"No stone has been left unturned in pursuit of allowing the player the chance to do everything they (WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It (PS2))

Member Name: trussellp

Product:	WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It (PS2)
Date:	22/02/02 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: graphics, fun for a while, then gets a bit tiring

Disadvantages: none really

The continuing success of wrestling titles over the years suggests that a fairly large number of video game fans enjoy watching the WWF on television and are willing to pay out for the chance to replicate the experience in their own homes. However, the games themselves have failed to transcend the wrestling genre to become the definitive beat-'em-up titles of the era - mainsteam fans preferred Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat on the 16-bit machines, and Tekken and its ilk when 32-bit consoles were released. WWF Smackdown Just Bring It promised to be the first wrestling game with enough appeal to make it into the homes of the non-wrestling PlayStation 2 owner. Does it live up to the billing?

If you've followed the development on Just Bring It with enthusiasm from its early days, you may be disappointed to discover that some of the most innovative features that were promised have either been removed or toned down. For example, it was promised that it would be possible to take the fight out of the ring and into the crowd, which is indeed possible, but the crowd itself is nothing more than a bunch of 2D blocks that only move when you push them. Credit the developers for making the effort to make the experience that bit more true to real life WWF, but this feature just ends up looking like a rushed, unfinished aspect of gameplay that serves no real purpose. Presumably, the feature will be improved to its full potential for future WWF releases, with a functioning 3D crowd. Until that can be achieved it looks out of place amongst the excellent visuals of the main characters in Just Bring It.

The graphics are indeed exceptional, with all the top stars from the WWF faithfully recreated, right down to tattoos and elaborate patterns on their attire. For the first time in such games, there is now a referee that interacts with the events during a match. If you "accidentally" pound the official into the ground, he may turn a blind eye to che
ating from your opponent(s) or even count the all-important 1-2-3 faster than he normally would. The arenas in which the wrestling takes place are all lavishly created and there are some spectacular wrestler entrances involving video footage, pulsing music and animated light and firework displays.

The box claims "70 match types" and, with wrestling as the subject matter, the developers have certainly gone to town and ensured a variety that no other beat-'em-up can match. Aside from the standard one-on-one wrestling matches, you can take part in tag-teams, cage matches, "Hell In A Cell", elimination matches and battle royals, to name just a tiny fraction of what's available. No stone has been left unturned in pursuit of allowing the player the chance to do everything they possibly could were they a real WWF superstar. Even a story mode has been incorporated, but that is, unfortunately, a microcosm of Just Bring It's problems.



The story mode basically consists of choosing a character, some sparse interaction with backstage figures and then a couple of matches before you achieve your goal of winning a championship belt. The similarity of each and every wrestler's story means that the only reason to play it with all the characters is to unlock the bonuses that you win after completing the scenario, i.e. new arenas or new create-a-wrestler options. This is a real shame because an involving story mode with many different options and scenarios would have taken this game to the very top of the beat-'em-up tree. Of course, with that facet of the title quickly exhausted, it is easy to get bored even with the vast number of match types and wrestlers available.

Overall Smackdown: Just Bring It is the best wrestling title available, which is a great achievement in itself, but you can't help but think it could have been so much more, with a rich number of interesting characters and hundreds of bo
ne-crunching moves. Admittedly all the options you could ever want are there (including an in-depth create-a-wrestler mode) and the graphics are fantastic, but the sparse story mode and annoying commentary, which is just slapdash when put up against many sports titles around now (not least Madden 2002) make for a game that will tire quickly amongst all but the most die-hard of WWF fans.

Graphics: 8/10 - Scarily realistic representation of the WWF experience.

Sound: 6/10 - Poor commentary, half-decent music.

Gameplay: 7/10 - Fun for a while, tires too quickly.

Overall: 7/10 - A great buy for a wrestling fan, caution for the casual fight fan.

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