Now I’m going to be honest. I’ve been out of the wrestling scene for some time now.
But I, like so many other people, was completely wrapped up in the world of the WWF, which
is now the WWE. The era that I was involved in was the Attitude era, which few can argue
was not one of the best times to be a wrestling fan. And like anyone, I wanted to bring that
action home, and WWF Smackdown let you do just that with one of the best wrestling games
for its time.
The sheer amount of options was truly amazing and a dream for any wrestling fan. There are
so many different game modes, wrestlers, match types, and more. You can go into a single
exhibition match where you can wrestle in just a single match, tag team, Royal Rumble,
King of the Ring, Hardcore, Cage match, Special referee and even I Quit matches. Practically
any type of match you could want is here for you to play with your favorite wrestler. And
this was a period of some truly legendary ones. Let me know if any of these ring a bell?
Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Undertaker, Mankind, X-Pac, Kane. And even some less popular
but just as memorable. Ken Shamrock, the insane Al Snow, Test, and my favorite The Godfather.
And if none of those are appealing, you can always create your own. Every character gets
their own entry song when the come to the ring, making you feel like you are Vince McMahon
and this is your show.
One of the best additions was the season mode. Here you go through all it means to be a WWF
superstar. But this isn’t just a collection of fights. Oh no. This is a real season, with
all the drama that comes with it. You will go through the months and live the life, events,
and the behind the scenes things. Each month you need to win and entertain in order to
make it to the Pay Per View event and eventually fight for the belt.
The wrestling is quite robust. There is every move you could want, from punches, to grabbles,
to special finishing moves. The controls are situational, so depending on how your opponent
is positioned, either on the ground, standing, etc, determines what each button does. It
is easy to get the hang of and then excel at.
This was one of the best wrestling games because it brought everything great about the WWF
home. The behind the scenes and life of a wrestler, all the great characters from years
past, and a simple to learn fighting system that allows you to feel like a superstar in
an industry built around superstars.
