WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth

"After one classic start and two less-than-stellar sequels, can Shut Your Mouth turn the series around?"

For a while, I was starting to become scared for the WWE SmackDown! series of wrestling games. The original was an incredible start, SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role had a lot of problems mixed in with it's updated, and SmackDown!: Just Bring It was so poorly received, I'm not even going to bother playing it to find out how terrible it really was. All of it is beginning to change, starting with this game. Shut Your Mouth is the first WWE wrestling game done right since the original SmackDown!, and it really shows. Not only has the game majorly updated it's graphics for the first time, but the gameplay still continues to shine in new ways. This is one WWE game that you should really sink your teeth into, and make this an opportunity to welcome back the series. That is, if you're one of the people, such as I, who once lost hope in it. Let's break this bugger down and show you why.

Story (6): This game came out around the time the WWE decided to split into two separate rosters, one for RAW, one for SmackDown! As such, you start the season mode out by choosing to be either Vince McMahon or Ric Flair and choosing among the Superstars which first 10 will be on your show. Once you have chosen the 10, you then take your Superstar (from the roster or one of your own creation) and battle it out with other wrestlers throughout the year. Sadly, the story doesn't do much after that, and you can expect three sure things from the season mode's story. One, you will invade the other show and the two shows will face off against each other to see which is the better brand. Two, the NWO will emerge and try to take over the WWE. Three, Vince and Ric will team up and try to talk you to either fighting with them, or leading the Superstars in a revolt against their power trip. All you need to know is these three things and you have the season mode's story in a nutshell. Sure, there may be smaller things involved here and there, but nothing will deter these three things from happening.

Music and Sound (8): The series seemed to have a definite rock/techno vibe in it since it began. However, not to mention thankfully, this game abandons the techno part, and embraces the rock part. It's okay to listen to, but this is the first SmackDown! game where I'd rather hear the music than I would the in-game sound effects. Even though the crowd has more reactions than before, it's still nothing more than the warbly cheers expected in any sports game. Sadly, this game still continues the horrible trend of match commentary that was restarted in Just Bring It. As if the WWE will ever learn to not use commentary in their games ever again, it's just not useful! Even though its not as prominent as it was in Just Bring It, it's more or less just random comments made by Jim Ross and Jerry ''The King'' Lawler. Which, yes, even includes Lawler's obnoxious comments and Ross's tired lines. If you're the kind of person who doesn't like hearing the annoying Lawler tagline of ''Puppies!'' every 5 minutes during a mixed gender tag match, you can easily go to the options section in the menu and turn the commentary volume to ''off''. Its such an easy way to take care of a useless audio option in the game. Honestly, kudos to the man who made the idea of turning off commentary audio, you've spared me the torture of having to listen to random talking during my matches.

Graphics (8): Seriously, it's not just more of the same anymore. After 3 near-graphically identical games, Shut Your Mouth looks to be the first SmackDown! game that totally breaks out and updates this part of the game to a new a level of eye candy. Everything has a whole new look. From the way the arenas look, to the wrestler's frighteningly detailed faces and bodies, it's all a very good update. The arenas look great, and the crowd is no longer two-dimensional. Instead, they look entirely 3-D, and they jump around, pumping their hands into the air and holding signs dedicated to their favorite superstar. The stage sets and the arena as a whole, along with the new 3-D look of the crowd, brings the gaming experience a whole notch higher. Unfortunately, some wrestlers STILL seem to have problems looking like the real thing, such as Edge or Chris Jericho. The detail that went into their image, however, is absolutely amazing (but do lose the pink mouth). Everything from the hair, the face, the figure, and even accessories and tattoos (look at Brock Lesnar's tattoo, the work gone into making it look as great as it is puts me in awe). While the figures are no longer blocky at all, their bodies still seem to absorb into each other while doing moves. My created wrestler's hand seemed to penetrate The Big Show's chest ala ''Temple of Doom'' when I was giving him the chokeslam. This is one problem the series really needs to fix, and it's really the only problem keeping it from getting a top score.

