After the disappointing follow-up to Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain that was Smackdown vs Raw, will the seventh installment in the series (and the final episode of the series on PS2- next year, they're moving to PS3) have what it takes to live up to the series high? Will it be even better?
This Review is on a scale of 5. This game is rated T, and is on both the Playstation 2 and PSP. Also contained are + and - signs to show how the game places compared to the original.
Graphics: *****
Not quite up to par with Day of Reckoning 2, but what do you expect from the PS2? Everything looks as good as you would expect. Even the Legends are highly updated this year. Very nice-looking game all around. The PSP version, however, is noticeably lacking, but it still looks excellent for a portable game. (+)
Sound: **** 1/2
Apparently, in an attempt to prove that the actual songs from the last game weren't terrible, this game's are a million times worse. However, all of the other sounds, including the entrance themes, are excellent. All the proper theme music is in this game, with the exception of Stacy Keibler and Rey Mysterio (though his new theme is much worse than his old one, so it's okay). (+)
Game Options: *****
They have them both! They actually have 2 on 3 and Buried Alive (and the Bar Room Brawl and Fulfill Your Fantasy matches to boot)! Actually, the Buried Alive match isn't true to its actual nature - it's actually a lot more like a modified Casket Match in this game - but it still is the best new match type since the Elimination Chamber back in HCTP. Unfortunatly, they dropped the Lumberjack match, but it wasn't all that different from a regular match so I can understand why. (+)
Story: ** 1/2
I got bored with Story a lot quicker this time around than last time. That's because Story truly is much worse than it has been the past few years; sure, the cutscenes unfold like an actual episode of the show, and the story is written in a sensible manner, but there are too few options to choose from this time around so there is no real replayability. Right after I got all of the story-related trophies, I basically stopped playing it for good. You can see everything you can do in Story after just two play-throughs of each show, and that's bad. Quite ironically, and tragically at that, during the month of November there is a scene in which Eddie Guerrero is buried alive- this is ironic as, unfortunately, he passed away just a few days after the game's shipment, which was in the month of November. (-)
GM Mode: **** 1/2
Amazing new mode added in due to popular demand. The GM mode definitely could use a few improvements, but the basic groundwork is there and it is excellent. I do warn you, however, that it will take you a few times losing before you do manage to win the GM of the Year trophy, but when you do you get a lot of unlockable stuff so it's okay. As this is a new feature, no comparison can be provided.
Difficulty: *****
You can adjust the difficulty to however you choose to play to a hilt. Want to play without Stamina (speaking of which, we'll get back to that in a minute)? You can. Want to make it so that weapons and Finishers are more powerful? You can. You can even edit the frequency of computers countering your moves, which makes the game a lot easier or harder depending on what you choose. (+)
Controls: *****
The controls are different, and they're very easy to get down... in the PS2 version. The PSP version can be pretty tricky, especially as it is nearly impossible to get on the turnbuckle on that system due to its layout, and it can be hard to aim an Irish Whip for the same reason. But its controls are virtually the same as the PS2's otherwise. Basically, the Irish Whip is now done by pressing both Triangle and Circle so as to allow for an extra nine moves (Circle-only grapples for each of the four previous styles, and a new Clean-Dirty style that's actually two styles in one) per character and to make it possible to charge the strength of these. Also, grapples with weapons have reverted back to their Smackdown 1 to 4 ways of using Circle instead of X. (+)
Characters: *****
Nice roster this time around. Noticably absent from the main roster is Rosey, whose negligence is especially bizarre considering that his tag-team partner IS in the game, and actually plays a prominent role in part of Raw's story. I wish THQ would have waited on finalizing the roster, as people like Matt Hardy, Victoria, Maria, Candice, the Mexicools, and MNM are blaringly absent while people who were fired months ago like Joy Giovanni, Charlie Haas, and Mark Jindrak are in the game.
Then there are the Legends. Let's look at them, eh? A legend attire for Kane (though not a seperate character), Bret Hart, Jimmy Hart, Jake 'The Snake' Roberts (who is actually a PSP exclusive who must be uploaded onto the PS2 version via a USB cord), Ted DiBiase, "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, Steve Austin, Mankind, The Rock, and... three Hulk Hogans. Yes, apparently one Hulkster wasn't enough as, in addition to the 1980's version of him, we are also subjected to Hollywood Hogan from WCW and the modern day Hulk Hogan to boot. They should have left out the latter two and tossed in Curt Henning and Owen Hart if you ask me... (+)
Extras: *****
Loaded is the best way to describe the amount of unlockables in this game. A lot of the things you unlock are just to decorate your locker room (another new feature), but there are also alternate outfits, extra arenas, the Legends, two extra belts for Exhibition, an alternate version of the cage match, and more. I do wish that they would have had something to do with WCW as unlockable though (maybe the Nitro arena? Hint hint), since the ECW: One Night Stand arena can be unlocked, but I'll live. (+)
Arenas: *****
All of the arenas you would expect, and a few extras. One Night Stand, for instance. Then there's Wrestlemania IX's arena, but though it looks decent and the idea of wrestling outside Caeser's Palace (where that particular event took place) is interesting, WM3 or 17 would have made a lot more sense, as not only were they the two highest drawing cards they ever had but also there are rematches from both in the Challenge Mode. (+)
Create a _____: *****
Create a Wrestler was retooled a bit in order to more closely resemble that of Day of Reckoning in creating custom colors for outfits, and Create a Moveset dropped entrances from its repertoire. Why is this good? Simple, because now there is a create an entrance mode in which you can create your own instead of using a premade entrance (though you can still do this too). Unfortunately, it is light years behind the Create an Entrance mode in Day of Reckoning 1 and 2, but it is a start. (+)
Stamina: *****
Stamina is done well. It doesn't run out as quickly as in Day of Reckoning 2, and you can use Select to recharge it in this game anyway. It definitely adds to the experience, though if you prefer the Stamina off you can turn it off, so it all works out either way. Again, new feature.
Replayability: *****
Trophies and GM Mode add a new sense of adventure to the game, so you can feel confident that this game will last you much longer than the previous installment. (+)
Online: *****
You cannot do the Elimination Chamber or Royal Rumble, but everything else is fair game. You can even defend created belts online, and trade created characters. Definitely a lot better than the online in the previous installment. (+)
Fun Factor!: *****
The game is a ton of fun, and is probably the best wrestling game not just since Here Comes the Pain, but also WWF No Mercy (an N64 game to which all wrestling games will forever be compared by fanboys everywhere because it was that good). (+)
Overall: *****
Again, excellent game. It is likely that this is the greatest game in the Smackdown series. Where will this take the series as it makes the jump from the PS2 to the PS3? Only time will tell. (+)
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