WWF SmackDown! (video game)

''WWF SmackDown!'', known in Japan as , is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and released for the PlayStation by THQ. It is based on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and is named after the company's weekly '' SmackDown!'' television program. Originally released on March 2, 2000, the game received a direct sequel released several months later, entitled '' WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role''.

The first WWF game on the PlayStation to be published by THQ, ''SmackDown!'' marked the start of a long running series of WWE video games from THQ, then continued by 2K Sports and rebranded as '' WWE 2K''. The game was also re-released under the Greatest Hits budget range.

Gameplay

The game's main story mode contains three main parts, first with the Pre-Season (for created wrestlers), but after ten in-game years of playing the Pre-Season, players are allowed to skip it. By playing and advancing in the season modes players gain rewards such as unlockables or attires, but instead of unlocking new characters, players unlock new body parts to put on new creations, to play as that "unlocked" character. Once players build a creation, they must fight in a Pre-Season year to build their skills and make their alliances. The story mode contains no voice-overs, instead the characters meet each other backstage with mouths that move to no voice and on-screen cutscene text. The game also lacks play-by-play color commentary.

''WWF SmackDown!'' has many match types including Single, Tag Team, Hardcore, Steel Cage and many more. The game features the late 1999 WWF roster following ''SmackDown!''s premiere, including the then-newcomers The Dudley Boyz.

Development

Yuke's, the developer of ''SmackDown!'' had previously created the '' Toukon Retsuden'' series of wrestling games in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Despite this, the game engine used in ''SmackDown!'' is not based on contemporary ''Toukon Retsuden'' titles, but rather ''The Pro Wrestling'', a title developed by Yuke's as part of D3 Publisher's ''Simple'' series and released several months in Japan beforehand.

Reception

''WWF SmackDown!'' received favorable reviews according to video game review aggregator GameRankings. Daniel Erickson of '' NextGen'' was positive to the controls, graphics, and game modes such as Season and Referee mode, but criticized its "shallow" arcade-like quality and create-a-wrestler mode. In Japan, however, ''Famitsu'' gave it a score of 27 out of 40.

Lamchop of ''GamePro'' called ''SmackDown'' better than Acclaim's '' WWF Attitude'' in terms of graphics and "speedier" gameplay, but thought that ''Attitude'' has its full commentary and character voices than the former. In another review, The D-Pad Destroyer praised the Season mode and called the title "one of the best wrestling games in the history".

The game was a bestseller in the UK upon release, and again three months later. It also received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 units in the UK.

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{{WWE video games

2000 video games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
PlayStation (console) games
PlayStation (console)-only games
Professional wrestling games
THQ games
Video games developed in Japan
WWE SmackDown video games
WWE video games
Yuke's games