WWE Day of Reckoning 2

"My Day of Reckoning has come..."

Okay, it's finally here. The 2005 edition wrestling game for the Gamecube has arrived. I've been waiting for this for a long time, and I had a lot of expectations for it. New this year are: Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, a couple other wrestlers, Last Man Standing Match, "WWE style presentation", and ring announcers. But was it worth the wait? Let's find out.

Graphics:10/10
The graphics are amazing! It shows every detail of that wrestler. It's missing a few things, like Batista's current haircut. They just look so lifelike. The lighting effects are great too. The blood is expanded into 3 levels. The first is a small cut, the 2nd is a little bit and drips, and the third spreads to his chest and drips a lot. I may be exaggerating a bit, but these graphics can be compared to Resident Evil 4. A lot of moves have been reanimated and/or added. HBK's elbow drop has been changed to his REAL one, and Orton has his "Ready for RKO taunt.

Sound:8/10
The sound is okay in this. But it gets repetitive after a while. The music entrances are great, and the legends' music are in!

Story:7/10
There are no voice-overs, but that's okay. If you played DOR1, you know what to expect here. *SPOILERS*You've been blamed for stealing the World Heavyweight Championship belt.*end spoiler* Overall, it's still solid.

Gameplay:9/10
The gameplay is more realistic now. The new thing now is the Stamina meter. If you use strong moves a lot, you'll begin to get tired. Or if you run too much, you'll lose stamina. The strategy here is to start slow, then end with strong attacks. If your stamina gets too low, your wrestler will slow down, or just stop for a few seconds, allowing your opponent to get the advantage. The submission system has been changed also. You get to move the C-stick to REST,DRAIN,SUBMIT, or TAUNT. The gameplay is amazing and more realistic.

Replay Value:9/10
You'll have to replay the game to unlock the Legends. And unlocking everything in Shopzone will take a while, so replay is good. You can also play multiplayer matches with your friends or siblings, so that's an extra point right there.

Overall:9/10
If you are a wrestling fan, definitley buy this game. This is no DOR 1.5, this is a game in it's own right. If you are even just a casual fighting game fan, try it out. It's better than No Mercy, IMO. This game is just greatness.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/12/05