WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth

"Smackdown Shut Your Mouth: The Whole Package"

Hi, I’m Nycballa and I am here to review Smackdown! Shut Your Mouth!. SYM is the 4th game of the Smackdown series, though it lacks many of the features that we loved in Smackdown 1 and 2 (2 player seasons, preset wrestler CAWS, etc), SYM reigns supreme in the series. It has a huge list of matches, and one of the most updated rosters ever seen in a wrestling game before. The CAW mode in this game is near godly, you are able to make almost anyone. In the following review I will rate the game in these areas.

Gameplay -
Story Mode-
Play Time/Replayability -
Graphics-
Sound-
CAW (Create A Wrestler)

Gameplay: My Rating: 8/10

For those true grappling fans out there, this game does not disappoint. Each character has a ton of moves at his/her disposal. With the high amount of matches the game has, including HIAC, TLC, Table Matches, etc, this game will keep you entertained for a long time. The controls for the game are very comfortable, and the game play is very smooth. One tiny problem I had was pressing side and O when trying I was trying to go for a pin, and this made me lose many matches. This game is fast paced and will amaze you at how good the move animations look. Also setting up an opponent for your finishing move could not be easier. Another problem I did have with the game was that some of the wrestlers have finishers they have never done. X Pac has an edge-o-matic as a finisher for example. Never, not once have I seen X Pac do that move. Another move that I know many people had a problem was The Spear. The move hits perfect when in the normal move list, but when used as a finisher it only hits about 98% of the time. I for one had to resort to giving Edge the Gore because the Spear simply never hit. I also have had problems in cases I was DQ’ed when I was a manager and hit the other manager with some ring steps, we were not even part of the match!s. But this game has one feature that I do love, being able to do moves on weapons. Now moves like the Van Daminator and the Undertaker Chair Guillotine are finally possible. Press O and a direction while holding a weapon to get your wrestler to do a move with the weapon you have in hand. Also press your special button while holding a chair to do your ultimate weapon Smackdown, try it and be surprised. I feel that if the key points I mentioned were fixed, the game play would be almost flawless.

Story/Season Mode: My Rating: 10/10

No wrestling game can be considered complete if it is not accompanied by an awesome story mode. And believe me when I tell you this, Smackdown! SYM brought the goods. I thought WWF NO MERCY had the best possible story mode, until SYM arrived. This story mode consist that you pick a wrestler and pick which show (Raw or Smackdown) you want to represent. Then you must go through the draft unless you choose to skip it. During the draft you will be either Ric Flair or Vince McMahon (depends on what show you chose) and you are able to select what 10 wrestlers you want to be on your show. If you select a CAW for your season you will have to start on Heat and work yourself up. I think this added even more realism to the game. You then have to work up the ranks and work to get titles. When you think you are ready you can go see you Boss in the office and ask for a title shot. I don’t want to say too much to ruin it for those who do not have the game, but the story lines are so realistic, you sometimes think you are watching an actual WWE show. The Story mode in this game is actually long and not just a 10 minute one like Smackdown! Just Bring It. It might take you weeks to complete one season. It sometimes does become frustrating when you miss getting a locked item at a PPV because they simply did not put you on the card. There have been many instances that I have had to wait until the next year to unlock an item I wanted. I will not take away for this because even in the real WWE, some wrestlers are not in all the PPV’s. The season mode is near flawless and should not disappoint.

Play Time/ Replayabillity: My Rating: 8/10

This game has many unlockables in Story Mode that will keep you playing for months before you unlock everything. The main problem is there is not too much difference between one season and another. It gets awfully repetitive after a while. The game outside of its story mode is still fun when playing against a friend. Playing the CPU often gets boring. I seriously doubt that anyone will want to play another season after everything is already unlocked. As long as you have a few buddies to play against you should be entertained for a long time. Just don't count on the season mode to entertain you for more than a few months. If you have a creative mind, the CAW mode will keep you entertained while you try to make as many people as you can think of. I myself spend hours just creating wrestlers, but spend even more time using them against an opponent. Smackdown should be able to feed your wrestling hunger until the next Smackdown game in the series.

Graphics: My Rating: 8/10

The wrestler models in this game, to put it simple, jaw drop gorgeous. This game has the most realistic wrestler models up to this date. Wrestlers like RVD, Eddie Guerrero, and Brock Lesnar are just a few of the wrestlers that look 100% accurate. Hulk Hogan has to be the most impressive looking of the bunch though. Even the wrinkles on his face and the detiriating muscles look completely accurate. If it were not for the titantron playing on the background you might confuse him for the real thing. The one thing the lowered my rating was the backgrounds. The backgrounds often look choppy and blurry. In my opinion this lowers the quality of the characters looks. I felt if the background would have been worked on more, the wrestler models would look even more jaw droppingly amazing. Also some of the move animations in the game look horrible. Moves like the Big Slap and Big Punch look like the opponent is moving is slow motion. The move hardly looks like it does damage. Most of the moves look great, it is just a few of the moes that can be tweaked here and there.Another graphical feature that surprised me was how when wrestlers get punched, sweat and spit flies from their face. Even with the amazing graphics, this game does not slow down one bit while in a fight. For those who have not yet played the game, the character models will take your breath away.

Sound: My Rating: 8/10

This game has very good sound. You can hear the bodies hit the mats when slammed, and can hear the sound of a chop almost perfectly. The titantron music sounds 100% accurate also One thing that lowered my rating for this was the background music, and the generic themes. It sometimes gets annoying having to listen to that pesky music while you are deep into a matchup. You often here the same music one to many times. Another thing that I was disliked was the lack of licensed music. The generic hardy boyz theme often made me wants to ram my head into a wall to block the sound out. I understand WWE has licensing problems, but they should try to get music that is closer to the real thing. The actual in match sounds are very accurate. Not to mention that Jim Ross and The King sound completely real, even though it would helpif JR would stop yelling Stone Cold! Stone cold! in the middle of a match even though he is no where in sight. Those problems are the ones that mainly dropped my rating.

CAW Mode: My Rating: 10/10

A wrestling game with out a CAW mode is like Adam without Eve. Smackdown SYM made sure they had a CAW mode, not only that, but they made sure they had the BEST CAW mode up to date. You can make up to 32 CAWs in one memory card, 64 if you have 2. You can make almost anyone or anything in the CAW mode, ranging from wrestlers that are not in the game, to even super heroes. The new scaling system allows you to place the facial and body features however you want. I can say a good 1/2 of your time will go at making CAWS. If you have a creative mind and have your head bursting with ideas this CAW mode will not disappoint. If you are not really into making CAWS this mode may be a little complicated for you. This game also lets you create taunts and animations for your wrestlers. This CAW mode pleased me, and I can bet it will please you too.

My Recommendation:

If you have a PS2 and are a huge WWE fan, then this game is for you. It in my opinion is the best grappler out there today. It has an updated roster, and almost any wrestler that is not already in can be made in CAW mode. If you have 50 bucks, and are craving action, the SYM is for you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/26/03, Updated 03/26/03