WWE Day of Reckoning 2

"View for an unbiased look at a solid if very 'meh' wrestling game."

Another year, another WWE game, this time THQ brings us Day of Reckoning 2 but to be honest it could've been any time over the past 3 or four years. The games are the same just with different people, different scripts for story and similar game mechanics.

The signs can be read when looking at the disc i.e. the same as DOR 1 but with a different person on it. After booting the game up you are treated to a menu in front of an arena which is nice compared to other games. The options are the same as last year, delve into these menu's and the choices are also the same as last year albeit with the over generous inclusion of the thrill a minute last man standing match. Could you sense the sarcasm?

Once you've chosen your desired match you choose your wrestler, while the roster is only small it consists of most of the current roster and it is honestly a nice selection of wrestlers albeit with a couple of released faces still showing.

Now its time to start playing. Its good stuff but even with different faces moving about on the screen you cannot help but feel a sense of deja vu. The game-play mechanic is solid and very responsive although Ive heard it being called unresponsive but Im yet to have encountered this phenomenon. Its nearly a carbon copy of last years DOR 1 but its not a problem as its a very satisfying game-play mechanic. Yukes have added a stamina meter akin to Fire Pro Wrestling but its rendered pointless as it fills itself up automatically instead of the player manually resting to regain breath. Another - could be better - feature is the special meter which when full offers a small time period to dish out your finisher any amount of times you can hit it before time runs out BUT the ability to stock up to 3 slots makes it feel less special as the feeling of urgency is lost knowing you can hit another and another and another. I would have preferred No Mercy's style of one chance and thats it. The only complaints about game-play I have is that every move can be broken up with a punch or kick and in 4 player mode this is both hectic and extremely annoying. Also, the cage match has been downgraded to a match stuck in the ring where you have to climb in slow motion over the top. No door to escape from, no diving moves from the top, no ramming opponents head into cage either, just a slo-mo crawl up and over the cage.

The story mode is a conundrum, you'll either enjoy it or play through it just to unlock some legends. The story is intriguing at first but is spoiled too early in my opinion and one style of match that your forced to play more than once becomes a nightmare, especially against 4 players when any move can be interrupted or reversed, it can begin to drag after awhile. I think that the DOR 1 story, while not as polished, is a lot better with its certain demands to be met in the matches. Also we were promised a longer story mode, and we were granted it but an with an extension of just 3 weeks I for one feel cheated.

With the Story mode only open to CAW 's, you will need to construct your superstar using a largely unchanged version of DOR 1's caw, which in itself is a good thing as this was DOR 1 shining gem, but I expected the same plus some new stuff added in, like, more than 4 or 5 things added in. Again I feel cheated as this is supposed to be a sequel and not an add-on. Also, the load times are quite frustrating, not to the point where your creating through gritted teeth, but it's very noticeable.

The last thing I will touch upon is the presentation, Ive heard them being referred to as 'muddy' where the characters on screen are fine but the background detailed is dark and blurry, this is not the case as the presentation is top notch with arena's looking like they should (A nod to the Taboo Tuesday Arena), the wrestlers themselves look fantastic although some attire choices and missing accessories bring it down a notch, i.e. Rey Mysterios Gloves, Randy Orton's Wristbands, HBK tights and not trousers etc... but they are nothing major. Meanwhile the crowd are mostly in 3d and look really good, the only thing I can find wrong with them is that there are about 6 different crowd models used throughout the whole arena performing the same moves, but, apart from that the graphics are excellent with superb lighting and contrast although not as good as the crowd found in the dire Wrestlemania 21 on the Xbox, they are still pretty good.

The sound is 50/50, half the songs are performed by A Dark Halo and they sound excellent with an industrial metal sound with a bit of added synthesizer for effect. The other songs are in house instrumentals and they sound bland by comparison, especially the background story mode cut scene music. The actual sound I found is strangely better in Mono than Stereo, which is odd really.

All in all this is a solid and polished title with a couple of new extras but its too much as the same as DOR 1 and not enough is different to warrant a higher score than its predecessor. If a couple of things were changed like the cage match mechanics, a better stamina system, more match types and a more substantial and satisfying story mode then it would have been a higher score than its predecessor (which I give 8) but as it stands it gets one less than last years version due to lack of innovation. To end, its very much DOR 1.5 and its a very Meh game but still worth a look.

7 out of 10.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/26/05