Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: WWE Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain

Written by Adam Woolcott on August 08, 2003

First Impressions: WhooooooooooooooooooooooooЕ::hack:: :wheeze::

It seems that there's now 3 things certain in life Ц death, taxes, and a yearly installment of the WWE Smackdown series. After falling backwards with WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It, THQ and Yuke's rebounded last year with the excellent WWE Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth, rescuing the series from mediocrity. However, it was evident that the existing Smackdown engine was getting a tad long in the tooth, using the same animations and action from the very first Smackdown game, released in 2000. With that in mind, it seems Yuke's has managed to rework the engine to feel fresh for WWE Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain, and the huge amount of depth in all the different modes of play might make it the Madden of wrestling games. With the only serious competition coming from Legends of Wrestling III (Backyard Wrestling doesn't count, nor should it, nor really Def Jam Vendetta since it has rappers and not wrestlers), it really doesn't matter, but Here Comes The Pain is out to be the best Smackdown game yet.

Here Comes The Pain (HCTP) will come with the largest wrestler roster in a long time for a WWE game. There will be 62 WWE Superstars, running from The Rock to Goldberg to Steve Austin, and a wide assortment of WWE Divas like Torrie Wilson, Sable, and Trish Stratus. This is of course nothing new to a WWE game Ц what makes the difference is the legends aspect. Taking a page from Legends of Wrestling, HCTP will include an assortment of WWE legends Ц a few are only hopeful (such as The Million Dollar Man, Bret Hart and the Ultimate BoreЕI mean Warrior), but there will be stars such as Sgt. Slaughter Ц i.e. guys who the WWE hasn't pissed off yet. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your outlook), Hulk Hogan will not be included as he is no longer part of WWE (again). Thus, no red & yellow Hogan, no NWO Hogan, and no Mr. America. Not that a lack of Mr. America is a bad thing.

Of course, as always if you hate the selection (or just want Mr. America), you can always create them in the robust Create A Wrestler mode. While not really discussed, it would be hopeful if the password-based CAW system gets implemented this year, to allow better sharing of wrestlers, especially on the Internet where CAW sites are plentiful.

Smackdown: HCTP also comes with a new set of gimmick matches to satisfy hardcore WWE fans. For the first time, there will be blood in a Smackdown game, thanks to the inclusion of the First Blood match Ц where the idea is of course to make your opponent bleed before you do. It's unknown as to whether blood will randomly come around in non-First Blood matches, but I'm guessing not. Also, the infamous Elimination Chamber, from Survivor Series 2002 will debut, letting you pit 6 wrestlers in a giant cage, lock them up in a smaller cage, and then release them at a set time for some unbridled mayhem. It sounds like a trap for rabid animals, but nobody said wrestlers weren't rabid animals. Finally, the most interesting new match isЕdrumrollЕthe Bra & Panties match! Finally, it seems WWE fans are going to get some nice fan service with the ability to make on-screen WWE Divas fight until they're in their skivvies. Thankfully, there is no Tuxedo matches for the men Ц the thought and memory of Harvey Whippleman and Howard Finkel in that match scars for life. From these matches alone, I wouldn't be shocked if Here Comes The Pain comes with a fat M rating.

There will also be a whole bunch of new Уcreate aФ modes. There's a Create-A-Belt mode (which probably will be as deep as a thimble), a Create-An-Event mode letting you design your own special event, and Create-A-Contract Dispute, where you can complain that Triple H is holding all the young guys back and you want to leave for the NWA-TNA promotion. Just kidding about that last one.

The season mode will be largely based on the one from Shut Your Mouth, only with more depth Ц the cheesy first person navigation will be gone replaced with more intuitive menus and commands, but many original storylines will be created, along with the roster split lottery (different from the one in SYM), and even Eric Bischoff's Roulette wheel that was jacked from WCW's Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal. I'm just waiting for the Lethal Lottery and World War 3 to return so we can complete the trifecta of crappy WCW ideas that WWE has borrowed. You reportedly are able to import your created events and belts, along with your created wrestlers as well. Also, each wrestler has stat attributes that go down and up based on performance, so if you take a lower card wrestler and make him a star, his stats go up as you continue to improve. It's like a dynasty mode in a sports game, only with wrestlers. Yuke's is trying extremely hard to build the deepest wrestling game ever, and seems well on their way. The only thing missing is online play, but that can wait a year, given what's being done this year.

The graphics engine is massively overhauled Ц while the engine itself is based on the original Smackdown engine, it's been much improved with more details and smoother animations and movements, making it seem less robotic and more lifelike in the ring. Whether this translates well to the gameplay itself won't be known until this fall when the game releases, but it's obvious that Yuke's is trying very hard to craft a game that doesn't feel like another Smackdown expansion pack.