WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It

"Why?"

With all the time honoured complaints that have beset wrestling games, it's hard to understand what makes it so difficult to make one that actually 'works'. Smackdown 3 is an example.

Graphically, the leap to the PS2 has led to improvement. The wrestlers faces are very well detailed and the arenas look convincing. However the animation is still terrible/non-existent in places. There are more moves than ever, but those that have been present since the original instalment should really have been re-animated by now, as many of them look unrealistic or are simply old and no longer interesting to look at. The submission, table, ladder and top rope moves still seem like a poor quality addition tacked on at the last minute, and most pinfalls result from innocuous moves unless they are decided by the player, as the computer doesn't wait for a high impact move to go for a pin. Many tag matches can be frustratingly decided by an armdrag takedown outside of your control. The reversals are far too easy, and tapping square will deflect nearly everything your opponent does.

The much vaunted new features, the commentary and career mode, are a severe disappointment. The commentary is frankly abysmal, being the same 20-odd cripplingly inane/illogical phrases recycled over and over ('I'm lucky to see such an excellent match!'). Turning it off unfortunately also turns off the ring announcer feature, which is well executed.

The career mode is actually, despite the claims, a major step down from Smackdown 2. In order to aim for a certain belt, you must accept/turn down various seemingly unrelated match offers. There is no replay value, as the same 8-9 generic events are regenerated in the same order, with the only bonus being unlocking new characters (who sadly seem to be the most obscure and uninteresting characters in the game. As it's not possible to compete for belts outside of career mode, and there is no PPV mode, this leaves the game lacking any real depth.

So while the sheer wealth of match options and the depth of the create mode make Smackdown 3 undoubtedly fun to play, it's robbed of any real depth by the lack of a proper career mode, the simplicity of the game engine and the remaining niggles in the game that have remained unaddressed for so long. It's fun in the short term, but has to be seen as a missed opportunity.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 11/25/01, Updated 11/25/01