Developer
Yuke's

Released: November 12, 2002
Genre: Sports
Players: 6
ESRB: Teen

8
8
7
9
7.5

Supported Features:

In WWE Smackdown! Shut Your Mouth you can take part in the WWE as your favorite wrestler or as a wrestler you can create on your own. This game is a huge leap from the previous wrestling games I have played. I do admit that I haven’t played a wrestling game in a long time but I remember them all as very unfulfilling. With Smackdown you actually become part of the WWE saga. Your choices inside and outside of the ring will directly affect your path through the game. I have never experienced a more thoughtful game based on a ludicrous sport than I have in Smackdown.

Not being a fan of the WWE in quite some time and my previous experiences with wrestling titles I thought going in that I would probably give the game an average rating but the people at THQ and Yuke’s have surprised me. I must say that any fan of the WWE would be ecstatic to own a copy of Smackdown.

• Complete roster featuring more than 50 top World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars.
• Enhanced season mode with real storylines based on each PPV.
• Over 100 match types and variations.
• Compete across more than 17 unique arenas.
• The deepest Create A Superstar Mode in any wrestling video game ever.
• Over 14 backstage areas to battle in.
• Modified control scheme with strategic reversal move system.
• Six-player mode.
• Command your partner in tag team match ups and change the course of a match.

Just about anyone you can think of, other than those no name guys that routinely get their asses whipped, are in this game. Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Triple H, The Rock, Steve Austin, Y2J, The Undertaker, The Big Show and many others all are available in this game. You should have no problem finding your favorite superstar to control.

The enhanced season mode is just one of many modes you can play and it is very cool. This mode allows you to control a superstar throughout one or several seasons of the WWE. The cool thing about this is that it follows real storylines. In season mode you have access to the backstage areas of the various arenas and can talk to your owner and interact with other superstars that appear backstage. In the backstage area is where you get to control the course of your WWE experience. Choices you must make are whether or not to fight another superstar (either backstage or in the ring), should you hit on another superstar’s manager, should you form a partnership with another superstar and when should you approach your owner, either Ric Flair or Vince McMahon for a title shot. All of the choices you make in the backstage area affect your matches and your matches in turn affect whether or not you will take part in the next PPV event. The season mode is a refreshing addition to the wrestling genre and allows for an almost custom gameplay experience.

When THQ touts the over 100 match types and variations they aren’t kidding. Cruising through the menu seems like reading a novel. You can select some basic modes under the Exhibition mode like Single, Tag, Six-Man Tag, Handicap, Royal Rumble (my personal favorite), King of the Ring, Hardcore, Survival and Special. Within these modes you can choose differing matches like table matches, submission, ladder matches and much more. I actually haven’t tested the theory that there are over 100 variations but I am sure this is true. The customization available in this game is astronomical.

As far as the 17 unique arenas go I am not impressed. I mean, face it, all arenas look about the same. There are usually seats and a ring. I am sure that there are some subtle difference in the arenas but not enough for anyone to notice. It is good to have differing venues but in an indoor setting it doesn’t mean too much.

The Create A Superstar Mode is incredible. I don’t know any other way to describe it. You can customize a wrestler with infinite adjustments. There is morphing that you can do so once you get a basic body style you can stretch it and pull it so that you can get the desired look you want. I created a wrestler to kind of look like me, he was in much better shape than myself, and I got pretty close. This process is time consuming but it is also so engrossing that you don’t realize you have spent an hour creating a wrestler. Any gamer that likes customization of their games will love this feature.

I already kind of covered the backstage areas when I discussed the arenas so I just want to tell you about a few of the areas in which you engage in battle backstage. You can fight in the lobby, locker room, basement, boiler room and parking lot to name a few. To go along with this, there are many items available to you in these areas that you can use as weapons. This feature allows for a good change of pace from the traditional wrestling venue.

I will cover the last three features at the same time, as they all have to do with controlling your wrestler. The controls in Smackdown are in a word, adequate. There are your typical button combinations to pull off the various moves needed to achieve victory in the squared circle. While the moves are catered to each individual superstar the response of these moves is sluggish. There were many times when I saw the opportunity to use a move only to be thwarted by the lack of response of the controller. While I do seem to be a bit down on the game controls, they do have their positives. They are easy to learn and once mastered, you can overcome some of the response problems.

The best part of the game controls takes place in the tag team matches. During a tag team match you can easily tag your partner and then have some fun on the outside of the ring. When you are tagged out you can walk around the ring and either interfere with the action in the ring or walk to the other side and beat down your out of the ring opponent. You can also easily enter the ring to break up a potential pin. The tag team matches are the most fun matches to play because of the limitless possibilities available to you.

The last gameplay feature and easily the best part of the game play is your ability to abuse the referee. When you plan an attack on the referee correctly you are then allotted some free time to illegally abuse your opponent. There is nothing better than incapacitating the referee and repeatedly choking or slamming your opponent. When the referee recovers from his little fall you should be able to easily pin your opponent. The fact that you can attack the referee and do a little illegal activity makes this game a mirror image of the sport on which it was based.

The arenas that are supposed to be unique are not really that unique. I don’t believe this is the fault of the programmers and instead is limited by the venues themselves. As I mentioned earlier, it is very hard to distinguish between the interiors of major sports arenas when the lights are down and it is filled to capacity so this is not a major factor in the graphics package.

The rest of the graphics would consist of the out of the ring portion of Smackdown. There are entrance animations for each superstar and these are very well done. Each star makes his appearance from beneath the Jumbotron and struts to the ring. While these are detailed well they get old in a hurry. Once you’ve seen one entrance you’ve seen them all and you will soon find yourself skipping through these. The rest of the out of the ring graphics and animations revolve around the owners and superstars speeches and interactions out of the ring and backstage. These animations are not impressive. They are very boxy and stiff and look awful. I know this is not a very important part of the game but in season mode it would help to enhance the storyline if these animations were better detailed and varied a little.

The glaring problem that I was talking about is a lack of sound. Throughout the backstage interactions and the in ring confrontations all of the conversations are text based. I don’t think it would have been too difficult to add the combatant’s voices to enhance the game. If they were added the sound rating would have jumped immensely and the game itself would have gotten a much better score.

Another thing that adds to the value of the game is the choices you are allowed to make during the season mode. When interacting with other superstars or owners you are often able to choose your response, which will in turn decide your direction and matches. This ability to decide your own fate helps the replay value as you can go back to the beginning and make different choices for a slightly different storyline each time.

My best conclusion of the whole review can only be that the deep storylines and the overall presentation of the game make this a game that any fan of professional wrestling will want to have in their library and will also be appealing to newcomers to the sport as well.