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Official WWE Website The WWE games have always been a hit and miss situation. There always seems to be one thing that makes the newest installment stand head and shoulder above the others, and yet there’s generally something from one of the previous titles that really should have been included. Last years Shut Your Mouth, WWE’s Smackdown brand for the PS2, made major improvements over the previous game in the series, and with just about everything in place, it seemed like it would be something that would definitely hard to beat with a new entry into the series. However, THQ did something a little different, and instead of just leaving things in the hands of the developers, they did something that in the world of video games, tends to be a little unheard of: they asked the fans what they wanted to see. Well, the fans of course spoke out, and it seems as though THQ listened. The result: Here Comes the Pain. One of the greatest improvements in the game happens to be the hit location. By using this, you can focus your attacks on any part of an opponent you’d like. The obvious effects are that you weaken that body part substantially by continuing to dish out pain and punishment. It gets a little more entertaining that that though, something I quickly learned with my first match pitting The Game, Triple H, against one of the games legendary wrestlers, Nikolai Volkov. As the match went on, I decided that I just didn’t like the way that Nikolai was looking at me, and quickly decided to take out my dislike on his face. Punch after punch I beat Volkokv, thinking all the while of the horrendous Wrestling Album where he sang Cara Mia. Soon, the special meter was built up and it was time to hit him with a pedigree. To my surprise, Nikolai’s face first visit yielded a surprise that was both pleasing and shocking: blood! Yes, THQ has added blood into the mix, a quaint result of focusing your attacks. But my match showed a few more things than that. Season mode is back of course, but that’s to be expected. While it starts out the same for each character with the exception of which brand you are a part of, either Smackdown or RAW, the story does change as you get farther into the game. There have been some changes however. You no longer have to move from area to area in a bad first person mode. Instead, you start in the locker room and decide where you want to go. You can visit the GM and find out about your stats, move to backstage areas and converse with other superstars, or fight them, and participate in your match, if you have one. This time however, winning will give you a few extra things. Money is given for winning a match, and even losing although it’s half of what you’d normally have. You also will get stat points to build up your different abilities as well as points as far as how you’re getting over with the crowd. You can lose these of course, and that will give you less TV time. You’re probably wondering why you’d win money, and it’s a fairly straightforward answer: to open up the extras. Things are set up like before in some regards, and you’ll have the ability to buy new arena’s to play in, different colored panties, and even classic WWE superstars including everyone from Ted Dibase and Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka to the classic man from the darkside, The Undertaker. However, this Undertake is the old school version, back right after the whole Underfaker storyline and the purple gloves as well as the Tombstone Piledriver are all included. The only downside to this however is that from what I managed to get opened, the old superstars don’t have their entrance themes. Other unlockalble items include move sets, different attire for the create-a-wrestler mode, and even different loading screens. Speaking of create-a-wrestler, the mode is somewhat of a mixed bag this time. There doesn’t seem to be too many real improvements, and in many ways, it’s not nearly as user friendly as in the past. While the developers did try and include quite a bit more to work with in terms of the overall appearance, there is almost too much, making the whole process far too time consuming to even really bother with. It’s not that it’s impossible, it just seems to take longer than in the previous titles, and that’s really too bad since it’s always been one of the favorite parts of the game. One thing of note is that unlike the previous titles, the learning curve as far as game play is concerned is a little higher. The wrestlers each do have their own body language, just like before, as well as stats that make each different. So, you can feasibly see a weaker superstar struggling to pick up a wrestler that’s a bit heavier, like The Big Slow, and with the new hit system, you can see them tire as well. Both hits as well as grapples can be reversed, assuming of course your timing is right, and your stats are high enough. This is where the game does get a little trickier, and unlike the last titles, it’s not always as easy to fool the computer as it was before. However, once you start to get a general feel for the overall play mechanics of the game, and what it takes to win and what will get you pinned to the mat, it becomes just a simple matter of knowing what to do, and when. -mike- |
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As
the wrestling entertainment giant’s legions of fans already
now, just as most well-educated individuals, wrestling, in either
it’s television or video game form, doesn’t have a storyline,
at least not in the classic sense. Sure, it’s there, but wrestling
is simply a soap opera for males, but that’s not to say that
the ladies don’t enjoy it as well. It was only recently that
THQ decided to add a story mode into their wrestling games, taking
things away from the often far too arcade driven style of the past.
Yes, that’s all back, and there are no real changes at all in
that regard. You simply chose your wrestler, be it a regular WWE superstar
that’s on the roster, or import your own creation. From there,
you end up on either the RAW or Smackdown brand, and then it’s
off to create your own story. But, we’ll look at that a bit
later; what’s more important are the changes in the gameplay.
I’m
not sure how it happened, maybe I did it, maybe it was Nikolai, but
the ref was knocked down at one point. Hey, it happens. The match
continued, and after hitting the Russian Bear with a pedigree, I went
in for a pin, especially now that the ref was back up. The problem
was that he could clearly see the pin, but choose instead to simply
ignore it. So, there’s a kick out, and the match continues,
but Nikolai is back on the canvass once again. Sure, now I get a count,
a slow count. That’s just one of the many things that make this
game just as much fun as watching it on television. And, unless I’d
just overlooked it in the previous WWE titles, you can now use the
ropes as leverage. Sure, it’s an illegal move, but anything
to win. Yet another thing that the fans wanted was a bra and panties
match. It’s fairly obvious to figure out that you can bring
in a wrestler like Triple H to this type of match, unless he’s
changed his gimmick a bit, and the last time I watched, which is every
week, he wasn’t into cross dressing. But, you do have the Diva’s,
minus some of the newer ones like Gail Kim, which is too bad, but
the classics are there. My problem was that while playing a match
where it was Trish Stratus versus Stacy Keebler, I was trying to win,
playing as Trish of course, until I realized that I still could win,
figuratively speaking of course, if I just lost. I think you know
what I’m getting at here.
As
far as the different modes in either season or exhibition mode go,
the favorites are back. You can do the usual one-on-one either with
or without a manager, a tag match, and just about everything else
under the sun. The new additions, aside from the bra and panty match,
are a first blood match as well as one of the new WWE favorites, the
elimination chamber. Hopefully, the next version will include some
other old time favorites such as the Inferno Match and maybe even
the “superstar needs a vacation” match, Buried Alive.
I’d even be down with seeing some of those one shots, like the
Ambulance Match or the, albeit, long forgotten pink slip on a pole
match.
It
seemed like improving on the last WWE game on the PS2 was going to
be something that was close to impossible, but this may now be the
best one yet. There are still some features in the other that I do
prefer a bit more, but overall this isn’t a bad game. In fact,
it’s a nearly flawless wrestling title. It will be interesting
to see just what THQ manages to do with the next game in the series,
but I’m hoping for two things: listen to what the fans have
to say and see if there’s some what to move the game outside
of being just a home title and into the online world. I’d still
love to see fan based federations as well as other goodies that could
be downloaded onto the hard drive. But, if you’re already a
WWE fan, I certainly don’t have to tell you to buy this one,
and I really shouldn’t. However, if you were waiting to see
what the opinion was outside of those that are a part of the normal
media mainstream, trust me, don’t waste any time. Get this game!