Gameplay (9): The gameplay is close to becoming flawless, because there's only one problem with the game that lowers it. The control scheme is still the same, making it familiar and easy to pick up and play if you've played the earlier SmackDown! games. Just like earlier SmackDown!s, the balance between difficulty levels is superb, so on one end, it's easy for you to pin your opponent for the 1-2-3, and on the other end, you'll be in for quite a tough fight, full of reversals and longer computer stamina. This game is also much faster than any previous SmackDown!. When the original came out, it stunned people because it was a much quicker style of gameplay then War Zone or Attitude. After playing this game, however, the original and Know Your Role will seem incredibly sluggish. It's a very fast-paced game, and you have to be quick to defeat your opponent.

The match types in this game don't offer anything new from past SmackDown! experiences, but what they have, they've taken and done better with a couple match types. Along with Just Bring It, the cell of the Hell In A Cell match now completely expands the entire ring. The only match I'd consider to be downgraded is the cage match, since when you go up to the top, you can't stay there for long, you have about 3 seconds at max to jump and perform a diving move on your opponent, or your wrestler will start making the trip out of the cage. While not much else has been changed in other matches, they still provide the same thrills as before.

Season Mode has had a much-needed upgrade after the terrible season modes in Know Your Role and Just Bring It. Before you start your match, you're able to go through the arena to find a wrestler who will more than likely belittle you. If you can't find someone in the arena hallway, chances are, there's no one in other parts of the arena, so going to look is just wasting your time. Once you're done, you can start your match in a card of only 3 matches (so it doesn't take up too much of your time). Sadly, the season mode only lasts for one year, and an infinite season mode is no longer an occurrence in SmackDown! games. Then again, like I said about the story, you'll get so tired of encountering the same storylines again and again that it'll just make you forget about playing the season mode anymore.

The Create-A-Wrestler feature is the best of the series, even more so than Here Comes the Pain. It's sometimes very quick and easy to find what you need for your wrestler, and with all the clashing styles, you can either make a work of art, or the biggest joke in wrestling since Doink the Clown. What's even better about the series now is the Create-An-Animation feature of the game. With it, you can create taunts, a walking style, running style, or a match-winning celebration style. With it, you can give your wrestler his own gimmicky way of acting, therefore adding more personality to him, which is really enjoyable, so you don't have to use the same old taunts over and over again. However, every option has the same limited number of action options to choose from, and the game may not have the one action you've been looking for to complete your wrestler's taunt, or walking style, etc. This is only a small problem, because this is the best Create-A-Wrestler yet.

One noticeable trait in the game is that during the match, you may find that your opponent is clutching his arm, rolling around the ground in pain, or looks like he's tripping over his own feet when he gets up. This is the result of you putting a lot of work into injuring a certain part of his body, and this whole trait of the game is like a primitive version of the independent body part stamina picture on Here Comes the Pain. Except in this game, you can't get a visual as to how bad you've injured your opponent, you can only go by your opponent's reactions after getting up. If he's taking his time to attack because he trying not to put so much weight on one foot after getting up, it's a sign you've worked on his legs good enough to the point of injury, then you can use a submission move to try to end the match altogether, which it more than likely will.

Replayability (4): Since you get unlockables for winning a match in the PPV, this may last you 5 to 7 different seasons in Season Mode, but after going through the same repetitive season all those times, it would seem like a hassle to do it for fun since absolutely nothing is different. You'll have everything, but you'll be so sick and tired of the linear Season Mode that you'll have no reason to go back and play it again. With the 6-player gameplay, you can have 5 friends over and completely destroy each other, and have a lot of fun while doing it, this is the only thing left for you when you 100% it.

Overall (7): This is such a great game, and it's one wicked turn-around for the series after Know Your Role and Just Bring It nearly ruined it. Everything has been upgraded and updated to the top degree. The Season Mode still has a few kinks to work out, but other than that, the game is really well worth it, and gets a much deserved 7.

Rent? Buy?: Yes, this is a must-have for any WWE fan, and worth a look at by any general fan of professional wrestling. If you think this game is great, you should take a look at Here Comes the Pain, which I have come to believe is the epitome of all WWE games. You should play either game while you still can, because just like all sports games, the little devil known as ''time'' will eventually render both games outdated and obsolete. The roster in this game is already a bit outdated, and some parts of Here Comes the Pain even seem to outdo elements of this game. They're both still very much worth a try, so go check them out.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/10/04