Thanks to TPWW.net for the following info:
Hello, everyone. My latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly has arrived, and contained within its pages is a new preview of WWF SmackDown!. Here it is, typed up by myself. The second part of the topic comes after the preview.
PlayStation folks always got the crappy end of the stick when it came to THQ wrestling games. Nitro? Thunder? No thanks. Give us Revenge or WrestleMania any day. But now, with Yuke's (They're famous for their Touken Retsuden wrestling series in Japan) on PS development duties for THQ, you may forget all about the word "Acclaim".
First, let's talk about how the game looks. The venues look great and are incredibly detailed. You can almost see into the far, beer-drenched corners of the stadiums. You'll notice other nice little touched, like the multiple shadows from the arena lights to how realistically the ropes react as 260-pound men bounce around the mat. The character models themselves are pretty decent; they're smoothly animated. The collision detection, one of the biggest problems with today's wrestling games, also seems to be fairly accurate at this point of development.
SmackDown! belongs to the "Simple gameplay" school of thought. In other words, you won't have to memorize any joystick combinations like you have to for Nitro, Thunder, War Zone, or Attitude. It's just a simple button press and an up, down, right, or left for most of your moves. In those regards, SmackDown! plays more like Mayhem or WrestleMania than anything, which is a good thing if you just want to jump right into the ring and start piledriving with any of the game's 35 characters.
THQ and Yuke's made extra sure to not only deliver a solid game engine, but a truly satisfying wrestling experience as well. Story line (the only reason why this "sport" is so damn popular) plays a big part in SmackDown! (see attachment below). You can also play in special referee matches (as seen on television). These guest officials may help or hinder you. If you have an extra controller, you can even play as the ref!
From what we've seen so far, SmackDown! is better than all competing products on the PlayStation, except in a couple of areas. First, the game doesn't move as fast as Mayhem does (perhaps that title's best quality). Second, the create-a-wrestler bit still isn't up to Acclaim's standards. "This create-a-wrestler mode will be deeper than WrestleMania's," says Sanders Keel, producer on WWF SmackDown!. "But we wanted to concentrate on the one-player game, the moves and the realism, not a create-a-wrestler mode that will let you make big and goofy clowns." Wait a minute. Aren't all wrestlers, in essence, big and goofy clowns?
If you still like wrestling games, you will not be disappointed when SmackDown! arrives this March. It plays very well and has raised the bar for the genre with a very involving one-player experience. From what we've seen so far, this will be the ultimate wrestling title on the PlayStation.
SIDEBAR: Choose Your Own Adventure
SmackDown!'s one-player game is a notch above the rest. All sorts of stuff can happen during a season:
Wrestlers can approach you to join their groups. Your decisions will determine whether you're a "Good" or a "bad" guy.
You may get attacked in the backstage areas, before you even enter the ring.
Vince McMahon might come out and assign a special referee to one of your matches. This may be a friend or foe, depending on your relationship with McMahon!
Okay. TPWW Games staff, we represent the créme de la créme, the best of the best, the elite. However, when you do not even make the effort to check whether or not the news you are posting has already been posted here, you end up looking sloppy and careless in comparison to other sites. I'm speaking of one of many such examples here, with the WWF SmackDown! box-art. I am not criticizing any poster, because I am in no position to do so. I am simply a servant of the clientele of The People's Wrestling Games Website. But I am also trying to make this the best website on the 'net for gaming-related news. If I can do some part in that, I have done my work. But that is something that cannot be done alone. Triple A, BIG Ry, I'm sure you're reading this, and I do hope you agree with me.
Have a great day and a pleasant week.
