Let's face it. The WWF is probably the least realistic dramas on TV. For some reason or another though it is one the most popular TV programmes for teenagers and produces about 26 hours of programming a month! However generally the translation from fake fighting in video games is marred by lazy developers and producers who want to make some quick cash from the eager WWF fans who want to be able to control the authetic experience that is the WWF for themselves. Luckily though, I, and most of the other fans, do not class Yukes and THQ International in that band of people. Last year they brought out a game, which was for me one of the gaming highlights of 2000. That game was WWF SmackDown! and it also seemed to be a highlight for the rest of the gaming world as it stayed in the top 10 of the games sales charts for what seemed like an eternity. So judging by the success of the first it was inevitable that THQ International would want another one of the same quality. And they got it in the shape of WWF SmackDown!2: Know Your Role.

Gameplay

Before the original, WWF SmackDown!, all wrestling games had relied upon a series of complex button commands that would pull off a different move for each wrestler, or not do anything at all. This was exceedingly complicated and tedious, not to mention fun killing when you had to pause every 10 seconds to find out what moves you could do. In this game though the buttons are so very very simple. It's one of those games that both a master and a first timer can fight fairly evenly on. The buttons to pull off a move go like so. Left and O will off a suplex (or something else, it depends on the wrestler), while O will do an irish whip and right and X will do a punch or kick. This type of button command is constant throughout.

For all you WWF hardcore fans you'll be happy to know that Yukes have included practically everyone in there. From Olympic champion, Kurt Angle, to the Brahma Bull, The Rock, all
are included. If you should fail to find the person you want however then you can make an almost identical replica of the wrestler with the Create-a-Superstar mode. This is the most in depth of its kind with loads of options on clothing and facial looks mixed with the ability to change the indivudual characteristics of your guy. You can make the right arm huge and the left arm weedy. You can have a giant chest with a tiny abdomen. Wow! You can also create-a-taunt with this game. This bit has huge potential and can eat up hours of your time as you tinker with each aspect of your taunt so that it may inflame your opponent.

The options you can select from to customize your experience are fairly vast with everything from the arena to the ring mat being possible to change. You can turn off the annoying KO thing from the first that finished a match the moment a finisher was done. You can leave the Submission option on though.

The lastability is, like the last, huge. The reason for this is the huge amount of game modes that they have some how managed to cram onto this CD. The game modes are as follows:
Cage Match... The only way to win this baby is to climb up and out of the unforgiving steel cage that is placed around the ring.
Casket Match... You've got to bury your opponent in a coffin to win here.
Hell in a Cell... Place a lid on a cage match and this is what you get. This is great as you can put people actually THROUGH the steel roof and send them crashing to the floor below!
I Quit... You've got to make the other person scream the magic words into a microphone you slam in his face.
Iron Man... The person with the most pinfalls, submissions or Disqualifications at the end of the time limit wins.
King of the Ring... A knock out competition for up to 8 people.
Ladder Match... The title belt is suspended above the ring and the only way to reach it is with a ladder!
Royal Rumble... 30 superstars all come out one
by one and the only way to win is to throw the other person out of the ring.
Single Match... Standard match with no add-ons.
Special Guest Referee... You can be the ref as you count the person out of the ring or count the person to victory. You can have up to 2 refs at the same time!
Survivor Matches... Up to 4 people in the ring at the same time vying for the win.
Table... Avaliable as single or tag team the only way to win is to put your opponent through a table.
TLC... A match with Tables, Ladders and Chairs all in the same arena!

The season mode is mostly a single player experience and was not a big as I had expected although it certainly has a far better storyline than any other game of this genre. You can pick a fight mid-season with any other superstar and you can also form groups with other stars to terrorise the rest of the WWF. However as I said before the multi-player experience here is pretty poor. While in Exhibition mode you can choose from any match to play 2, 3 or 4 player in but despite this it feels empty. When you do play it feels sligtly sterile and lack the passion that previous games, such as WWF Attitude and WWF Warzone, had in bucketloads.

Overall though this gameplay really gets bakc to the Space Invaders and Asteroids roots of gameplaying despite the complex graphics and awe inspiring amount of options the gameplay is basic and the objective plain for all to see. That's the way we like it, eh!???

Graphics

These are ace and certainly push the knackered old PlayStation to its very limits. The wrestlers all take after there real life counterparts very well and any character you may choose to make always looks great. The menu presentation is up there among the best I've ever seen as it is so simple to navigate and also pleasant to look at while not detracting from the main core of the menu.

Sound

This is the one aspect of the game that really badly lets it down. E
ven the cheesy commentary on other wrestling games that has catchphrases repeated every 5 seconds is better than the poor rock music that blares out through the matches. The wrestlers music as they come out is generally good but sometimes sounds as if you are listening to a fuzzy cassette. Certainly not CD quality sound.

Conclusion

All in all Yukes ave made a fantastic job of this game and have got most of it exactly right and most fans will be positively thrilled with what they have made with the license. It certainly would have got 5 stars from me but the very poor sound lets down what could have been the best fighting game of all time. The PlayStation lives on.