GameCube

WWE Day of Reckoning

The game’s controls are comfortable, but newbies shouldn’t be deterred: Reckoning features an extensive tutorial mode that runs through the moves, from the most basic to complex holds and attacks. The biggest negative is the necessity to pump the A button repeatedly to get out of bad situations a frequent occurrence that can quickly wear you down. WWE Day of Reckoning is a treat that’ll open you eyes faster than a Figure-Four Leg Lock.

WWE: Day of Reckoning ist einfach nur geil und konnte mich völlig begeistern. Die Steuerung ist sehr gut durchdacht und perfekt auf den Controller angepasst, wodurch die Eingewöhnungszeit angenehm kurz ausfällt. Außerdem war die Entscheidung der Entwickler, den Story-Modus komplett zu überarbeiten, die beste, die sie fällen konnten. Es macht unglaublich viel Spaß, den Weg an die Spitze der WWE zu gehen. Die Begeisterung über den Story-Modus konnte nur vom genialen Mehrspieler-Modus getoppt werden. Allerdings kommt auch Day of Reckoning nicht ohne Kritik davon. Die fehlende Sprachausgabe raubt dem Story-Modus doch einiges an Atmosphäre. Und auch die KI von Referee und CPU-Partner sind nicht immer toll. Aber was soll´s: Dieses Spiel rockt.

THQ and Yukes are back with their third WWE grappler for the Nintendo GameCube. Over the last two years, they’ve given us WWE Wrestlemania X8 and WWE Wrestlemania XIX. This year, they’ve given us WWE Day of Reckoning. They’ve dropped the Wrestlemania title, but they’ve also made many more important changes. Day of Reckoning features sharper looking graphics, a similar but better grappling system, a better create-a-wrestler option, a story mode, and much more. WWE Day of Reckoning is an excellent addition to the GameCube’s library. If you are a wrestling fan and you own a GameCube, WWE Day of Reckoning is a must. The game truly feels like you’re getting all the bang for your buck. Don’t miss out on it, give this one a try!

Apart from this, Day of Reckoning’s focus upon the dreamers and wannabes that are fighting day in and out at house shows is a creative spin for a wrestling game, one that will appeal to a number of wrestling fans whose ultimate dream is to be on that stage themselves. It may not fully realize every single feature that it tries to implement, but what it does pull off is pretty good.

Day of Reckoning is a worthy sequel to last year's enjoyable, but flawed WrestleMania XIX. The game's intuitive grappling system is still fast and fun, and once you get the hang of counters and reversals you'll really gain an appreciation for the depth hiding underneath the simplified control scheme. The new story mode doesn't overwhelm with presentation -- a lack of voice acting hurts -- but it's well designed and engaging all the same. Plus, it works hand-in-hand with the game's excellent create-a-wrestler option. The biggest problem with Day of Reckoning -- a pretty sizeable, rather unfortunate oversight -- is the lacking roster. While many of today's biggest Superstars, Divas and Legends are included in the title, so are a dozen or so major ones missing, and that is extremely disappointing.

Now I finally have an answer to a question that has plagued me for years: If I wrestled The Rock and Kurt Angle with a woman dressed like a hooker for my tag partner, who would win? Turns out that I would. Thanks to an amazingly deep character creation mode, I was able to make a wrestler who looked a lot like me (although with much bigger pecs and a much smaller gut), and fight my way from the WWE training camps to a bona fide star on RAW. Now honestly I don’t dream of being a famous wrestler, but WWE: Day of Reckoning showed me how addictive it could be to step into that role for a while.

It hasn't been an easy console generation for fans of both Nintendo and the WWE. During the era of the Nintendo 64, the system was easily at the top of the heap when it came to quality wrestling games, thanks largely to the effort of developer Aki's work on each of the N64's marquee grapplers. Then along came the GameCube, and with it a new developer, the creator of the PlayStation 2-exclusive SmackDown! franchise, Yuke's. Two GameCube wrestling games have been produced up to this point, and neither one is anything special, feeling more like afterthoughts to the SmackDown! games than anything else.

