The 4 Worst WCW Video Games of All Time

If you were like me growing up, there were many arguments that took place on the playground. Not to show my age but, when I was young, everyone at recess was arguing about professional wrestling. There were many dream matches that we would all talk about including The Undertaker vs Sting, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs Goldberg, you get the idea.

The 4 Worst WCW Wrestling Video Games

During this time, there was another major argument going on between wrestling fans all over the world. They were battling over which professional wrestling organization was better: WWE (it was known as WWF during the 90s) or WCW. I'm here today to settle another debate and this is which WCW video games are the worst of the bunch? I've spent most of my life playing video games and I've enjoyed lots of wrestling titles. Here are the ones from WCW that I didn't enjoy.

1. WCW Nitro

As its rival, the WWF was releasing War Zone and Attitude on the Playstation 1 and Nintendo 64, WCW had to do something. Unfortunately, the something they came up with was releasing WCW Nitro. At first, this game's intro hits and the combination of videos and generic rock was enough to get me excited. Sadly, things go downhill fast once you've selected your character. The gameplay in WCW Nitro is frustrating, the graphics and ugly, and the entire thing is a chore to play.

This game wasn't all bad, I suppose. The one thing I enjoyed about this game was the massive amount of characters that were available. At the time, I'm pretty sure this game had more playable characters than any other professional wrestling game on the market. The problem was, once you got past the roster of wrestlers, things got weird. Really, really weird.

With the right codes, you could unlock the following characters:

Dinosaur
Snowman
Evil Santa Claus
Ghost
Clown
Skeleton

2. WCW Thunder

I can't believe they got me twice. While it's true that I was about 20 years younger when this game came out, I knew I had to have WCW Thunder. You see, the internet was only beginning to gain popularity at this time. This meant that there was no Metacritic or another way to see how good games were. I even remember my Dad buying me a Goldberg memory card with this game. Thanks, Dad.

As far as the game goes, it was more of what WCW Nitro offered. That was an ugly mess with the same overcomplicated moveset. To use this space as a way to try and be positive, one cool thing about both Nitro and Thunder were the intro screens.

3. WCW Backstage Assault

Another game that has to be talked about is WCW Backstage Assault. I have to admit, I don't think that this game gets all of the hate it deserves. However, I'm also a wrestling fan who enjoys falls-count-anywhere matches and the like. For most people, what was so confusing about Backstage Assault was that there was no wrestling ring. That's like a Mario game where he can't jump. Needless to say, many people passed on this game. And, during a time where WCW was almost out of business, it was a sign of the times for this company.

4. WCW Superbrawl

I struggled with listing this one on here, as almost every 16-bit professional wrestling was a disaster. As The Angry Video Game Nerd pointed out in a recent video, the best professional wrestling game was Saturday Night Slam Masters, a title that no actual wrestling company was involved in. And I agree with him!

During this era, WCW threw its hat into the proverbial ring with WCW Superbrawl. This game had a shot at being alright. That is, once you get past what I can only call the busiest character selection screen in video game history. Here's what it looks like.

So, there we have it, four of the absolute worst games that WCW has released for their fans. Fortunately, things would get much better for the company with the PlayStation 1 release of WCW vs The World, one of the first great wrestling games. In 1998, World Championship Wrestling released WCW vs NWO: Revenge (sensing a pattern here?). Revenge is a game that many fans still feel is the best professional wrestling video game of all-time. I'd find it hard to disagree with them.