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Developer: Yuke's
Publisher: THQ
Genre: Wrestling
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 13 May 08
User Rating
8.4 (25 votes) -
Overview
Gameplay
So far so good. But how does it play? Well, in one word, brilliantly. I've never played ANY wrestling game before, but after just a few minutes of WWF Smackdown! 2, I was hooked. The controls are simple and intuitive enough, which enables any gamer to just pick it up and play like there's no tomorrow. Primarily, you have one button for punches/kicks, one for grapple and one for defence/counter. Press right on the control pad and grapple, your wrestler might execute a piledriver. Press left and the same grapple button, and your wrestler will make a different move. In short, it all depends on you position, relative to your opponent.
You can also execute all the wrestlers' famous signature moves, like Kane's Choke Slam or Stone Cold's Stunner. It is enabled when you meet a certain condition. For instance, when the opponent lays unconcious on the floor, press L1 and The Rock will perform the 'People's Elbow' move. Kane on the other hand requires that the opponent to be dazed but standing before he can execute his special move.
A WWF game won't be complete without the various modes and tournaments to play. Primarily, there are 2 main modes - Exhibition and Season. In exhibition mode, you have the Singles tournament, Tag Team, Hardcore and Specials, which includes the much sought after Table Match and nice touches such as Cascet Match, Hell in a Cage, Ladder Match and others. there are certainly many things to do here, which will take the bulk of your playing hours.
WWF Smackdown! 2 boosts all the wrestlers in the WWF universe. Some wrestlers, like Stone Cold, aren't available at the start of the game and need to be unlocked by playing the Seasons game. Now this is where you'll be spending most of your time, because only by playing the Seasons game that wrestlers can be unlocked and secret modes and arenas can be made playable. More on this next.
Graphics
Graphically, WWF Smackdown! 2 looks astounding. The familiar arenas have been faithfully recreated, and the background graphics are solid and well detailed, for a wrestling game of course. But what about the wrestlers? Well, all the famous wrestlers are realisticly proportioned and instantly recognisable. Some even better than in real life (hint:Too Cool). Other not so popular wrestlers like Gangrel, for example, however looks like the zombie from Resident Evil. (yes, they're that terrible). I don't really blame the developers for not paying equal attention to the non-Stone Cold or The Rock, but I feel that they need to at least tried to get the closest representation. Definately not the best that they can come up with.
The presentation and menus are very stylish and polished. The loading screens are now autographed cover of wrestlers, which is a very nice touch. It's certainly refreshing compared to the empty "Now Loading" screens of Capcom beat-em-ups. The menu are easy to navigate and would certainly appeal to novices as well as hardcore wrestling fans.
Fun Factor
WWF Smackdown! 2 is certainly a fun game to play. The biggest problem that they game suffers is the Seasons mode, which is incredibly annoying and totally unnecessary. Say that you select a wrestler to participate in the Seasons. You match will not come until much later, and till then you have to sit and watch endless loading screens, simulated matches and pointless cutscenes. When your time does come, it's only a 30 seconds fight outside the ring, the the action switches back to the other matches. This is extremely frustrating and should be re-examined in the next sequel (if there's any).
On the plus side, you can create your own wrestler in the "Create A Wrestler" mode. You can customise anything that you can imagine, from his/her appearance, costume, abilities, moves, power distribution, styles and entrance music. And after you're done, you can take your custome-made wrestler, and fight head-to-head with other famous superstars.
Overall
Overall, WWF Smackdown! 2 is an excellent game, and quite addictive too. I frequently find myself playing the Tripple Threat with a mate until the wee hours. It's certainly recommended for wrestling fans and all other gamers. Try it and you'll love it.
- Gameplay
9.0 - Graphics
8.0 - Fun Factor
9.0 - Overall
9.0
