TEST

WWF Smackdown! Just Bring It - Playstation 2

by THQ

This is the first wrestling game to hit the PS2 (or at least in Europe anyway!) and follows on from THQ's successful series of games on the original Playstation.

There are a wide range of game modes available from a single exhibition match up to the full blown story mode where titles are won and lost. The range of matches is vast with hardcore, cage matches, hell in a cell, King Of The Ring, Royal Rumble, ladder matches, table matches, TLC battles, street fights and much more, most of which are available to play in a variety of modes with single or tag team action. All of these are set against a variety of arenas, including backstage zones where you can take your fights if the match allows it.

Unlike Acclaim's series of WWF games, Smackdown's controls are spot on. It's easy to pick up and get into the game and you'll find yourself right at home in no time at all. There are a wide range of moves on offer - attacks, holds, throws, and using weapons - all of which are context sensitive, giving you about 70 moves per wrestler including many of the superstars signature moves. The more potent of these are achieved using your Smackdown move.

To do this, as you fight you build up a Smackdown meter for successful attacks (and for any taunts you might make towards your opponents during the match). Once this meter is full, all you need to do is attack your opponent until they are dazed and then hit the Smackdown button and watch your wrestler in all his or her glory! These have all been faithfully recreated for all the wrestlers in the game and there's nothing more satisfying than ending a match with The Rock by using the People's Elbow!

This game has managed to hit the playability factor right on the head. Even though the game can get a little repetitive at times, it's still going to have you coming back for more just to try out all the different wrestlers in all the game modes. You'll find yourself watching Smackdown or Raw on TV then playing out the same matches yourself over and over...! There's always something new that the game will offer and you'll be finding new moves and features long after you've bought the game.

The story mode is where you pick a superstar and take them through a series of matches with the objective of winning (or retaining) one or more WWE titles. Unfortunately, this is fairly limited and doesn't really add that much to the game. Each superstar is limited to holding just one title and once you have a title, the game ends. It would have been better if you had the chance to continue the career as an ongoing game.

However, it's your success in the story mode that unlocks all of the games hidden features. There are a number of wrestlers hidden away, along with additional arenas, body parts and music etc. for the create a wrestler mode, plus a couple of videos...

The game manages to recreate the atmosphere of watching WWE on TV brilliantly. The graphics are bold, detailed and well animated with all of the superstars being instantly recognisable. There isn't a vast improvement over the earlier games on the original Playstation apart from smoothness, detail and the number of polygons used for each wrestler but it still looks impressive. Saying that, this is something that has been addressed for the next Smackdown game on the PS2...

One thing I was impressed with keeping with the feel of the game were the intros for all the wrestlers. All of the entrances have been recreated here using a mix of the game engine itself for the characters walking down to the ring, while the video footage plays on the Titantron. In the case of a few of the wresters, including The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, their videos start to play back as full screen before reverting back to the Titantron. While this is happening the actual official entrance music plays for each superstar - not a recreated version using the PS2 hardware but the real thing... in otherwords, Triple H enters to the sounds of Motorhead, and the Undertaker rides his Harley into the arena to Limp Bizkit's "Rollin'".

One of the most impressive aspects of the game is the now obligatory create a wrestler mode. There are plenty of options on offer to recreate pretty much any person you could imagine! As well as choosing costumes and body parts (with more being unlocked as you progress through the game) there is an added bonus with an easy option for selecting new moves for your created superstar. What is on offer is a wide range of presets for characters other than the ones in the game. This is probably the most intriguing part of the game because the moves are available to create a wide range of WWE wrestlers that didn't make it into the finished game including Hulk Hogan, Booker T, RVD, Al Snow, and many many more.

Even if you don't use the create a wrestler feature, there are plenty of superstars on offer including all the usual ones you'd expect - Rock, Undertaker, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, and many more. Hidden away as extras are Mick Foley, Shane and Stephanie McMahon and one of my favourites, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst!!

Overall, this is the best wrestling game I've played on any platform and even when you've unlocked all of the games secrets and completed every part of the game with every character, it's got that special appeal that will keep you coming back for one more game whenever you feel like a fix of wrestling. It was worth getting when it was first released, but now it's out on the Platinum range, no WWE fan has an excuse not to own this.

Overall - 88% - Reviewer: Simon Plumbe