WRESTLING VIDEO GAMES

	WWE Day of Reckoning 2 by THQ (for GameCube) Description: Well, well, well! (sorry Paul Bearer) Here we have the follow up to WWE Day Of Reckoning........so.....has it been worth the wait? Let's take a look folks! MATCHES & MATCH TYPES : All the matches from DOR are in this one. This time though they have a Last Man Standing match which is pretty cool. And as with the other match types this also allows you to participate in 4-way Last Man Standing matches! I did one with Batista, Benoit, JBL & Orlando Jordan...absolutely insane. Well worth checking out. STORY MODE : DOR's story irritated me a bit. I'm pleased to say that I thoroughally enjoyed trawling through DOR 2's mammoth career mode. As with last time you earn money and experience points with each match you complete (and this time even in exhibition matches) which lets you purchase stuff in SHOPZONE. The story is : the World Heavyweight Championship is missing! You use your Created superstar in career (and they assume you won the world title last time round) and he, amongst other superstars is a suspect. Triple H is one of the prime suspects because he can't eat, sleep, live or goto the toilet without 'his' title. You must prove you did not steal it along the way with many pointing the fingers in your direction. Oh, and for some reason Stacy Keibler's your girlfriend.
IN-GAME ACTION, GRAPHICS & GAMEPLAY: I didn't think DOR 2 could improve much more on the first installment's graphics - I was dead wrong. It's hard to believe but the guys have made EVERY SINGLE WRESTLER look fantastic. I'm not joking here. Regarding in-game action etc. many of the move animations have been remastered (finally, a good vertical suplex!) and quite a few new ones have slipped in there (I believe there is a version of the Ki-Crusher somewhere in the moves selection, also those viscious UFC style knee strikes on the ground you can find in the SD! games have arrived). The most notable change is the Stamina meter. Rather like Fire Pro Wrestling games you need to conserve your energy or you'll end up more blown up than Viscera in a 60 minute ironman match. You must simply stand still to start filling it up again before you attempt more moves and weapon attacks (weapons decrease stamina mightily). Relating to this is the new submission system that has been implemented. When you lock your opponent into a submission you have 4 choices (choose with the C-stick), either wear down your foe's stamina with 'Drain', regenerate your own with 'Rest Hold', 'fill up your special bar with 'Taunt' or go for the kill with 'Submit'. However your enemy can turn the tables back on you if they choose the same option as you do which causes damage to your character in the specific areas the submission focuses on. The AI has been improved here, the opponents are a bit harder to beat this time round which sometimes makes for some unexpected outcomes. CHARACTERS & ROSTER: The roster is roughly the same as DOR's but with extra people added in such as Eugene (thank God, I've wanted to dish out some punishment to him for a while now), Snitsky, Heidenreich, Carlito, JBL, Paul London and Chris Masters. You can also unlock The Rock, Mankind, Bret Hart, classic Hulk Hogan and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. As I said before all the characters look awesome. SOUNDTRACK : I missed this out on DOR's review, which I regret because I have to say that DOR's soundtrack was AWFUL. Good thing that the soundtrack has been revamped to include some smashing instrumentals and the songs included in there by bands are solid tracks suited to beating the daylights out of opponents. All of them are Metal based. Great stuff. CREATE-A-SUPERSTAR: Pretty much the same as last time, this time though your character mugshot does not fit in with the pre-set characters included because they have half-body portraits. In the Entrance tool you can have every song on the soundtrack which in this case is excellent. Not much for babyfaces in there, but heel characters will have a field day with the Metal tracks on there. OVERALL : WWE Day Of Reckoning 2 is a great improvement on the last game. The Story Mode is far, far more enjoyable, the soundtrack is light years greater, the characters look ridiculously realistic and the introduction of the new gameplay features works well. A good, soild WWE grappler, well worth buying! (out of 5) MATCHES & MATCH TYPES : **** STORY MODE : ***** IN-GAME ACTION, GRAPHICS & GAMEPLAY : ***** CHARACTERS & ROSTER : **** CREATE-A-SUPERSTAR : **** OVERALL Rating: **** Reviewed by Laurie B. on