WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It

"So Much Promise, So Much Failure"

I usually buy each and every THQ product that hits me. Well, wrestling product that is. I purchased both Smackdown and Smackdown 2, and they were great. I came in to this ''newly improved'' version on the PS2 thinking that it would be better than the first two combined. Boy, was I ever wrong! There are so many nags with this game, it makes every other wrestling game a classic. I will explain in detail in a bit.

*Graphics-7: This is a good thing here. It would have been way higher, except that some of the characters look really bad. Some examples are Vince McMahon, and Albert. Vince looks like a large billed goose that is ready to chow down on some food. While Albert looks like an over stuffed duck. Other than this, the graphcis are great for being PS2's first wrestling title! Wait, did I mention that everyone looks fuzzy? No...well now I did!

*Audio-6: Ouch. This is where it gets a little soiled. Sure the sounds of the chairs crashing, or tables cracking are great, but the commentary is dispicible. Michael Cole and Tazz bring some of the worst commentary ever to a wrestling game. I'd rather hear Joey Styles call an Ace Crusher late in ANY Acclain ECW game, than here these two morons. Some examples of there lackish commentary are: Out of no where Tazz yells, ''SHUT UP!''. And Michael Cole just blurts out that *insert wrestler here* is Great! The only thing that is on target is that Cole screws up most moves like in real life! Also, annoying music as you play along. When in the heck do you ever hear music during a match? Thats right, never.

*Gameplay-6: This is bad as well. I don't even have a word for this catergory but ''ouch''. The game engine is so terrible and annoying. I understand that it maintains it's arcade feel, but fans don't want that! They want a grapple system like in real life. They want to see a finisher at the end of the match, not just any random time. You can get several specials and use them anytime. Thats not fun. The matches are so lackish as well. Sure you have over 70 styles of matches, but some are as pointless as a canoe without a paddle! For example, the Cage match and table match. It honestly took me a half hour to climb out of the darned thing because there is no move that keeps your opponent down for 10 seconds. As soon as you execute your finishing move, BAM, they get right back up. The table match is over in about 5 seconds. All you have to do is whip your opponent onto the table, and push a direction and circle. Ding Ding Ding, match over. Very Boring.

*Story-3: Wait, there IS a story? I hardly would've known that there was one unless I stumbled upon it. Your objective is to obtain any of the WWF titles by any means necessary. The only problem is, is that you get to opitions: A tag match, or singles match. After that, there is only about two tho three more matches. Then its over like that. It took me about 4 hours to get everything. That is really sad. Same old matches, everytime, everywhere.

*Replayability-2: Basically, all you can do is play matches with the characters you unlocked after you beat it. It has take a giant step backwards from Smackdown 2. The reason is because in the older ones, you can defend titles and win titles in exhibition mode. Now you can't. And before, you could create your own Pay Per View. Now you can't. About all you CAN do is play through these boring and meaningless matches with nothing else to do in sight.

*Other Details-4: The only thing 'okay' about these little details is the Create a Superstar mode where you get to make your own playable superstar to wrestle with. You get tons of taunts, moves, and clothes to choose from. The only bad thing is that each wrestler you make looks like a long faced horse. Some other bugs are that when you wrestle with certain wrestlers, their attire is ALL wrong. My example is Shane McMahon. He usually wrestles in a jersey and warm up pants, but dumb THQ decides to give him a black dress shirt and black khakis. Way to go THQ! In the Hell in a Cell match, you are able to climb to the top of the cell at warp speed. If Super Man was in this game, I don't think he could climb faster than some of these wrestlers. Also, in ladder matches, you go into the crowd(which are paper cut-outs by the way) you can suplex someone into a black hole of the arena. You can run for hours, honestly back and forth, going no where. BIG glitch. There are so many other glitches and annoyances, that I won't/can't name without staying up all night!

Overall Smackdown: Just Bring It is a moderate game that promised so much. It promised better graphics, more wrestlers, and a TV style of camera. But what it didn't have was so much more than it did have. So if I ran THQ, I would go back to the No Mercy engine, and re-do this entire debacle of a ''game''.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/16/02, Updated 02/16/02