Smackdown 4: SYM REVIEWED....

[Guest bravesfan]

The first online review for Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth.... from gamesradar.com. It ain't much in the way of talking about the modes of Smackdown, but more first-impression types of things.

 

 

For those who can't reach the link, I'll quote it below....

 

Hold on to your Speedos - the boys (and the odd girl) return and this time they're angry. GamesMaster enters the fray...

 

The circus is back in town! Yep, it's that time of year again when the a acrobats, strongmen and clowns roll onto the PS2 in the form of THQ's frighteningly successful SmackDown! series. So what's going on in the big top this time?

 

Well hands down, two falls or a submission, this has the best collection of grappling talent we've seen in a videogame. The line-up is more exciting than Real Madrid's subs bench with 60 superstars playable in the game.

 

While the break-up of the WCW might have brought a tear to the eye of some old-skool fans, the fact that their wheat have been included in Shut Your Mouth and the chaff have been scattered elsewhere should raise a smile.

 

Now alongside The Rock and Triple H are Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Booker T and Rob Van Dam. Also the new faces like Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton and others from WWE developmental territories are included making this the most up to date game on any of three main consoles.

 

Some of the these faces won't be available when you fire up SYM as they'll only come available as part of the progression of Season mode which has been pulled up by its boot straps since the last SmackDown!. Rather than just the one generic story, each wrestler carves his own path to glory, complete with relevant cutscenes, alliances and match-ups. Also your starting point is determined by who you are.

 

Start as Triple H and you're up near the top and it's your job to stay there. Start as Shawn Stasiak and you'll have to wait till the second season when you've worked up to a title shot. Then perhaps question yourself as to why you did choose Shawn Stasiak.

 

With cracking scripted events, 14 pay-per-view bouts to get involved with and the whole of the Madison Square Garden backstage to potter about in it's one tasty slice of WWE life that clearly demonstrates THQ's talent for splashing all their neat production values over the screen.

 

But the packaging and presentation has never been a problem with SmackDown! games. THQ know their role and know they have to satisfy the fan-boys to do justice to the WWE licence. But this is a videogame, so there's no point in nailing Rico's lambchops if it's just a button bashing mess. When THQ took over the WWF licence from Acclaim they brought a new attitude to the game that was more bright and breezy than a Vicks Vapour-rub sandwich.

 

 

Where WWF Attitude was lumbered in deep thought, SmackDown! was in there slapping your teeth out with a chair. It was young, new, keen, fresh and was perfect for the world of Sports Entertainment. But after two great games on the PSone, Just Bring It on the PS2 - despite its many merits - was starting to lack the air-packed, pounding intensity.

 

Perhaps we were getting used to the SmackDown! brand of action, but you had the feeling that SmackDown! had to really start developing as a series to hold interest, and Shut Your Mouth shows some signs of maturing - in a good way. It's not like Hulk Hogan has 'matured' or anything.

 

While it can still produce moments of frenetic face rearranging with up to six superstars Irish Whipping and Glasgow Kissing, there are times that are tranquil in comparison. In Shut Your Mouth you feel far more in control of your character and their actions which means once you start to dominate a bout you can control the rhythm - pummeling your opponent till they're senseless and rocking them, moving in for more effective grappling moves. It's not exactly developing stem cells, but there are signs of the game supporting strategic thinking.

 

What helps is the ease with which you can execute reverses. It adds an extra dimension to the defensive part of the game, requiring timing, anticipation and a little skill. So what once was a contest of who had the most determined fingers, now has an added layer of sophistication.

 

 

This so solid gameplay is then brought to life with some animation that's so cultured it could be called Jim Suave. Any combat worth its trunks can deliver bone crunching moves and so can SYM, but it also manages to capture the real life WWE superstar's flinches, staggers and shimmies absolutely perfectly.

 

The manner in which Van Dam hits the deck in such family threatening fashion, The Rock's obsession with his own hand and the way Hogan compensates for being a giant Umpa Lumpa by grabbing people by the throat - it's all frame-by-frame, pixel perfect, lump-hammering fun.

 

You can really tell that a lot of TLC (the nice kind) as be taken with each of the 60 playable characters. They look superb, they move like they should and importantly their arsenal of moves are far more specific than generic. The best example of this is with Rob Van Dam, where even the most basic of strike attacks are laced with his brand of twirling, 'look at me' balletics. The posy old sod.

 

One of the reasons it looks so great is that Yuke's have built up a catalogue of movements that not only include Moon Sommersaults and Frog Splashes, but concentrate on the smaller movements as well - the feints, the recoveries and the posing which make it so authentic. And they're able to do this as they have kept the same game engine from the previous outing.

 

The down side to this is that there's not a huge leap forward in terms of graphics, so the PS2 wrestler looks the scruffiest of all the WWE console games. The problem with SmackDown! is that it still inhabits this strange world of not quite sports simulator, not quite beat-'em-up. It's like the Crazy Taxi of combat games - bouncy castle fun, but lacking in any real depth. And despite the many improvements it's always going to be one-dimensional.

 

This is especially noticeable in the one player challenges. The Season mode is good, but SmackDown! isn't really a game that should be played alone as it's shines brighter than a digital watch in classroom sunlight as a multiplayer experience. Now supporting six players (you'll need a couple of multi-taps) SYM is everything you could wish for to make and break friendships.

 

Take one pal and chuck him through a cage roof, smack him through a pasting table, push him off a ladder and then slap him soft with a fold up chair. Where else can you get that amount of satisfaction? This is a game that pays for itself in pure unadulterated pettiness and the sweet sound of sheeted metal cranging off a professional athlete's bonce.

 

Shut Your Mouth is not a big brave step forward in the world of wrestling games as the set-up and gameplay is too familiar for that. But the whole game has been pumped up and inflated to such impressive proportions that you can't help applaud both THQ and Yukes for treating the WWE with the care and campness it deserves. Should do nicely for another twelve months then...

 

Verdict: 87%

[Guest redbaron51]

um

 

 

Gamemasters?

[Guest jimmy no nose]

I don't know if I'd go by that review. It doesnt come from a well known review site, doesn't mention any gameplay changes, they don't have a Smackdown 3 review that I could compare it to, and most of all, this part of the review:

 

The problem with SmackDown! is that it still inhabits this strange world of not quite sports simulator, not quite beat-'em-up. It's like the Crazy Taxi of combat games - bouncy castle fun, but lacking in any real depth. And despite the many improvements it's always going to be one-dimensional.

 

I think that's been a big part of my problem with the other Smackdown games, and I don't know how such a statement could be included in a positive review.

[Guest Trivia247]

I've gotten SD3 to get myself familar with the THQ system...and um..

 

Who said the CAW was the best to date? oye such crap...

 

and the gameplay...how are you suppose to know to do any major moves when you only have a split second to hit something when he is only groggy for a second...and half the time everything is reversed on you. AHHHH Why can't Acclaim make a game for PSX2

[Guest jimmy no nose]

AHHHH Why can't Acclaim make a game for PSX2

They already have, Legends of Wrestling. Legends of Wrestling 2 is due out soon.

[Guest JHawk]

My biggest gripe from this review is that the season mode is apparently still only for one player. What's the point if I can't team with a friend's CAW to go for the tag titles?