October 30, 2005. Cameron. "Killa Cam" Prather wrote: This is the preview for WWE Day Of Reckoning 2 on the Nintendo Gamecube. Day of Reckoning 2 will be release on August 30 on the Nintendo Gamecube. This next installment has more wrestlers, better graphics, and a deeper story mode. Day of reckoning now consists of Wrestlers as: Stone Cold, The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Muhammed Hassan, Carlito Cool, JBL, The Undertaker, Batista, and so on. In this huge sequel THG as the help of Smackdown writers to help hem develop an interesting storyline that will catch the gamers interest. Day of Reckoning 2 will also have the same play controll system, but more things added on. I believe that Day of Reckoning 2 will be a huge sucess. Thanks for letting me write a preview and I will let you know about the game before a day after it is in stores I promise. WWE Day of Reckoning 2 by THQ (for GameCube) Description: And ding dong the Gamecube Wrestler's dead! OK, a little over-dramatic, but bear with me. After 5 games you would have thought that THQ would have understood the Gamecube by now. Seen what it can and can't do. Nope. Still they push it and still they fail. Over the years the questions have been asked and we all thought that by this time, this being the (probably) last Gamecube WWE game that they would have got it right? Right? Unlike the successful Playstation 2 Smackdown games, the WWE games for the Gamecube just never worked. Or at least not properly. The essence of this game is a story mode. This is a linear story with only 2-3 actual twists along the way. This is much longer then the previous game, taking in many more matches. Sounds good? Except that the story (unlike last years' which made sense, with you trying to get to the Championship gold) revolves around the theft of the World Heavyweight Title? 'Your kidding me?' I hear you cry. No. Unfortunately, not. You spend the rest of the game, acting like Columbo, figuring out who stole the belt. Why? I'm having flashbacks to the awful... AWFUL story mode from Wrestlemania XIX. The sad point of this, is the fact that you can only play the game once, unlike Smackdown which offers at least 5-6 story options, and at least allows you to use Superstars aswell as Created Wrestlers to increase the longevity of the game. Another point is why go on about how this is the continuing story of the character you created from the first game, if you can't use him in this? I know none of the Smackdown games have offered this, but it shouldn't be hard, seeing as they are made by the same company? And again, why not allow the use of Superstars in the storymode. On the plus side (and there is one) the roster is full and now includes Legends Stonecold, Bret Hart and Hogan. Though much less than the last game, at least they are worth finding, though a little unoriginal. (To get Hart you have to play a single game 20 times!!!???) However, the roster bugs me. With so many unnecessary players (Paul London, Orlando Jordan, Chris Masters?) you wonder why (although this being the last WWE GameCube game it sounds like too little too late) they didn't cut the roster to 20 key players and save the space to use on more legends (Why have Hogan if you don't include Andre or Warrior, or Savage?) or, here's a crazy thought, on more stories and options. The options and matches available are extensive as always (with the usual omission of the Elimination Chamber), the CAW is excellent with the ability to create the wrestlers they didn't use in this game. Onto the playing. The game itself is fun to play, though far too much thumb-bashing for my liking. The new submission option and stamina bar is an interesting touch of realism, but is not exactly setting the world on fire in terms of innovation. Blocking is jerky as ever, with only a 4 in 8 chance of you actually blocking the move. Unlike Smackdown, your character is equipped with 8 Special moves, which makes for an interesting match. However, this also makes it too easy. Whereas with Smackdown, you are given just one shot at your finishing move, this game gives you a limited amount of time to do it as many times as you want. This means if you have a quick move eg. Stunner, Rockbottom, they can be performed as many as four times, thus ending the match. Overall? This game is an improvement on the last game but nowhere near the brilliance of Smackdown vs Raw. A good game, but really you may aswell just succumb to the inevitable and buy a PS2 and see how good a WWE game can be. OVERALL Rating: 8/10 Reviewed by david simpson on November 3, 2005.