WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth

"The only thing uglier than the audio...is Brock Lesnar in apparent heroin withdrawl.."

There are a plethora of wrestling games out on the market that run across every known system that is actively played today and then some. The WWE brand has been something that dates as far back as the original Nintendo Entertainment System with the Steel Cage Challenge. In this installment of the WWE Smack Down series, you are treated to updated characters and changes in the way that the game is played up to the date of the WWE Draft. However, what you might find is that some of the more active Super Stars that we tend to enjoy beating the crap out of each other don’t seem to have a life of their own in most respects.

Changes to the amount of matches that you have at your disposal is pretty impressive, though some of the more memorable matches have been substituted for other various gimmicks that permeate the WWE. If you can get through the long and sometimes tedious Season Mode, you might find that there are some redeeming qualities that aren’t readily apparent from the first time that you play. The Create-A-Wrestler Mode has been increased to add in some parts for updated and new Super Stars that you see weekly, which adds a bit of replay to the overall game. If you’re not a wrestling fan, then this game really isn’t going to inspire you to play it anymore than Legends of Wrestling or Fire Pro.

As The Ring Bell Tolls…

WWE Shut Your Mouth is just what you would expect from a game that features the characters of the weekly shows, complete with over the top dialogue and overall gimmick matches. Something that you will find is that the computer intelligence in the game is only as difficult as you want it to be, but at times, the computer can become extremely cheap and serious screw you over. The overall storyline of the game is determined by the choices that you make and you’ll find that friends and enemies seem to come out of the woodwork every single week. If you’re looking to have a feud, you don’t have to work too hard to get one and there is also a little bit of cause and effect that becomes apparent.

The different options that you have at your disposal are something that will keep you interested in the game for weeks to come. With the multiple matches that you can have with different opponents and different gimmicks, the options that you have are nearly limitless. As you play through the exhibition mode, you’ll be able to play through the different matches that you might have in your season mode, and you’ll find that they are fun, though once you’ve laid the Smack Down, the match is essentially over. If you play your cards right and win at different events, then you can unlock various parts and options that help to give you a more intricate feel towards the way that the game looks.

The key mode that you will find here in Smack Down is the Create-A-Wrestler Mode that gives you the ability to work the model in any shape that you decide to run with. You can create current stars of the WWE to fit your personality and a look that you’re attempting to get or you can let the computer create one for you with various different models. Through successful selection of the various cards in the Season Mode, you can unlock moves, parts, movies and even music to help you with your unique character. Once you’ve created your wrestler, you can use it in the Season Mode {as long as it is male} or the various Exhibitions.

The fighting system that you have to work with hasn’t changed in the last three Smack Down games and nothing here is different. If you’re a veteran to the series, you should be able to work with the various directional pad and button presses as well as the various moves that you can do with the different objects such as tables, chairs and otherwise. Smack Down Moves are still the same button press though you have to have a full meter in order to get it to come off successfully. Once you’ve gotten into the mode of knowing what your opponent is doing and what move is going to hurt the most, then you should be able to blaze through the various opponents with little or no problem.

That Has To Hurt!!

The visuals in Smack Down are nothing short of amazing in the way that they fluidly move no matter what you’re doing or where your position is in the ring. Some of the key points is the amount of detail that is presented to most of the characters in the WWE and most of them look exactly how they are supposed to. You’ll find from time to time that some of the imaging tends to break up when the action is too intense and some of the images tend to disappear and not make much sense. Finishing Moves and most of the wrestling moves for all of the characters are presented how you would see them at the live shows, and even the various cut scenes have a dramatic quality to them.

However, you might find that there is something to be said for the lack of locations that you can wrestle in. While most of them are well detailed, there is little else going for them and in some cases, the characters that you’re using are out of place in the various locations. Characters move a little stiff when walking or running and you might find that the over exaggeration of the moves when they are performed on you or against your opponent are a little ho-hum. The character movies are top notch and have plenty of flare for the entrances, which might be enough to make you forget that there are some various visual problems to be found throughout the game.

Hey, You, What Do You See?

The music that you have in Shut Your Mouth has plenty of things that go for it in most counts, though you might find that the in-game music is still lacking anything exciting for the battles that you partake in. There are plenty of samples of Marilyn Manson in the beginning of the game and even in some of the matches, as well as a couple of tunes from Saliva. However, what you’ll find is that these music numbers are toned down for the game, and really don’t carry much into the matches when you’re playing, leaving you with something to desire.

The sound effects are off key in Shut Your Mouth, which is something that can really get on your nerves if you’re paying attention to the detail in the game. The voice acting with some of the characters comes in at the strangest places and really doesn’t sound as though it flows with the game. The commentary is a little better than it has been in previous games, but it seems so automatic and without feeling that you might wish for a mute button or no commentary at all. Although it is getting better, there is plenty of room for improvement in the audio portions of the game, perhaps with some more color to the commentary and the characters themselves.

If You Smell-la-la-la-la, What The Rock, Is, Cookin’..

Shut Your Mouth has plenty of things going for it that make it an enjoyable game for the WWE fans around the world with matches, characters and a near endless and limitless Create-A-Wrestler Mode. You’ll find that the entrances, attitudes and storylines within the game are all from the current program, or at least in the last few months. However, there are some glaring problems that could have been addressed before the release of the game in terms of the overall action and direction the game takes. With plenty of things to unlock and create, there are weeks of action to be found here, but if you’re not a big wrestling fan, this might be a once in a while rental for those weekend only wrestlers.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/04/03, Updated 02/04/03