Wrestlingsfans mit einem Gamecube können oder besser gesagt müssen zuschlagen. Denn abgesehen von den früheren, eher weniger gut gelungenen Wrestlingtiteln auf dem Nintendo Würfel, kann dieses Spiel fast auf ganzer Linie überzeugen. Aber eben nur fast. Mir persönlich gefällt die Steuerung von Smackdown viel besser. Sie lässt einem mehr spielerische Freiheiten als Day of Reckoning. Das ganze Spiel wirkt überhaupt ein wenig wie ein Arcadegamel. Was aber nicht unbedingt ein Nachteil sein muss. Für Langzeitmotivation ist hingegen gesorgt. Die vielen freispielbaren Extras, inkl. der legendären Wrestler, lassen Langeweile nicht so schnell aufkommen.

WWE Day of Reckoning has something for everyone, regardless of your wrestling preference.

SmackDown finally lived up to its potential last year, though it's still a little weak in the moves category. Xbox's Raw rules for entrances and multiplayer careers, but the play is abysmal. With three platforms getting original titles, there still hasn't been a definitive WWE game. Smackdown has always been too shallow on gameplay, Raw plays even worse, and WrestleMania offers little to single players.

Fortschritt in Maßen: "Day of Reckoning 2" macht genau das, was schon zahlreiche Wrestling-Vorgänger aus dem Hause THQ getan haben - das intuitive Kampfsystem wurde beibehalten, dezente Neuerungen fügen sich stimmig ins hochglanzpolierte Gesamtbild ein. Optisch ist der Cube-Wrestler ein echter Hingucker - geschmeidige Animationen, mit Details protzende Polygonringer und dreidimensionale Zuschauerränge bringen die WWE direkt ins Wohnzimmer. Einsteiger freuen sich über das vorbildliche Tutorial, echte Fans über dutzende Event-Varianten und originalgetreue Auftritte. Für Langzeitmotivation ist ebenfalls gesorgt: Tragt im erweiterten Story-Modus Fehden aus und erobert Frauenherzen - das Sprechen haben die Muskelprotze leider immer noch nicht gelernt.

WWE Day of Reckoning is without a doubt the best wrestling game on the GameCube to date. The enjoyable Story Mode, the impressive Create a Superstar mode and a control scheme that works well all combine to give a wrestling experience that surpasses any other GameCube wrestling title to date. Some things could have been better though. The Bra and Panties Match is the only new addition to the fight modes which is somewhat disappointing. You could also argue that the pace of the fights is a bit too quick. The bottom line though is that if you're after a wrestling game on the GameCube then look no further than WWE Day of Reckoning because what it does, it does well and it easily surpasses all of the GameCube wrestling games that have gone before.

Gimmick matches are great (TLC rules), the list of moves is insanely deep, and the controls are beautifully designed. THQ simply needs to combine the standout features of each of its games to create a truly remarkable wrestling title.

THQ and Yukes can change the name, but the game's pretty much the same. The main issues that would sway a WWE fan away from this game would be the underachieving roster, the unpromising story mode, and the hair-pulling AI, so my suggestion would be to rent this one first before you rush to the mall. WWE Day of Reckoning may fit the bill for some wrestling game fans, but it’s not for everyone.

WWE: Day of Reckoning delivers the blood, sweat and tears Gamecube wrestling fans have been waiting to digest. It might not offer much new to the wrestling genre, but a win is a win, right?

Basically, this game has the potential to be entertaining in multiplayer for wrestling fans to go at it with their favorite wrestlers, and it has a story mode with enough depth to keep a single player engaged for quite a while. If what I have heard about Acclaim's Legends of Wrestling series and the prequels to this game is true, then no wrestling fan with a GCN has any reason to be without this game. This is a game with the potential to last quite a while for the fan of the genre, but if you don't like wrestling, this game probably won't change your mind.

At this point, it's pretty safe to presume that the GameCube will always get the short end of the pro wrestling stick. WWE Day of Reckoning, like the two Yuke's projects to precede it, is a good game, but nevertheless overshadowed by what's coming out on PlayStation 2 a few months from now.

Au final, Day Of Reckoning déçoit malgré quelques qualités qui auraient pu faire de lui un titre pas désagréable, surtout à côté des monceaux de daubes qui gravitent autour du catch. Mais des lacunes regrettables, des soucis de précision, un temps trop important passé à frapper le bouton A et surtout un gameplay qui mise trop sur la fréquence des coups font retomber l'engouement.