There’s usually not much question about where you can find me every Monday night - I’ll be sitting in front of my TV, watching wrestling. I switch back and forth between WWF and WCW, but I have to admit that the WWF has always been my favorite. Over the years, I have played many different video game interpretations of the "sport," (Some of them quite bad), but WWF Warzone, by Acclaim, is by far the best Pro Wrestling video game to date.

Warzone features a large selection of WWF wrestlers (some of whom are no longer with the WWF) including The Undertaker, Kane, Mankind, Bret Hart, and Steve Austin (my favorite) just to name a few. Each of the wrestlers have their own ratings, move sets, finishing moves, attitudes, and music. In addition to the pre-existing wrestlers, you can create your own wrestler with a wide variety of options -- right down to boot color. Naturally, this feature is limited, as you cannot draw an entirely new face for a wrestler, invent moves, etc., but it is still a fun feature that, at least to the best of my knowledge, as not been done in any other wrestling game.

Several different play modes in Warzone add a lot of variety to gameplay. There is the standard one-on-one match in which you take on either a computer opponent or a friend with either normal wrestling rules or in a grudge match, in which you may use chairs, bells, televisions (yep, that’s right- televisions) and other weapons. There are also tag-team matches, in which up to four people can play; a career mode, in which work your way up through the other wrestlers to become champion; and a training mode, in which you can practice performing moves. The graphics and sound in Warzone are expertly done and true to life. Wrestlers look and sound just like their real life counterparts in the ring, and music and videos for each of the game's wrestlers has been perfectly translated. I rarely like the commentary in any video sports game, but the color commentary provided by Vince McMahon and Jim Ross is well done and amusing.

Control in Warzone is better than in past wrestling games, but it is definitely not perfect. In most other wrestling games I have played, there are some wrestling moves, but for the most part it all comes down to punching and kicking. Although Warzone moves away from this a little bit, with features such as blocking and dodging, punches and kicking will still win many matches. As in most wrestling games, when you and your opponent get tied up, who wins and gets to perform a move usually comes down to who can hit the buttons faster. Perhaps the most annoying feature about the Warzone control occurs in tag matches, where it is very tricky to tag out. This should be very easy to do, but you have to be in EXACTLY the right spot to make the tag. I have lost several matches just because I wasn't able to tag out. Also in tag matches, if you are facing one person, there is no easy way to quickly turn around and face someone behind you, leaving you open to attacks from behind.

Moves in Warzone are different for each wrestler and are performed by pressing the right combinations of directions and buttons when you are in the proper position. The training mode allows you to view the move listings and practice performing them. Unfortunately, the finishing moves are not displayed in the manual or in the training mode. Warzone has a unique method of tracking wrestlers’ stamina during a match. You start with a green energy bar, and when your energy bar gets emptied, you wrestler becomes momentarily stunned. At this time, your opponent is free to perform a move. Then you get a slightly different colored energy bar, and the same thing happens. As your wrestler becomes weaker, his energy bars become red, at which time your opponent can perform a finisher or go for the pin. Most moves, including finishers, seem to do about the same amount of damage. I have actually had wrestlers bounce right back up after getting hit with a move such as the Tombstone.

It has almost become a standard in sports games to have an option to create players. Warzone, to the best of my knowledge, is the first wrestling game to incorporate this feature. You can make your own wrestler, customizing a wide variety of features from their stamina to their attitude and move set. Naturally, this is limited, and although you can approximate other wrestlers, its just not the same as actually having Goldberg or Kevin Nash as part of the game.

An issue some game players may be faced with is what system to get Warzone for: N64 or PlayStation. I spent much more time with the Playstation version, and, personally, I like it better. Both versions are very playable and the N64, unlike the Playstation version, includes a Royal Rumble mode. However, the sound and music are far better in the Playstation version, and, obviously, the N64 version does not have videos of the wrestlers, and I think these are two features that add quite a bit to this game.

Although Warzone is the best wrestling game I have ever played, I do not see myself touching it six months from now. Like real-life pro-wrestling (oxymoron), it is very entertaining, but it is basically mindless entertainment. It is not the type of game that takes weeks to complete, and hearing Steve Austin yell-around is only fun for so long. If you get this game and get a bunch of friends together to play (up to four at a time), you will have a blast. After awhile, though, I see this game getting pretty stale, especially if even more of the wrestlers leave the WWF or change their persona. If you are looking for a wrestling game, especially a WWF wrestling game, WWF Warzone is the game to get. A wide variety of options, wrestlers and moves, along with great sound and graphics, make this the best wrestling game ever, and that’s the bottom line, ‘cause "Stone Cold" Al said so.