WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain

WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain

North American cover art featuring Rey Mysterio, Matt Hardy, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, The Undertaker, and Torrie Wilson
Developer(s) Yuke's
Publisher(s) THQ
Series SmackDown!
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
Release date(s)
  • NA October 27, 2003
  • EU November 7, 2003
  • JP January 29, 2004
Genre(s) Fighting
Wrestling
Mode(s) Single player
Multiplayer

WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain (Known as Exciting Pro Wrestling 5 in Japan) is a video game released by WWE on the PlayStation 2 console by THQ on October 27, 2003. It is a sequel to WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth and is part of the WWE SmackDown! series based on World Wrestling Entertainment's weekly TV show SmackDown. It was the first SmackDown! game to feature a catchphrase not linked back to The Rock in its title. It was also the final WWE game to solely use the SmackDown! name. It was succeeded by WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw.

Gameplay

The game introduced a more complicated grappling system, while retaining the series’ fast gameplay. Also included with this new grappling system were body damage displays, submission meters (for both the person applying the move and the person breaking out of the move), as well as the ability to break the submission hold when touching the ropes, and individual character scales that consisted of statistics (such as strength, endurance and speed). This game marks the first time the Elimination Chamber and the Bra and Panties Match would be featured in a wrestling game.

Much like every WWE game before it, WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain features over 50 Superstars who were active members of the WWE roster at the time of the game's release. In addition to the playable (then) current Superstars, for the first time in a SmackDown game, it also featured a variety of legend Superstars such as Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and The Undertaker (with his 90's gimmick), and more. This would be the final SmackDown!-branded game to feature Brock Lesnar until WWE '12 where he would be included as an unlockable character. Later he returned to WWE in April 2012 and is on current active roster which included him as one of the main roster in WWE '13 and in the following games as well, It is also the final game to include Val Venis, and Rikishi until WWE '13 ( Rikishi and Venis were downloadable content), as well as the only WWE licensed game to feature Ultimo Dragon and Sean O'Haire as playable characters. It is also the first game in the SmackDown! series to have Batista, Chavo Guerrero and Rey Mysterio as playable characters. This also marks the final time that Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock would appear in a SmackDown! game as non-legends until The Rock returned in 2011 and became exclusive downloadable content in WWE '12. This game also marked Goldberg's last appearance in a WWE game, until WWE 2K14. This is the last WWE game to feature Test. This game is the last appearance of Goldust until WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010. Also it is the last game to feature Undertaker with his biker gimmick until WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 and the first game to depict Kane without his mask.

Season Mode was much like the game before it, starting off with the Backlash Pay Per View and fighting your way through the months, ending with WrestleMania. Instead of being able to roam free around the arena, this version of Season Mode had it so that all of your decisions (such as where you wanted to go and what you wanted to do next) were made on a menu screen in your locker room. In the General Manager's room, you can ask for title shots and brand switches. There are multiple titles to go after depending on if you choose to go to SmackDown or RAW.

Development

The development version featured Jeff Hardy, Hulk Hogan (along with his alter-ego Mr. America and his 1980's appearance) and The Ultimate Warrior. Hogan and Hardy were removed from the game when they left WWE and Warrior was omitted due to a legal dispute with the company. Data for other omitted wrestlers, including Spike Dudley, Billy Kidman, Billy Gunn, William Regal, Bradshaw, Molly Holly and 3-Minute Warning remains on the final discs, with none of them having any finished character models. The concept of having multiple versions of Hogan in one game was finally included with the release of WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006.

Unlike its predecessors WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It and WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, no in-game commentary or ring entrance announcements were included. The only voice overs are the referee's voice, which was recorded by Earl Hebner and also used for Mike Chioda. Its successor, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw would have extensive voice overs.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings86.46%[1]
Metacritic85/100[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM7.5/10[3]
Eurogamer9/10[4]
Famitsu29/40[5]
Game Informer8.5/10[6]
GamePro[7]
GameSpot9/10[8]
GameSpy[9]
GameZone9.2/10[10]
IGN9.1/10[11]
OPM (US)[12]

The game received favourable reviews and high scores from the critics. It gained an aggregate score of 86.46% from GameRankings based on 50 reviews, and an aggregate score of 85/100 from Metacritic based on 27 critics.[1][2]

IGN gave the game 9.1 out of 10, calling it "one of the best wrestling games we've ever played...With its ultra-improved gameplay mechanics, enhanced visual engine, smarter career mode, and established create-a-character feature, Yuke's and THQ are definitely the track to success."[11] GameSpot gave it 9 out of 10, stating: "What the game lacks in innovation, however, is more than made up for in sheer playability."[8] Eurogamer gave the game a rating of 9 out of 10, calling it "a superb blend of traditional and wrestling-specific fight mechanics, and there's so much variety here that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say you could play this one from now until the next SmackDown without getting bored or running out of things to do."[4] GMR gave it a score of 8 out of 10, stating: "Submission moves finally makes sense, thanks to a logical location-based damage system, and wrestlers' weights are accurately presented."[13]

Other reviews were more mixed. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine gave it a score of three-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "the first game in the series that tries to accommodate both sides by combining quick action with the technical elements of wrestling, and it works -- almost."[12] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 29 out of 40.[5]

Accolades

Distributor: Category: Result:
1st British Academy Video Games Awards Sports Game Nominated
2003 Spike Video Game Awards Best Sports Game
Best Fighting Game Won

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain for PlayStation 2". GameRankings.
  2. 1 2 "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic.
  3. ↑ EGM staff (January 2004). "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain". Electronic Gaming Monthly (174): 140.
  4. 1 2 Bramwell, Tom (November 13, 2003). "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain". Eurogamer.
  5. 1 2 "エキサイティングプロレス5". Famitsu 798. January 30, 2004.
  6. ↑ Leeper, Justin (January 2004). "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain". Game Informer (129): 138. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  7. ↑ DJ Dinobot (October 29, 2003). "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 4, 2005. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Navarro, Alex (October 24, 2003). "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain Review". GameSpot. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  9. ↑ Freeman, Matthew (November 15, 2003). "GameSpy: [WWE] Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain". GameSpy. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  10. ↑ Valentino, Nick (December 4, 2003). "WWE Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Dunham, Jeremy (October 24, 2003). "WWE Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain". IGN. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  12. 1 2 Varanini, Giancarlo (January 2004). "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 132. Archived from the original on March 30, 2004. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  13. ↑ "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain". GMR (12): 92. January 2004. Retrieved February 12, 2015.

External links

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