PSX REVIEW: WWF Smackdown! & WWF Smackdown! 2: Know Your Role (NEW)

First of all, welcome and enjoy your stay! ;-) I will be posting stuff here. Reviews and normal blogs. I will also be importing some stuff directly from where I originally posted them. Some will be modified and others, if I think is good enough, won't be.Note 1

Let's start it with the first & second installment of the ever-popular series, WWF Smackdown! and WWF Smackdown! 2 Know Your Role.

The reason I grouped these two games together is because they are similar in lots of ways, but with the latter being better and more updated than the former. I personally think that Know Your Role is one of the best games in the WWF/WWE and Smackdown vs. Raw series. The gameplay of both games are very simple. Press circle and an arrow to execute a grapple and X to strike. This is quite off-putting but the fast-paced action makes up for it. It is quite unrealistic as after performing a move, the opponent will quickly get up, unless you put enough damage for them to be down.

There are many modes in KYR than the original, which puts up the replay value such as Casket, Tables, Hell in a Cell and more. The different modes make up for the less-than-stellar gameplay and makes the experience much more fun and more difficult. There is even a Royal Rumble option, and King of the Ring.

The graphics for its time is quite good, and the wrestlers look like themselves although a little sketchy. The animations here is also great and you actually can point out what kind of move a certain wrestler is doing. You will really embrace and appreciate this when you have played WWF Attitude. The ring looks OK, and the only thing that annoys me about the graphics is the fact that the crowd looks awful, but it's fine. I don't mind that much.

One of the most anticipated feature in wrestling games is its story mode or season mode. For KYR, the season mode is a put-off, because of all the long loading times. Unlike the current games, you have to actually watch some segments that doesn't involve your chosen wrestler at all! This could get annoying at most times. I'm not sure if this happens at the first game too, since I don't play Season Mode at the first game anymore, but I do remember that it is almost like, a never-ending season mode.

Overall, Know Your Role beats the original title because of its superior roster. However, both games is missing something, but both are still fun to play. If you are a Create-a-Wrestler fan, I suggest you don't buy the game because of its inferior and pitiful CAW mode. If you are also a person who can't stand bad graphics, I am suggesting you keep away from both games.

OVERALL RATING:

WWF SMACKDOWN!

7.8

WWF SMACKDOWN! 2: KNOW YOUR ROLE

8.5

Note 1: Modified posts will be tagged with MODIFIED. New posts will be tagged with NEW.