Rent it, then decide!
I used to be a big fan of all things WWF (erm… WWE) when I was a little younger but the hype died down for me, however, the games have stuck. Since my departure from the world of wrestling I have still managed to play every game that had come out, and when I heard about this one, I was stocked. I waited till my exams were over and headed down to Blockbuster © to check it out; twenty-eight hours later I was back there returning it and getting Burnout: Revenge.
Now, I will say that the reason I returned it so fast was simply because it was boring for me. I found myself no longer caring for the action, or for the characters. This could be because of two things: I no longer like wrestling, or… are you ready? It’s the exact same game yet again, but flashier!
First off, I must give credit where credit is due. There was one innovation in the combat; stamina. However, even that got annoying within the first hour. First off it ran out way too quickly, and secondly, sitting there waiting for it to recharge, attacking, and waiting again is not my idea of fun (and I’m a huge fan of turn-based RPG’s). Another new innovation was the GM option, this allowed you to manage either Smackdown or Raw, set up matches, and try to earn money and fans so that in the end you could get a trophy. I played this for about fifteen minutes then realized that crunching numbers with Quicken would be more fun.
The controls are the same as ever, Circle and directional pad to do a move… X to kick and punch, well… you get it. However, I don’t fault them for this. It added a sense of familiarity and the ability to get in there and kick some but, yet, I couldn’t help but feel I rented Smackdown 3… yet again.
The season mode seemed greatly expanded. I only had the chance to go through it once with Triple H, so I won’t comment much on how it changes, but my initial experience was really good. There weren’t as many options, which I felt detracted and made it fall short of its predecessors, but it was still a solid story line and I hear that it seldom repeats.
The graphics were truly stunning though, definitely worthy of being called one of the best on the PS2. The finisher sequences were stunning, but the blood… I mean, come on… since when do we bleed jelly-like substances?
The match types were very diverse and had the potential for hours of fun multiplayer with friends, however, a one time-exploration is all one could do with them singularly, unless you truly find it invigorating playing the same thing with minutely different characters (which I was not… but I am not a wrestling fan).
Overall I feel that any wrestler fan would benefit from this game; either by renting it, or selling all his other Smackdown games and getting it (you won’t miss them… it’s the same thing, plus some). However, if you’re just looking for a fun game to last you a while and you aren’t overly into wrestling, then stay away from this game… rent it, maybe, but do not buy it… there are better options!