WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It

"Brainless Brutal Brawling-- Some like, some don't!"

Gameplay- When you load this game, there are many flashy graphics. Your intital thoughts are 'wow, this looks pretty good'. Be prepared for a disappointment. The controls are fairly bad at times. You often find yourself facing the wrong direction when the opposing wrestler is about to beat you into the next universe. On the contrary, counter-moves when chosen, are inputted right away with great results.

The game has a lot of modes, but what really makes it unbearable are the load times. Oh god, waiting for it to save just takes forever. Going from screen to screen in 'Create a Wrestler' also has a minor delay. Regardless, if you are a big WWF fan, i'm sure you won't mind waiting a few seconds. The customization options are endless and a very remarkable part of the game. If it has a head, 2 arms and 2 legs, chances are you can recreate it.

The pre-match options in story mode where you can run around in first person view is a very unique idea but done very poorly. At times it seems you can only walk straight or at 90 degrees to your left/right. It doesn't seem like you can move like a human. They should have made it 3rd person with more interaction.

In summary, the control is not bad, but the gameplay seems to lack something at times. Nonetheless, the fights in the ring are action packed when you just want to beat someone silly.

[Rating: 7/10]

Story- Well, the story mode says it all. I find it too linear. Choosing yes/no directs you to a predestined path and after playing story mode, say twice, you will already notice the repitition. It's still not bad, but it could have been a lot better. The WWF show has a very creative story/marketing team. I think they could have improved this feature in this game a lot.

[Rating: 6/10]

Audio/Video- The graphics in this game aren't very good for a PS2 game. Heck, it looks like a N64 game at times.

The DVD video during the entrances is very sweet though and adds that extra 'feel'.

Many of the wrestlers look great, but others look...uh, kinda scary. The female wrestlers look a lot more attractive in their intro videos then when they are actually wrestling in the game. Ditto for some of the guys.

In the customization modes, certain objects look very chunky and several head choices look like they were done in 5 seconds. It basically seemed like someone went into photoshop and used the handtool to stretch a head into five different directions then used them all. Ugh.

The announcers are horribly irritating. I had to turn them off because they kept on repeating the same lines over and over and it drove me insane. I wish they would just shut up sometimes, or at least only comment in very special situations. There is a major overkill of certain phrases and the pause between the name of the wrestler and the action makes it very obvious it is scripted.

[Rating: 5/10, 7/10 if you turn off the annoying announcers]

Replayability- Not too much for me. I'm sure others may love the mindless violence, but for those games I would rather play SF/DOA type of games. The story mode has next to no replayability after you get all the 'cards', but the versus modes are enjoyable when played with friends.

[Rating: 7/10]

To buy or to rent?- If you are a WWF fan, you should consider buying this game. I am not a big WWF fan, I only occasionally watch it (say once every two years) when I have absolutely nothing to do. I got this game because I had enjoyed previous WWF games for other consoles and I heard about the 'create a player' option. Hmm, in retrospect I should have just rented this game, but at least it will come in use if younger guests (children) visit my house.

Review in one sentence This game is primarily for WWF fans. Others may like it or hate it.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/30/02, Updated 01/30/02