DESCRIPTION

This follow-up to WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It offers pro wrestling fans an opportunity to take part in the trials and tribulations of becoming a top-ranked superstar. In the new Season mode, Vince McMahon and Ric Flair have split wrestling into two competing factions, SmackDown and Raw, which has players drafting characters into one of two groups. Players become involved with the drama associated with the sport's new rivalries as they compete for one full year. Season mode consists of wrestling in a series of Pay-Per-View bouts while learning more about the ongoing storyline between matches and while earning and defending championship belts. Players can expect run-ins with opposing wrestlers in one of 17 backstage areas, each filled with interactive objects to smash into and weapons to pick up, since performances and popularity within the ring help shape the story beyond the mat.

In addition to the Season mode, players will be able to choose from a lineup of over 55 wrestlers, featuring such notables as the Rock and Hollywood Hulk Hogan, new blood in Booker T, the Hurricane, and Lance Storm, as well as female wrestlers Jazz, Stacy Keibler, Lita, and a few other surprises. Players unhappy with the roster are free to design their own grappler, choosing from an exhaustive number of body parts, skin tones, hairstyles, and more to re-create pros from yesteryear, versions of celebrities, or even themselves if so desired. Each created wrestler can also be assigned specific move sets, entrance routines, one of 18 theme songs, and more. Over 100 match variants are possible from 23 main events, including Lumberjack, Cage, Table, Slobber Knocker, Ladder, Elimination, Royal Rumble, Tag Team, and others. Up to six players are supported using two PlayStation 2 Multitap Adapters.

Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross provide the play-by-play and color commentary, respectively, during the onscreen action. By winning Pay-Per-View events during the Season mode, players can unlock multiple outfits for certain wrestlers, movies, additional move sets and body parts, and arenas, as well as special items. Weapons available backstage and in the arenas include garbage cans, fire extinguishers, chairs, cookie sheets, sledgehammers, shopping carts, and more. Among the featured locales outside the ring include a locker room, parking lot, Times Square, corridor, train station, and various other rooms and outdoor settings. All 17 Pay-Per-View events are available in the game, complete with JumboTron video screens, animated crowds, fan-created signs, and pyrotechnics. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide