There was no rush to get this game to the stores quickly, so there are no excuses for the many flaws that this game brings. Of course, the sequel always brings new, fun, and interesting options. The most important thing to know is to not let the Smackdown 2 box fool you. The screen shots on the back of the box are all from the original Smackdown. In the first screen shot, it shows Jeff Hardy jumping off a silver ladder onto Edge. The ladder in the game is black. In the same screen shot, the ovaltron shows a cage. There is no cage in that match. In the second screen shot, it shows the old Undertaker. The "American Bad A$$" is really in the game. You will notice more of these flaws if you play the game.

Like all Playstation games, there is the load time to deal with. However, this load time is un-necessary. Almost every time you select an option, the game has to load. When it loads, there is a screen of a random wrestler. It is fun to see them all at first, but after a while it get very boring. The Royal Rumble is also a pain because of the time it takes to load when the next wrestler comes down to the ring. It takes about 15-20 seconds to load and the wrestler could be eliminated in a matter of 2 seconds. Reason for loading: who knows?

In the season mode, there is a "feature" that almost everyone will hate. If your wrestler is not in a match, you would want to skip that match instead of having anything to do with it beside know who won and who lost. Well, in Smackdown 2, you get to watch a simulator screen. There is a health bar under each wrestler and it will diminish as time goes on. Whoever is left with the most health in the bar will be the winner of that match with the exception of Triple Threat and Fatal Four Way matches. The season mode, other than the simulator, is very interesting. The story-lines are in-depth and you really feel as if you were in the WWF yourself. You can even interact with other wrestlers, unlike the original. Wrestlers may ask you to interfere in their match, attack their opponent, or you can even tell the APA (Acolyte Protection Agency) to attack YOUR opponent.

Don't worry about the roster not being up-to-date because you can change that all yourself. You can make a rookie wrestler and insert him into your season and you DO NOT have to wrestle as him if you don't want to. You can also make friends, enemies, tag-team partners, managers, and stables.

What really surprised me in this game was the amount of options. The only match missing from this game is a Buried Alive Match. The matches in the game run from: Single, Tag, Hardcore, Falls Count Anywhere, Ladder, TLC, Casket, Cage, and the ultimate WWF match... The Hell in a Cell match. You can even customize some of the matches. For example, you can have a Tag-Team Table Match, or a Tornado Tag Hardcore Match. The Hardcore matches include places never ever seen in a wrestling game, including WWF New York, the VIP Room, the Locker Room, and the garage (including a working forklift!)

All in all, you should not have to pay over thirty dollars for this game. It is not a spectacular game, nor is it a horrible game. It is above average at most. The hype for this game was too much for the game-play to handle in my view. The action is fast-paced, fun, and there are many options. The main problem is that the loading and simulation gets very boring. If you just want a new Playstation game because you have extra money, don't waste it. If you are a hardcore WWF fan or a hardcore gamer than this is the game for you. From a grading standpoint, this game would receive an B+ (88%)



Recommended: Yes