Video Game Review: WWE Smackdown

by Rob Bartolomeo

gamerandmags.com

Since this is a new section to the Delphian, I would like to recommend the very best games you can purchase this year for your XBOX and/or PS2. With any of these you can't go wrong, and you won't feel like you wasted your money. ESPN Football, Max Payne 2, Halo, Soul Calibur 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (for XBOX only), The Simpsons Hit and Run, Halo, Top Spin (for XBOX only), and Halo, Halo...Halo, and did I mention Halo. Halo came out two years ago and is now available for the PC as well, if you've never played it and you are a gaming fan...well frankly, shame on you. What are you waiting for? I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

WWE Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain for Playstation 2

If you have a bunch of guy or girlfriends over, need something to break the ice at a party, or something else to brag to your buddies about, Smackdown is for you. It allows up to SIX players to wrestle each other in the most technically sound wrestling game available. A wrestling game hasn't been this good since No Mercy on the Nintendo 64 years ago.

Smackdown: HCTP (Here Comes The Pain) features every major wrestler ranging from the great one, The Rock, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Goldberg and even features some smaller wrestlers such as Ultimo Dragon, Rey Mysterio, and several women wrestlers like Lita and Trish Stratus as well. One of the best aspects is the game also allows you to pick one of several legends, such as Sergeant Slaughter, The Iron Sheik, and old school Undertaker and allowed them to compete against today's newest superstars.

In terms of graphics, the game succeeds. Every wrestler looks like his real life counterpart. My only complaint is with some of his hair, such as Triple H's, looks like one big mess of static. There are also a few clipping issues when using a bigger wrestler such as the Big Show against other big guys such as Brock Lesnar.

The game play consists of a grappling system that uses the circle button and the four diagonal pad directions to execute different moves which is easy to learn for newbies who just play here and there, but is difficult to master for people who play competitively. Smackdown allows you, as every other wrestling game as of late, to create your own wrestler from scratch. You design what he/she looks like, what they wear, and what moves he/she can perform.

Smackdown fails in the sound department. There is no dialogue of any kind, only subtitles, and the play-by-play announcers are nowhere to be found.

This game isn't just for multiplayer action either. Smackdown has the best season mode to date letting you pick a wrestler and guide him from the day after Wrestlemania until next years Wrestlemania. Along the way, you have the power to determine your own fate. You can go after whichever championship belt you want, start feuds with whomever you want, and form your own faction or group of wrestlers to watch your back. Actual WWE writers wrote the plot lines and plot twists with Yukes (the company that makes Smackdown), so the season mode has the "feel" of actually living week by week the television life of a professional wrestler. You can play the season mode three times and pick different choices and, see completely different cut scenes and outcomes.

Overall, Smackdown: HCTP is recommended with my highest regards. Whenever I have time or just need to relax before going to bed, Smackdown fills that slot flawlessly. Whether you choose to play solo or with a group of friends, whether you are a wrestling fan or just an average fighting game fan, you can't go wrong with WWE Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain.