History of WWF/E Games Part 41
WWE Day of Reckoning 2
Release
2005
Format
Nintendo Game Cube
Time to look at the last WWE game on Game Cube.
Background
Work began on WWE Day of Reckoning 2 while the first game was in its final stages of development. This is how THQ were able to get the game onto store shelves so fast. While it was the last WWE game on the Nintendo Game Cube it, would also be the last WWE game on a Nintendo console for over two years until the Nintendo Wii’s Smackdown vs RAW 2008 which was released in 2007.
Stone Cold Steve Austin would make his first ever appearance in a WWE game as a legend and not as a member of the regular roster.
Presentation
There were many things said about the increased polygon count in this game, but if I am honest while it still does look great, the way THQ talked about it in press releases you would think the game looked a million times better than its predecessor. There is a larger roster this time around, and legends now have there correct music. Despite the increased polygon count some wrestlers I felt were a step back from there character models in the first game, mainly The Rock and Bret Hart. Of course this really is just personal preference, but I preferred their models in the first game.
The arenas were given a pretty big face lift and I think that they looked much more smoother this time around. One thing that needs to be mentioned is the load times that this game has. I have heard that this is due to the increase in the polygons of both the wrestlers and the arenas.
The licensed sound track is now gone and in its place are some weird techno style songs. They are actually very similar to the kind of songs that were used in the early Smackdown games on the original Playstation.
One thing that I love about the graphics in this game is the blood effects. There were various stages of blood that would flow from your wrestler depending on how much damage they had taken. It may not sound like much, but it made for a cool effect.
Game Play
For me Day of Reckoning 2 really did not offer enough new things in terms of game play. There was no new major match types added. Instead the big change was the stamina system and the submission system. Both of these on paper are a fantastic idea, but for some reason it is like Yukes the developer kind of lost interest half way through.
The stamina system is absolutely brutal. It should be great with the wrestlers getting tired during matches, but all it really does is punish you for doing moves. I have heard people say that the stamina meter makes the matches more strategic, but I just found it a real hindrance to the game. They really should have put an option in the game that let you turn off the stamina system.
The submission system was a great idea. You now had four different submission styles. Each one would have a different effect on your opponent. For example the taunt submission hold would make your opponent lose some of there momentum meter (what gives them a special move) the rest hold submission will let you get some stamina back. The drain submission does not really do any damage, but it does drain there stamina, and last but not least we have the good old submission hold that is used for trying to make your opponent submit. I love the idea here, but it kind of just felt like it was tacked on. With a bit more thought this could have been a great addition to the game play.
One interesting thing about Day of Reckoning 2 was the story mode. Like last year you had to use a Create a Wrestler, but the story follows right on from the events of the last game. Sadly there was no option to import your character from the first game. This was because the Create a Wrestler mode in Day of Reckoning 2 had much higher detailed created wrestlers. The story mode I felt was pretty boring to be honest and it just felt like it went on and on. Like before you would have to do certain objectives and some of them were absolutely brutal and not really much fun at all.
Day of Reckoning 2 is a decent multi player game. It uses pretty much the exact same game play style with a few tweaks here and there, but the stamina meter is a huge problem and takes away a great deal of the fun. One thing I did like was the way in exhibition mode you could earn money to unlock various things in the game store.
Final Thoughts
I think this review comes off as negative, but the truth is Day of Reckoning 2 is not a bad game at all. It is just the first game is much better in nearly every single way. It may have a smaller roster, but the game is much more fun. If you had to only have one WWE game on the Game Cube then it should be the first Day of Reckoning.
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