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WWF In Your House
WWF In Your House
	Cover art featuring Bret Hart, Vader and Shawn Michaels
Developer(s)	Sculptured Software
Publisher(s)	Acclaim Entertainment
Platform(s)	PlayStation, Saturn, MS-DOS
Release	PlayStation; NA: November 21, 1996; EU: December 1996; Saturn NA: November 23, 1996; EU: 1996; DOS; NA: January 1997;
Genre(s)	Sports
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

WWF In Your House is a video game for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and DOS. Developed by Sculptured Software,^[3] it is a follow-up to WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game and was published by Acclaim Entertainment, who had previously released WrestleMania for home consoles.

Description

Just like WrestleMania, In Your House is not a wrestling game in the normal sense, as it is heavily influenced by Mortal Kombat. It features digitized sprites of the wrestlers, and many over the top, unrealistic, and magical moves and taunts by the wrestlers.^[4] The game also features finishing moves which are performed before the final pin.

Instead of typical wrestling arenas, WWF In Your House featured personalised stages for each individual wrestler,^[5] such as a nightclub for Shawn Michaels, Stu Hart's Dungeon for Bret Hart and a crypt for The Undertaker.

The 10 playable wrestlers in the game include Bret Hart, The Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels (all returning from WrestleMania), as well as new additions Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, Goldust, Ahmed Johnson, Hunter Hearst Helmsley (who would all return for 1998's WWF WarZone), Vader, and The Ultimate Warrior (who was fired prior to release due to contract disputes). In-game commentary is supplied by Vince McMahon and "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig.

Development

Early in development, Jeff Jarrett was planned to be part of the roster and was even filmed for the game. However, when he left the WWF in early 1996 over a contract dispute, his character was scrapped.^[6]

Reception

WWF In Your House was a low profile release. At the time Acclaim Entertainment was suffering from financial losses, layoffs, and an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and was pinning most of its hopes on the Nintendo 64 game Turok: Dinosaur Hunter.^[10] Perhaps as a result, WWF In Your House was largely ignored by critics; GamePro only reviewed the PlayStation version, and high-profile gaming publications such as Electronic Gaming Monthly and IGN, and even the official Sega Saturn Magazine, did not review it at all.

GamePro called it "a title full of promise and potential that ultimately gets pinned in its quest for the championship." They particularly criticized that matches are over too quickly, and compared the game unfavorably to Power Move Pro Wrestling, which came out at the same time.^[11] Jeff Kitts of GameSpot gave the PlayStation version a 5.9 out of 10. He said the action is solid but overly derivative of Mortal Kombat, and that the selection of modes offers no true variety.^[8] GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann gave the Saturn version a 4.5 out of 10, calling it "little more than a rehash of the original".^[7] Both GamePro and Gerstmann criticized that the gameplay involves little more than pounding the buttons as rapidly as possible, and the style in general is more akin to a fighting game than a true wrestling game.^[11]^[7] GameSpot's Chris Hudak gave the DOS version a 5.6 out of 10, generally ridiculing the wrestling concept.^[9]

References

^ "Available Titles Released in 1996 (172) (222 total)". PlayStation Galleria. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
^ "WWF In Your House". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 5, 1997. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
^ "WWF: In Your House". GamePro. No. 98. IDG. November 1996. p. 52.
^ "In Your House: Horrific WWF videogame in which the Undertaker hurled ghosts at his hapless opponent". Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
^ "WWF In Your House". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 89. Ziff Davis. December 1996. p. 318.
^ Thecollectorati (July 2, 2017). "Behind The Scenes – WWF In Your House Video Game". The Collectorate. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gerstmann, Jeff (December 31, 1996). "WWF In Your House Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
^ ^a ^b Kitts, Jeff (December 1, 1996). "WWF In Your House Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
^ ^a ^b Hudak, Chris (January 28, 1997). "WWF In Your House Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
^ "Big-Name Games Slowed by Delays". GamePro. No. 100. IDG. January 1997. p. 32.
^ ^a ^b Johnny Ballgame (January 1997). "PlayStation ProReview: WWF: In Your House". GamePro. No. 100. IDG. p. 82.