In 1997, the release of WCW/NWO World Tour for Nintendo 64 put wrestling video games on the map. The gameplay was smooth, extremely playable, and just downright fun, a homerun for developer AKI Corporation and publisher THQ. With the popularity of WWE skyrocketing in 1998, the anticipation for Acclaim Entertainment's WWF War Zone was palpable.

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Prior to War Zone's release, fans would pick up a Nintendo Power or GamePro magazine, look at stills from the game, and daydream about playing a WWE game as good as WCW/NWO World Tour. Unfortunately, when the game was finally released, it failed to live up to expectations.

10 The Release Was Delayed For N64

Fans clamoring for War Zone were met with a rude awakening when they showed up to stores hoping to get a copy of the game on the July 1998 Nintendo 64 release date. While the Game Boy version came out in June and Playstation's was released in July, War Zone was delayed for an entire month for the N64. Suffice it to say, there were a lot of teary-eyed WWE fans in the mid-summer of 1998.

9 The Gameplay Was a Huge Disappointment

When gamers finally got their hands on War Zone and popped it into their N64 or Playstation, their excitement likely turned to disappointment. While WCW/NWO World Tour had user-friendly gameplay with easily executed moves, War Zone was a convoluted mess. And if you wanted to do a wrestler's finisher, it was a race against the clock. For instance, to do Shawn Michaels' Sweet Chin Music, you had to jam an elaborate combo of buttons while your opponent waited in a daze. If you got one button wrong, it didn't work, so you had to start all over again, perhaps with not enough time.

8 It Was One Of The First Games With Entrances

Prior to the release of War Zone, most wrestling video games just had the competitors already in the ring to start a match. Not only did War Zone have entrances, but the wrestlers also came out to their actual theme music (16-Bit versions for N64). However, they ended up being a letdown, as wrestlers awkwardly sauntered out onto the ramp and posed, without actually walking all the way down to the ring. But having entrances at all was novel for the time.

7 No Music During Matches Made For A Flat Atmosphere

WCW/NWO World Tour, and each of the subsequent THQ sequels for N64 all had music playing throughout the matches. It made for an uptempo atmosphere that complemented the fluidity of the gameplay. But War Zone had no music playing during matches, just sparse announcing from Vince McMahon and Jim Ross, and the odd audience catcall like one fan who sounded like actor Randy Quaid faintly shouting "Rocky doesn't suck!" It made for a dull, flat atmosphere.

6 The Commentary Was Disappointing

The fact that War Zone had commentary was seen by fans as a leg up on WCW/NWO World Tour. The thought of using your favorite wrestlers and having your moves announced by Jim Ross and Vince McMahon was an exciting proposition.

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Unfortunately, the commentary was just a series of sound bites, and there were only so many times you could hear JR say "Goldust is on dream street" before you started to pine for background music in its place.

5 First Game To Have Create-A-Wrestler

WCW/NWO World Tour may have had War Zone beat in all the gameplay categories, but the one major victory for Acclaim Entertainment was the Create-A-Wrestler feature. It may seem a little crude by today's standards, but back in 1998 it was a major thrill to be able to have your very own wrestler that you created from scratch with a unique move-set and ring attire compete against your favorite wrestlers.

4 The Roster Was Out Of Date

By the summer of 1998, Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith had been gone from WWE for nearly a year, Shawn Michaels had essentially retired, Ahmed Johnson hadn't been seen since before WrestleMania, and the Headbangers were barely featured on television anymore. And wrestlers who were being heavily used on Monday Night RAW at the time: The New Age Outlaws, X-Pac, D'Lo Brown, and Val Venis were nowhere to be seen. It's not uncommon for a roster to be out of date since development takes a long time, but this was pretty egregious.

3 There Were Only 18 Characters And 3 Of Them Were Mick Foley

While WCW/NWO World Tour had over 40 playable characters to choose from, War Zone only had a paltry 18 wrestlers. And 3 of those 18 were the same guy! That's right, while the majority of the WWE locker room were left out of the game, Mick Foley took up 16.66 percent of the War Zone roster. As much as fans love the 3 Face Of Foley: Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Dude Love, it would have been nice to spread the wealth.

2 The Easter Eggs Were Lame

From Big Head Mode, a mode where the wrestlers have big heads, to wrestling as Sue The Ring Girl or Turok, the secret Easter Eggs in WWF War Zone are quite lame. Other not-so-impressive features included No Rope Matches, Challenge Mode where when you win on Medium to Hard difficulty you're able to wrestle with No Power Meters, and Dizzy Spells that make a wrester lightheaded every 5 seconds.

1 There Was A Sequel Called WWF Attitude

When news came that there was going to be a sequel to War Zone, gamers were praying that they would fix the game's various issues. While they improved some aspects like roster size, better entrances, and slightly smoother gameplay, the core problem with the game remained unchanged from War Zone to WWF Attitude.

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The game was still way too difficult and clunky to play, and it just wasn't as fun as it should have been. Lucky for WWE fans, Titan Sports would steal THQ away from WCW, so WWE fans got two of the all-time greatest wrestling games ever, WrestleMania 2000 and No Mercy.