This is one of the games that I remember renting. My friend Drew and I spent several weekends playing this game. Then Smackdown came out, and we completely forgot about it.
It felt like there was a new wrestling game every couple of months back in the late 90s. They all blend together. This one stands out because of how often my friends and I rented it.
It is a fine game, but I wish I were playing either Smackdown or WCW Mayhem. It isn’t a bad game; it just doesn’t have what the Smackdown games have. The controls are also a little wonky, which can sometimes make the gameplay strange. It plays more like a fighting game than a wrestling game.
TLDR: Decent Graphics with Wonky Gameplay.
Narrative
There is no story, but the game has a career mode. This is kind of cool, but it creates some odd and nonsensical moments. You can make up a story, but you need to use your imagination for it.
You start at the bottom and bring a wrestler to the WWF Championship, or you can take a tag team to the Tag Team Championships. You don’t have control over which belt you go after, and things can get a little repetitive.
You start with House Show matches in front of a small crowd. You’ll get on more popular shows as you continue to win matches. Eventually, you’ll get on Shotgun Saturday Night, then Sunday Night Heat, and finally on WWF Raw. Smackdown didn’t exist at this time.
Not having a story mode sucks, but it isn’t that big of a deal. Most games didn’t have one, and those that did had a largely nonsensical one. It makes the run-ins feel incredibly random, as they never go anywhere.
Gameplay
The game plays like a fighting game. You have a list of moves and the buttons you need to input to perform them. You could say this about most wrestling games, but it feels more like a fighting game.
It took me a while to get used to the controls. They’re responsive, but there was something off that might be due to my controller, or it could be me getting older. The game was easy to play once I got the hang of it.
I was worried when I checked the manual; there was no move list. You just get a simple list of the basic controls. It is a good start. You need to pause the game and pull up the move list to see what button combinations do the fun moves.
In the career mode, which is what I played the most, you play as one of the WWF wrestlers or a wrestler you created. The game starts with you wrestling house shows, and you work up to WWF Raw and one of the pay-per-views. Eventually, you compete for one of the championships. You can also do this as a tag team.
The problem with the career mode is a lack of storylines. You don’t get a rivalry or a grudge match. You just wrestle seemingly random matches until you eventually challenge for a belt. It feels like a hallow experience. It would be nice to have a reason for these matches or some indication of how close you are to the championship.
There are other game modes. Aside from the career mode, there isn’t anything special. It is what you would expect from a wrestling game. If I had a second player, I would’ve enjoyed them more.
The game does prevent you from punching or kicking your way to victory. I like this, but at times, it can be frustrating. The AI is very good at blocking and dodging. It sometimes made me feel pretty stupid as I was getting annoyed with the game. It was funny in an annoying way.
Overall, the gameplay is fine. Getting used to the control scheme takes some time, but it isn’t all that bad. The hit detection can be off at times.
Visuals
WWF Attitude looks okay for 1999. It isn’t going to blow anyone away, but it looks pretty good. I like the way that WCW Mayhem looks more than this game.
The presentation looks good, the character models are what you would expect from this time, and the animations are good. There are some issues that I can chalk up to when the game was made—particularly the ring ropes.
The ring ropes look stiff. They don’t move much and look incredibly stiff. I notice it when your character gets in and out of the ring. It looks strange.
The entrances get better and better as your character gets on better shows. When you start, the arenas are small, and the entrances are simple. They get more elaborate as you move to Shotgun Saturday Night, Sunday Night Heat, RAW, and Pay-per-views.
The faces are static images. This isn’t a problem until the camera zooms in on them during a submission move. It is hilarious to see the same facial expressions when the character is supposed to be in pain.
Overall, this is a product of its time. The visuals look fine for 1999. I didn’t have any problems with it and found it far funnier than it was supposed to be.
7.5/10. I like Mayhem a little more than this game. Parts of Attitude look better than Mayhem, but the controls and gameplay aren’t as good.
Pros
- Decent Graphics
- Career Mode
- Easy to Play
- Can be hilarious at times
Cons
- Controls can be Wonky
- No Story in Career Mode
Conclusion
It was fun to go back and re-learn how to play. Around this time, I was way into wrestling, and playing as my favorite wrestler was cool. Nowadays, it is fun to play as Steve Blackman and get one of the Championships.
The graphics are good for the time, and the animations for the moves are good, but some awkward movements were a product of the time. When I look at the other wrestling games released at this time, WWF Attitude isn’t any better or worse than the others.
I like WCW Mayhem better than this game. The two are similar, but Mayhem has a better control scheme. Attitude has better graphics in some places. The two are close, but I have more nostalgia for Mayhem.