WWF Raw

Whether you're hitting your opponent with a chair or using The Undertaker's Tombstone piledriver on some poor chump, you'll agree that if you're into wrestling, you're gonna have to get Raw.

With tons of options and the WWF's most popular wrestlers, you can't go wrong. And with ten skill settings, gamers of all abilities can hit the mat. So do you have what it takes to be the king of the ring? WWF Raw is a fun way to find out.

Aside from adding multi-player support - which has been done - the only way for the 16-bit versions of Raw to improve upon the original Royal Rumble would have been to add a bit more variety to the character animation and/or give the player more to look at between and after matches. Raw doesn't really do either; there's no great reward for winning any of the game's competitions - even the more grueling ones - and every single wrestler continues to strike the exact same "fists up" victory pose when he or she wins.

To me it's not real WWF wrestling without the surreal trappings of the "sport" as it appears on TV; sure, there are departures from the "rules" - especially when the referee is blindsided by an errant blow to the head - but I want to see these guys taunting each other before a fight and I want them to look all red-faced and psychotic like they do in real life. I want to see Paul Bearer carrying that urn...I want to see Doink's little midget doppelgangers walking around...I want to see the fans getting into it the way they should. Still a great game, but the extra eight megabits of memory really don't show.

Well, there’s not much else to say (Wow, this hit 1,000 words…). Overall, if you’re desperate for a good wrestling game, the Genesis actually has a few quality ones to choose from, and this is one of them! In the end, it makes a trilogy, and almost saves Super Wrestlemania. Almost.

Six play modes cover it all from an every-man-for-himself Royal Rumble to the new Raw Endurance matches that pit two teams of wrestlers against each other in one-on-one match-ups, much like Mortal Kombat II's survival mode. After this much action, your thumb's bound to be 'raw'.

Despite stiff competition from the rival WCW and allegations of rampant steroid use, the WWF's success continues. So it was only a matter of time before another World Wrestling Federation title hit the shelf. Unfortunately WWF Raw - available for both SNES and Genesis - has the same look and feel of past 16-bit WWF titles Royal Rumble and Rage in the Cage.

What it all amounts to is a pretty typical wrestling game. Nothing since Saturday Night Slam Masters has proved much more than a mediocre wrestling game and WWF Raw is no different. It's a good thing that even mediocre wrestling games are kinda cool, especially when featuring Doink the Clown.

The actual gameplay is the same button-mashing fest that the Super NES/Genesis version was. You're constantly required to hit as many buttons as fast as you can. What this does is give you hand cramps, blisters and can make you sweat (which is always bad). Still, if you own a 32X, love wrestling, have tireless fingers, have hair on your back and don't already own a version of WWF Raw, the 32X version is the best of the brawling bunch.

WWF Raw has much faster gameplay making it a lot harder to win against the computer on any difficulty level. Expect to become frustrated with the computer's cheap way of outperforming your moves -- like it's using a turbo controller! In the end, WWF Raw will satisfy fans who care more about a having a fun multiplayer game than a rewarding single-player experience.

WWF Raw has much faster gameplay making it a lot harder to win against the computer on any difficulty level. Expect to become frustrated with the computer's cheap tactics of outperforming your moves--like it's using a turbo controller! If you do decide to get WWF Raw, make sure it's for the multiplayer mode first.

With no real improvements, this version of WWF Raw seems a little useless. If you're a 32X owner who's never played, get this cart. But Genesis Raw-skeeters have definitely seen this match before.

This is the best game in this series without a doubt. The super moves aside, this is as good as 16-bit wrestling gets. The wrestlers finally have some different moves and added speed really gets things going. Oh, and nothing can match beating someone's face in with a bucket. Nothing.

Despite the enhancements of the sounds and graphics that the 32X can handle, the tapping of the buttons is what the game's based on. There's no point in playing. Plus, the computer is quite hard to beat unless you put the difficulty setting on 1, then maybe you'll have a chance. You better indulge on some sugar before you play this...disappointment.

If you've got to have a handheld WWF Raw, avoid the Game Boy version and pick up Game Gear. However, if you've got a choice, stay the hell away from both. A clothesline from the Undertaker hurts less.

If you've got to have a handheld WWF Raw, avoid the Game Boy version and pick up Game Gear. However, if you've got a choice, stay the hell away from both. A clothesline from the Undertaker hurts less.

There's no reason to play this version over the others. If you enjoy this engine for wrestling games, seek out WWF Rage in the Cage on the Sega CD. It has a massive roster, decent graphics, and the same gameplay. It's the best game to ever use this engine. The 32X port is nothing more then a sad way to sap money from customers who didn't do their research.

As a whole, WWF Raw is largely a waste of time. It doesn't add anything useful to the existing Genesis game that would make it worth purchasing for a 32X library, and it was probably one of the games that helped give the add-on a bad name. Graphically it's bland, and it's pretty boring to play with only thirteen playable characters when there were previous wrestling titles released on the Sega CD with a far bigger roster. Furthermore, having only thirteen wrestlers out of thirty in a Royal Rumble is a bit lacking, Even the audio is pretty awful. Really, Raw is just fodder and pointless filler for the 32X library. Pass on this and play something on the 32X that takes advantage of the add-on's strengths and isn't a lame upgrade from a previous game.

This game's title is apropos, as the visuals look unpolished, with animation that's hard to make out at times. WWF Raw offers seven playing modes including tag team and the Royal Rumble, which features six wrestlers in the ring at once! Yes, it's a big, confusing mess. Just like real wrestling, you can do some crazy things like punch the referee or fight outside of the ring. And while you're out there, don't forget to smack your opponent with that folding chair that always just happens to be sitting around for no good reason. WWF Raw is not a game I can play for an extended period of time. Then again, I'm not a wrestling fan. If you are an avid fan, you can probably bump up the grade by one letter.