WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth

''WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth'' (known as ''Exciting Pro Wrestling 4'' in Japan) is a professional wrestling video game released on the PlayStation 2 console by THQ and developed by Yuke's. It is the fourth game in the '' WWE SmackDown!'' video game series. based on the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and the sequel to ''WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It''. It is also the first game in the series to be released under the "WWE" banner.

The game was succeeded by ''WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain'' in October 2003.

Gameplay

Season mode was lengthened to two in-game years and features the Brand Extension featuring Ric Flair's Raw and Vince McMahon's SmackDown! For the first time, only WWE superstars could participate in "season mode". Players compete exclusively on the show they are drafted to for the first few months of year one, consisting of four Raw or four SmackDown! events, plus a monthly pay-per-view (PPV) event. If the player's character is a created superstar, or if the original superstar has a rating lower than 60, he will instead wrestle on '' Sunday Night HEAT''. Eventually, the player will be booked on the two major television shows, appearing on two Raw and two SmackDown! shows and the PPV event. One of the featured storylines is based on the nWo of early 2002 that included Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and X-Pac (who replaced the released Scott Hall).

Like its predecessor ''WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It'', ''Shut Your Mouth's'' championships cannot be contended for in "exhibition mode" and can only be defended in "season mode". All of the major titles of the time, except for the WWE Women's Championship, are included in the game: WWE Undisputed, Intercontinental, European, Tag Team, Cruiserweight, and Hardcore championships. Various unlockables such as alternate player attires, extra movesets, and arenas be unlocked through "season mode".

Televised and pay-per-view events are televised from the ''SmackDown! Arena'', the exterior of which is based on Madison Square Garden. Although Jim Ross announces a different city at the start of each event, the exteriors remain the same. Notable areas are a New York City Subway stop named ''SmackDown! Station'', ''Times Square'', and The World. The game features several arenas that WWE held events at in 2001 and 2002. There are also arenas based on each WWE television show. In certain arenas, players could make their wrestlers scale the TitanTron and jump off of it. In addition, The Undertaker's motorcycle could be ridden in some matches. "Create-A-Superstar mode" gives the freedom to manipulate any part of the superstar's body. It also offers over 58 move sets from a combination of superstars in WWE not featured in the game or working in different promotions.

This is the first game to feature superstars on different brands, ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown!''. In this game, all the superstars, including champions are eligible to be drafted on both brands, except for the WWE Undisputed Champion, who is available on both brands, as long as he is the champion. This also marks the first WWE video game appearances of Billy Kidman, Brock Lesnar, Chuck Palumbo, Diamond Dallas Page, Jazz, Maven, Randy Orton, Rico, and Torrie Wilson.

Development

Superstar models include realistic facial features. Fully animated entrances for each character are featured, with their entrance video playing on the TitanTron, and their respective themes playing in the arena. The title belts are also displayed in the entrances realistically (e.g. The Rock carrying the title belt to the ring and raising it above his head).

For superstar entrances, most of the themes used in the televised and house shows were incorporated into the game. Along with the in-house music from Jim Johnston, remakes of Johnston's originals from bands such as Breaking Point (for Rob Van Dam), Boy Hits Car (for Lita), Cypress Hill (for Tazz), Our Lady Peace (for Chris Benoit), and Saliva (for The Dudley Boyz) were featured. However, Maven, Stacy Keibler, Tajiri, Randy Orton, and The Hardy Boyz do not have their correct themes (although an instrumental version of Maven's actual entrance theme is included on the game disc). Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler provide sporadic commentary while ring announcer Howard Finkel provided his voice for match introductions and superstar entrances.

Reception

By July 2006, the game had sold 1.1 million copies and earned $50 million in the United States. '' Next Generation'' ranked it as the 44th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube between January 2003 and July 2006 in that country. Combined console sales of ''WWE'' games released in the 2000s reached 8 million units in the United States by July 2006. It also received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

The game received "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. ''GameSpot'' named it the second-best PlayStation 2 game of November 2002. It was a runner-up for ''GameSpot''s annual "Best Graphics (Technical) on PlayStation 2" award, which went to ''Ratchet & Clank''.

References

External links

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{{WWE video games

2002 video games
PlayStation 2 games
PlayStation 2-only games
THQ games
Video games developed in Japan
WWE SmackDown video games
WWE video games
Yuke's games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Professional wrestling games