Both of these games are rated T for Teen, and are on the GCN. This comparison will be on a scale of five.
Graphics:
DoR: *** 1/2
Day of Reckoning has fairly nice graphics, but there are problems. Most of the wrestlers have a very cartoonish look to them, and that's a bad move. Granted, the game still looks nice, despite these and the clear lack of texturing in the arenas (not to mention the fact that most of the backstage areas you see in cutscenes are identical to each other with very little in the backgrounds). Either way, the graphics are good, but not great. The cutscenes tend to be of a much higher resolution than the game itself; a rarity in wrestling games.
DoR2: *****
These graphics are amazing. The characters
all look very nice (to the point where you can actually see sweat and blood
falling as the matches wear on and blood even rubs off of one person onto
their opponent) and the backgrounds are unbelievable, particularly when
you get up close to them- you can actually see the texture in a sort-of
Resident Evil 4 meets Madden kind of way. The areas backstage, though still
primarily identical to each other, are much more loaded with objects in
the background. I also like the fact that, though the original had exactly
nine combinations of ways you could pose your superstar for their pictures
(not counting rotating them), this version of the game has hundreds and
possibly even thousands of combinations.
Sound:
DoR: **** 1/2
The sounds in this game are realistic, and the theme musics sound great, but there is one major problem: no voiceovers. Sure, the GameCube disc isn't big enough to do this with, but they could've easily included Story Mode on a separate disc, with all of the modes and such saved on the other one. For some bizarre reason, Randy Orton, Batista, and Stacy Keibler (the former two of which are huge parts of the story; the latter doesn't appear at all, though she is playable in the regular modes) do not have their actual theme music. None of the Legends do either.
DoR2: **** 1/2
The sound in this game is ultimately
just as nice all-around as the original, but there is one key difference-
every single person has their actual theme except Stacy. (Well, okay, Batista
has his old one, but he only changed it like a month before this came out
so what do you expect? At least he has his own instead of the one they
stuck on him in the original. About Stacy, one must wonder if Kid Rock
has something against video games, since "Legs" has not appeared in a single
game.) Still no voiceovers, though you do get to hear your character talk
in the opening video.
Roster:
DoR: *** 1/2
This game has everyone it would need, except for one hugely glaring omission: JBL. The guy was the champion at the time the game was released, and yet the former Bradshaw is nowhere to be found (for you non-wrestling folks, this'd basically be akin to Mario Party 8 being released with Mario nowhere to be found in the entire game). Sure, I suppose they would've had to rush him in, but they should've at least tossed him into Exhibition if nothing else, especially considering that his entire moveset was programmed into the games as one of the original ones.
DoR2: **** 1/2
The roster for this game is excellent,
but there is one person who was left out that really should've appeared
in the game because of his role in the original (of course, since it's
impossible to start off on Smackdown in this game it doesn't matter, but
it would still make sense to include him): Charlie Haas. Sure, you can
argue that the guy was fired just before this game was released, but there's
still the fact is that he wasn't included on the roster before he was fired
and Kenzo Suzuki, who was fired on the very same day, IS in the game, and
actually plays a major role in Story.
Legends:
DoR: ****
Andre the Giant. Brutus Beefcake. Jimmy Snuka. Bret Hart. Roddy Piper. All of these names are pretty high in value, with the exception of Beefcake, and so these are really good choices. The legends are also quite polished compared to how most games treat things that really aren't neccessary anyway such as these, and that's always a plus.
DoR2: *****
Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock. Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Mick "Mankind" Foley. Bret Hart. This is an excellent roster of legends. Sure, the fact that they are all hidden (unlike in DoR, where at least some were open from the get-go) kinds of ruins things, but that's to be expected (at least the instruction manual actually tells you how to unlock them all). I do find the way you unlock them to be quite odd, however. It seems a bit easy to unlock them all, especially considering that at Unforgiven you don't even have a match- it's just a really long cutscene (though it is also the climax of the story, and quite possibly the greatest cutscene in wrestling game history) and yet you still unlock the Rock for completing the show.
How They Are Unlocked:
Steve Austin: Play Exhibition 5 times.
Mankind: Play Exhibition 10 times.
Bret Hart: Play Exhibition 20 times.
The Rock: Complete Show 20 (Unforgiven)
in Story Mode.
Hulk Hogan: Complete Story Mode.
Story:
DoR: *** 1/2
Your character has just finished training and decides to join the WWE. Upon working up the ranks through OVW and Heat, you find yourself called up to RAW or Smackdown (we'll use RAW as the example, since it's the one that went on to be canon). Upon gaining a spot on RAW, you are promptly attacked by Triple H, Randy Orton, Batista, and Ric Flair- known collectivly as Evolution. As the year goes on, you find yourself playing second-fiddle to the other members of the group after Batista is kicked out. When you soon wind up in the same prediciment, you must work your way up the ladder and to Triple H himself...
