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)
Series SmackDown!
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
Release
  • NA: October 27, 2003
  • EU: November 7, 2003
  • JP: January 29, 2004
Genre(s) Sports
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain (Known as Exciting Pro Wrestling 5 in Japan) is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, released in October 2002, 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, as it was succeeded by WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw series in November 2004.

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 legends such as Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and The Undertaker (with his 90's gimmick), and more. This is the only game to feature Ultimo Dragon, Sean O'Haire, Hillbilly Jim George Steele, and Rodney Mack as playable characters. It is also the first game in the SmackDown! series to have John Cena, Charlie Haas, Goldberg, Shelton Benjamin, Chavo Guerrero, Jr., Sable, Batista 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. This is the last WWE game to feature Test and the first game to depict Kane without his mask. This would also be Rikishi & Val Venis's last game until WWE '13.

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 go to SmackDown! or RAW.

Development

The development version featured Jeff Hardy, Hulk Hogan (along with his alter-ego Mr. America and his 1980s 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. Johnny Stamboli, Nunzio, Hardcore Holly, Al Snow, Bill DeMott, and Scotty 2 Hotty were all pulled very early in development. Chief Morley was originally planned for the game, but was changed last minute to Val Venis

Reception

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

WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[12] indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[13]

The game received "generally favorable" reviews from critics and “universal acclaim” from fans and gamers alike, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[1]

IGN called the game "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."[10] GameSpot said, "What the game lacks in innovation, however, is more than made up for in sheer playability."[7] Eurogamer called 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."[3] GMR said, "Submission moves finally makes [sic] sense, thanks to a logical location-based damage system, and wrestlers' weights are accurately presented."[14]

Other reviews were more mixed. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine 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."[11] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 29 out of 40.[4]

Accolades

Distributor:Category:Result:
1st British Academy Video Games AwardsSports GameNominated
2003 Spike Video Game AwardsBest Sports Game
Best Fighting GameWon [15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic.
  2. ↑ EGM staff (January 2004). "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain". Electronic Gaming Monthly (174): 140.
  3. 1 2 Bramwell, Tom (13 November 2003). "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain". Eurogamer.
  4. 1 2 "エキサイティングプロレス5". Famitsu. 789. 30 January 2004.
  5. ↑ Leeper, Justin (January 2004). "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain". Game Informer (129): 138. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  6. ↑ DJ Dinobot (29 October 2003). "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  7. 1 2 Navarro, Alex (24 October 2003). "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Freeman, Matthew (15 November 2003). "GameSpy: [WWE] Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain". GameSpy. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  9. ↑ Valentino, Nick (4 December 2003). "WWE Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  10. 1 2 Dunham, Jeremy (24 October 2003). "WWE Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain". IGN. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  11. 1 2 Varanini, Giancarlo (January 2004). "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 132. Archived from the original on 30 March 2004. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "ELSPA Sales Awards: Platinum". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  13. ↑ Caoili, Eric (26 November 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
  14. ↑ "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain". GMR (12): 92. January 2004. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  15. ↑ https://megagames.com/news/video-game-awards-results
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