unrealt's Full Review: WWF Smackdown for PlayStation 1
WWF Smackdown Review
After months of hype and a very successful WrestleMania 2000 on the Nintendo 64, THQ's Smackdown was released on March 1st for the PSX. Overall, a good game but with many flaws.
There are about 35-40 wrestlers in the game and all have their trademark moves. No wrestlers can be unlocked, but new ones can be created as their faces and bodies get unlocked in season mode.
The entrances are just down-right crappy. The titan-tron video plays in the background(not on the titan-tron, just in the background). The wrestler walks out, does a taunt or two and then just keeps walking and walking for a few seconds. You can't even make out where they are walking, but of course we know it must be towards the ring. If they were so lazy that they could not make the wrestler even enter the ring, then they could have at least done it like Warzone where you can see the sloping isle on which the wrestler walks. On the whole, except for the titan-tron video and the Rock's entrance, the entrances suck.
There are quite a few good modes though not as many as Attitude. In Attitude, you can fight with four guys in a steel cage match with I Quit rules. Attitude's modes were awesome. Anyway, there is an 'I Quit match' where you actually have to pick up a mic and press a button to ask your opponent whether he gives up. Depending upon his life, he either gives-up or refuses to. Unfortunately, this mode is only for 2 players unlike Attitude. There is also an amazing 'Special Referee' mode where you can be the ref. or let the computer be the ref. Which ever superstar you select comes out wearing stripes. You can be as partial or impartial as you want with the count-outs and the pins or if you're getting bored, you can just join the fight. Other modes include 'Cage', 'Hardcore', 'Pin Anywhere', 'Battle Royal', '3 Way Dance', '4 Way Dance', 'Royal Rumble'. In the hardcore, pin anywhere and I Quit match you can go all the way backstage by whipping your opponent passed the entrance area. You first arrive at a corridor and then when you go behind the titan-tron you are in a room with doors leading to the kitchen, boiler room, parking lot. Unlike WCW Mayhem's backstage areas which were desolate, this game's backstage areas are filled with weapons which you can use. In the kitchen, there is also a counter to climb on.
The Story mode which was really hyped up and which was supposed to be the game's major selling point is really nothing great. I think Wrestlemania 2000 and Attitude's career modes are much better. In the pre-season mode, you have to select a created wrestler. Randomly after matches, you are taken backstage and are shown talking to a wrestler and you have to make decisions. Well, this isn't have as great as it sounds. Let me give you an example of some backstage scenes. Let us assume your wrestler's name to be 'Rohit'.
1 - Kane is giving Rohit some advice.
2 - Debra is giving Rohit some advice.
Thank You / Shut Up!
If you select 'Shut Up!', it says that the wrestler is upset with you, otherwise it says the wrestler is pleased with you. Actually, this does not influence the outcome of any of your other matches. It doesn't make that much of a difference. The wrestler never interferes in your matches, he hardly attacks you backstage. The only team I have been attacked by are The Outlaws. The Season mode where you select either a wrestler with whom you have played the Pre-Season or an existing wrestler. Matches are all selected in a random order and there are no enemies [Actually, there are but you would never know]. If there is any interference, the other wrestler's fixed wrestler comes (fixed as in each wrestler's partner. For eg. The Rock is the only person who can help Mankind or Kane is the only person who can help Tori). The season mode never ends but it is so un-realistic, fighting one match a month. The scenes of wrestlers talking and saying that they are confident about the matches coming up are also rubbish. The season mode is not that good. There are also many language problems as the game was developed by Yukes which is a Japanese company.
The Create-A-Payperview mode is also quite useless. You select the type of match, the wrestlers involved, set the titles, etc and name the event. That is it !! You cannot select the type of arena, the entrance area, the mat type, etc. Attitude's CA-PPV was the best. You could select the colour of the ropes, the color of thr ring lights, the arena type, the logos at the entrance and the logos on on the ring banners. The cool thing about this game is that there are titles which can keep changing hands in exhibition mode or in season mode or even in the create a pay-per view mode.
The Create-A-Wrestler mode is also quite incomplete. As far as the wrestler's appearance is concerned, you can only select a head out of 64 heads, an upper body and a lower body. You can then set the wrestler's height, weight, skin color and favourite weapon. But, the move selection, logic and other stuff is good but not as good as WM2K.
All in all, this game does not offer that many modes compared to Attitude but makes up in many other places such as gameplay and graphics.
Presentation:
The presentation in Smackdown is not very good. The main-menu and other menus don't look great. Also, it does not automatically load and save options or titles, or belt history. You have to select Auto-Save or save it and load it everytime. Also, it can only read/write from and to the memory card in slot 1.
Graphics :
Best graphics in a wrestling game I have seen. All the moves look great and there is hardly any noticable deterioration in the frame-rate. Awesome graphics.
Gameplay :
The gameplay is superb. It out classes Attitude's gameplay and it is much more fun to play than Attitude. The moves are very easy to perform even though there are not as many as Attitude. The game uses the Tekken engine and the speed is very fast. People often get flipped over the ropes, caught in the ropes, etc. Great gameplay overall.
Sound :
This game lacks in the sound department. There is no commentary and the sound effects are not as good as in Attitude. The wrestlers do not taunt and the crowd only goes up and down in volume, there are never taunts "3:16", "Rocky..Rocky" like there were in Attitude. The sound department is quite bland and it only reduces the atmosphere.
Lasting Appeal :
The lasting appeal on this game is good. Even though the season mode is not very good, you feel like playing again and again.
Finally, the Great One has come to PlayStation! Includes over 30 of the top WWF Superstars with all of their signature moves, taunts and mannerisms, f...More at eBay
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.