and are an eye sore even before you mangle them to bits.

The control options for Backstage Assault do not hold up either. While it is playable, and its possible to win matches, Backstage Assault's controls do little favors to those who want to use wrestling moves. The only way to ensure victory in this game is to grab the opponent, throw him into a wall, and get a weapon while he's down. Its really all there is to it.

Hardcore mode is also a poor excuse for a story mode. Players choose from Hardcore (Easy), United States (Medium), or World titles (Hard) to compete for, which pale in comparison to previous WCW titles where players could compete for 5 titles on ANY difficulty.

The Bottom Line
WCW Backstage Assault can be an amusing distraction and, for a little while, players may think they are enjoying their time with this title. Unfortunately, the game becomes less of a wrestling title and more of a sub par brawler that most will not have the attention span or patience to keep playing.