![WWF Raw (JUE) [!]-01.gif (7545 bytes)](../dpsightz/gamegear/WWF_Raw_JUE_-01.gif)
When I think of this
game, the first word that comes to my mind is pitiful. This is without a doubt the worst
wrestling game I have ever played on a console. Well the worst wrestling game I've played
period. The Game Gear version of WWF Raw is more putrid than any of those Acclaim
or Tiger handheld wrestling games. I paid $35 for this expecting the color graphics and
more powerful system to be able to produce a game that would outshine some decent, but
lacking, Game Boy wrestling carts I had played. You'd be better off buying a small ring
and action figures, it'd be a lot more fun. The graphics are miniscule, not even as big as the wrestlers on Gameboy, Tiger or Acclaim handhelds. The colors are dark and ugly. The wrestlers are unrecognizable, this would look primitive compared to first generation games on the Atari 7800. The only passable graphics are the wrestler selection screens, which look ok. What little action there is remains limited pretty much to the small confines of the ring. The sounds, particularly the punches and kicks, and the music are very primitive, again a disappointment. There is only one real music theme that is used during the matches.
The gameplay is even worse, if that's possible. On the bright side, there are a few modes to choose from; singles, tag team and Survivor Series. There are also a few difficulty levels to choose from as well, but the game is frustratingly difficult even on the easiest level. Lock-up's are nearly impossible to win so you are pretty much reduced to punches and kicks to win the matches. Obviously it is no fun using just punches and kicks to win your matches, anyone in their right mind would enjoy using some special moves. Jamming on the buttons in a panicked frenzy is also not the idea of fun for most gamers.
To win a lockup you have to jam on the buttons repeatedly and it's tough to push the right combination of control functions and buttons to get any special moves you want, so when you do use one, it is random. Don't even waste your time attempting any finishers. Again, the matches are hard and sometimes in the Survivor Series, all of your wrestlers will be eliminated before you have even eliminated one of the opposing computer wrestlers. The other modes are equally hard to compete and have success in. To further add to the scrap heap, by the time this game came out, a few of the featured wrestlers were no longer with the company.
I can't do enough damage to this terrible game with just my words, you would have to play it to see how truly bad it is.
This is the only WWF Game Gear game I have played so I don't know if it is a recurring problem or not. Amazingly, to this day people are actually baffled as to why the Game Gear never took off. Games like this certainly didn't help the success of Sega's portable. With games like this how can you expect it to have any success? Too bad this couldn't have been closer to the SNES or Genesis versions of Raw.
