One of the major elements that the grappling system has lacked since the series started is depth. Up until recently you only had four true grappling moves at your disposal with a couple of variations depending on the condition of your opponent. SvR multiples this number to 16 by offering up two different stages of grapples. First there’s the initial stage which dictates what kind of move you want to do; the four categories are quick moves, power moves, signature moves and submission moves. After selecting one you will see an intermittent animation, afterwards pressing a direction and the circle button will perform the move of your choice. You’ll have more options in choosing how to punish your prone opponents as well. Hitting the circle button once will pull them to there feet where you can choose to punish them in the upright position. However, tapping the circle button twice will allow you to pull the character into the sitting up position where you can perform an additional set of moves like a dropkick to the back of the head. Overall the system is much deeper this time around and should serve to silence many of the problems that the critics had with the previous games.
It’s amazing that it took this long for a developer to instill the Face/Heel dynamic into a wrestling game. Every worthy fan knows the terms Face and Heel and their relation to the fans and the product. Yukes has realized this as well and has decided to finally incorporate the relationship between the two sides and the way that they behave during matches. Faces can earn the affection of the crowd by pandering to them and performing their signature moves while Heels can irk them by doing dastardly things like using weapons and cheating. One of the new features that we’ve yet to discuss in really benefits the heels. When performing a submission hold the wrestler executing the move is required to break it five seconds after the ref calls for it, but often times the heel will hold on to it for longer to milk the move for all its worth. By holding down the L1 button you’re now able to do just that, pissing off the crowd and causing your opponent further harm. Now if only we could jump into the crowd and pop the little kid’s balloons we’d be set.
Last year’s game added positional damage and the new weight system which prevented lighter wrestlers from picking up heavyweights. This year’s game adds a couple of new features that add that extra dimension to your matches. There are a couple of pre-match elements that recreate the feel of the real WWE experience. In the Test of Strength you’ll be required to correctly press two buttons before your opponent. Whoever wins will gain the advantage at the onset of the match while the loser is left open to attack. Similarly, there’s a shoving match which requires you to press X twice before your opponent does. If you win you’ll gain an advantage similar to the one mentioned above. When performing certain submission holds a fluctuating meter will pop up above the health bar. You can try to escape the hold by stopping the meter in the large red zone, or reverse it by stopping it in one of two smaller zones. It’s not revolutionary but it’s about time that a wrestling game allowed you to reverse a submission maneuver. The last real feature adds a two-click meter to those chopping matches that wrestlers like to have. Before you perform a chop on an opponent you’ll have to stop the meter in the power zone and then stop it again in the accuracy zone. How well you do determines the power of your maneuver. Again, it doesn’t affect the gameplay but it offers up a nice change of pace.
It should also be noted that the Smackdown! System now adheres to the reversal system introduced in the GameCube wrestling games. Before, the reversals were mapped out to the square button. There weren’t specific buttons to reverse grapples or strikes, so players could just wail on the square button and reverse an abnormal amount of moves. Now you’ll have to press the L2 to reverse strikes and R2 to reverse grapples. This makes the game much more balanced, making it more difficult to successfully reverse maneuvers on a consistent basis.
The original Smackdown! on the PSOne revolutionized the look and feel of wrestling games to come; featuring the most realistic and lifelike presentation of the product at the time. After all these years the game still looks great and does a great job of representing the fanfare and excitement of the WWE. Last year’s game looked pretty good and this year’s game appears to be a pretty faithful rehash of last year’s game. There are some minor fixes here and there, but there’s very little that will stand out to your eyes. I noticed that the crowds look a little more sparse, but feature more detail than before. Perhaps it’s due to the limitations of the PS2, or maybe it’s the designer’s commentating on the WWE’s lack of business, either way it’s a decent sacrifice that doesn’t really affect the overall look too much. If you even remotely follow the product you’ll be able to recognize your favorite superstars from afar. Guys like Booker T, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit and HHH really look great while second-tier guys like Rey Mysterio and Christian look pretty good.
I’m a little saddened to see that the game doesn’t keep up too well with the landscape of wrestling. Ever since Vince demanded that his wrestlers reverted to a “less dangerous” style of wrestling, everyone’s gotten fat and out of shape. Even the proverbial fat whipping boy, HHH, is ripped in this game. Then again, being married to the owner’s daughter kind of gives a guy that kind of leeway, doesn’t it? The engine is fully capable of rendering six highly detailed models on the screen at one time without the slightest hint of slowdown. Making this more impressive is the fact that each character benefits from the lighting effects, casts a realistic shadow and adheres to the shader used to simulate the look of sweat on flesh. It’s all very impressive, but I doubt that many will take the time to appreciate just how spectacular this engine is. As for the entrances, they’re all still here but they’re not as impressive as they once were. All of the sets look great and do a decent job of recreating the look found in most of the WWE’s Pay-Per-Views.
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