This game's story is excellent in how it plays out, but the fact that it is made to look much more like wrestling is right on the line as the game has you starting in the WWE's developmental league known as OVW (which isn't actually mentioned by name, but it is obviously it, especially considering the fact that their other one had not yet opened or even been named) despite the fact that WWE has never once mentioned this league at all on-air. It would've been cool if they'd included some actual OVW talent in the game rather than the lame original guys you fight while in "Developmental", but I can understand why they would just do this and save their time. The fact that the only choice you get during the game at all is whether to go to RAW or Smackdown is bad as well, but it works, especially when considering the fact that among DoR's two prequels (Wrestlemania X8 and Wrestlemania XIX), one didn't have a Story Mode at all and the others revolved around you murdering security guards- seriously.
DoR2: **** 1/2
Just under one year after defeating Triple H, you find yourself booked to face him again for the now-vacant title at Wrestlemania (he had beaten you for it several months earlier, and the title went vacant shortly thereafter). However, just before the match can begin, the belt goes missing. Soon, you are the prime suspect, having to try to prove your innocence all while everyone but Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Theodore Long, and Stacy Keibler seems to believe that you were behind the theft.
Day of Reckoning 2 improved its story
in many ways. First of all, you actually have choices at quite a few points
in the story as to what you wish to do; though some can make a huge
difference, such as the first choice you get, a few others mean nothing
besides what your match will be for the week. The only real complaint I
have is that you can't choose to start on Smackdown; you have to start
on RAW. There is no escaping this. What is very interesting is this: this
game, unlike the original, chooses not to have the main enemy (in the case
of the original this would be Triple H or Undertaker, depending on which
show you're on, while in this it could be considered Edge, though Jericho
and Orton have a part in the plan too) but rather Triple H. Unlike the
original, this game is very much like the actual show (besides the obvious
differences in what happened on there and what happened in the gaming series,
though some things from real life like Bischoff being shaved bald and Kane
taking out Shawn Micheals is integrated into it). I also think it is cool
that they mentioned both WCW and ECW at points throughout the game, which
really made it look more like a real episode of the show. A major plot
hole is that at the time the original Day of Reckoning came out, Triple
H was an 8-time champion, yet in DoR2 he refers to himself as a 10-time
champ; though he is this on the show, he's only a 9-time champ in the game's
storyline, which is much different than that of the show.
Stamina:
DoR: (no stars)
DoR2: ****
This is a feature originally designed
for the upcoming game Smackdown vs Raw 2006 (sequel to Smackdown vs Raw)
that was integrated into DoR2, so DoR is only listed to get this across.
The idea behind it, that you get tired as you use moves, thus requiring
more strategy and less button-mashing, is excellent, but not enough Stamina
is offered. The fact that this is also required to climb cages makes that
particular match brutal in trying to get your opponent(s) down without
wasting too much Stamina- a very hard thing to do, usually making the cage
match one of the most annoying matches in the game. Oddly enough, just
when they came up with this they decided to integrate the idea of there
being a ton of cage matches throughout Story.
Weapons:
DoR: *****
Day of Reckoning has a ton of weapons, including all the essentials (chairs, ladders, tables, sledgehammers, brass knuckles, trash cans, trash can lids, ring bell) and some really odd stuff as well (statues, kendo sticks, crutches, lead pipes, belts, fire extenguishers, baseball bats, and some more stuff). The only things noticably missing are the steel-steps; they appear during entrances, yet they do not appear during matches at all, nor do they appear anywhere else.
DoR2: **** 1/2
DoR2 has all of the essentials (I'm
not sure about the trash can lid though- I think I might've seen it, but
I'm not certain) along with the pipe, belt, fire extenguisher, crutch,
and kendo stick, but again the steel steps are missing. The only real reason
this doesn't get a five is because DoR has more, so it's only fair.
Blood:
DoR: * 1/2
Typical painted-on-looking non-moving blood seen in, well, just about every wrestling game before this (though Legends of Wrestling got it down right- too bad it failed at just about everything else).
DoR2: *****
The blood in this game is highly realistic,
starting out as a mere cut when you're first busted open and gradually
starting to flow until the ring is covered with the stuff. See, this is
how blood should have been done in the past. This could go hand in hand
with the graphics I suppose, but considering that this has been a problem
in wrestling games since blood first appeared in one (1998's WWF Attitude)
it needed to be brought up.
Fun Factor!:
DoR: *** 1/2
Day of Reckoning is a game that's very fun to play, but not perfect. Sure, it's a given that the sequel would be better, but the game is still good in its own right. Unfortunately, the fact that Story is always exactly the same really hurts the game, as does the fact that matches tend to be way too short due to the fact that you can almost definitely pin someone if they're on blue if you do a powerful enough move. In some cases, even green will work, and that's bad.
DoR2: **** 1/2
The ability to make decisions in Story,
as well as the fact that matches go on longer than they did in the original,
makes this game pretty good. There are some problems, however: when you
replay through Story you tend to have to deal with winning the first few
matches in less than a minute, because your characters are stronger after
completing Story and your opponents gradually get tougher as the game goes
on.
Overall:
DoR: *** 1/2
It's a good game, but not perfect. I would suggest buying this if you find it used, or if you're interested in what a lot of characters are talking about in DoR2, but otherwise I wouldn't bother.
DoR2: **** 1/2
Great game, but nothing in it is particurally innovative or new. Story Mode is miles better than the original's, and matches tend to go on for much longer. The Stamina could have stood to be polished out a bit, but otherwise this game is pretty well off.
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