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 - Fun, yes, but but with a few too many tweaks.It's better than the first one. It looks better. It's smoother. But don't expect it to be fair.. Which severely hinders the fun-factor. Most annoying #1: The computer ruins your chances at winning any kind of more-than-two-person match because the other people in the ring are making their own game of attacking you and only you. They'll actually wait around, standing idly next to the other guys, not even attacking each other, for you to get up off the mat (finally, after 10 minutes of counting the ring lights because someone else was thrown into you, knocking you on your back). Also, if you are hit enough times with light to medium attacks, your dude will walk around "dazed" in what amounts to too much animation and not enough blocking the opponent who is doing more, (and unblockable) damage! As you're staggering around the ring, drunken-like and forced to watch, The Undertaker is busy measuring his attack. HEY PROGRAMMERS - showcase that new animation technique on A BETTER ABILITY TO CLIMB OUT OF A CAGE!!! Folks, if you want to induce a nuclear anger inside of yourself, try a cage match! Surely a better mechanic could've been employed, as opposed to the slow-moving arm made of lead from the last game! They should've used the lame dazed animation I described above on the classic "ramming the oppenent's head into the cage" wrestling move. Small changes like that are what were missed. There are a few bright spots though. If your match involves blood, the bleeding guy's blood will stain the mat, and it runs down the center of his nose. I also found that if you keep doing head-punch moves to him, that old familiar "last-hit cracking sound", the one from the last game, opens the wound further. Also, the guy you create at least looks like he belongs on the roster, not just the cartoony "created guy you're using." The AI is a bit better. But as far as AI, it stops there. More on that in a sec. Generally, as I said, looks better and is smoother. Now on to the AI. Still the inane AI logic is present, and making a comeback this year are: 1)Your own partner hitting you with power-type moves intended for the opponent, all this IF your partner decides to break a pin situation or the oppennt's limb-hold. 2)The computer has no problem knocking off my partner's and my holds, but when my leg is being wrenched, my partner makes small talk with the dads and their sons in the front row!! 3)Team this with poorly-timed swings with any number of damaging weapons, oftentimes into your guy's skull, and by your faithful partner, and you get the AI. I've actually gone after my own partner and kept him out of the match for the remainder.. Screw him! Other generalities: Severe lack of match-types/modes (Lumberjack maybe? Hello!), And no backstage stuff? Even a little bit? Even the 64 had this!! (APA in the bar..still so cool!) The divas don't bleed? And the created divas don't compete for a belt? Also be aware that each loading screen is way longer for just about e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g!!!! Good LORD how annoying!! Created people: better costumes (better contoured to the paerson), more costumes - not necessarily more practical for a wrestler, but relatively unchanged nonetheless. Created people also look better. Not so claylike. The fine-tune-a-wrestler mechanic is also a lot easier to use. The body base-model is a bit more realistic. Bottom line: Part of me wants to congratulate THQ and/or whomever else put out this game. But the better part thinks that I could've waited a little longer for a sequel. Rating:  - BEST WRESTLING GAME ON GAMECUBE.It is also better than WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW on the PlayStation 2,i did have WWE SVR but i have unlocked everything,beat it and enjoyed it it was a little disappointing so i gave it to my friend Ashley(10 years old) who plays it a lot on multi-player mode against his little brother Daniel who is 5.But WWE Day Of Reckoning 2 is better than SVR in everyway except sometimes the actual fighting.This maybe not better than WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 though.I have played this 3 times on my cousins GameCube.WWE DOR2 is better than the N64 hit "WWF No Mercy!" and the PS1 hit "WWF SmackDown! 2:Know Your Role!" but they are old news now anyway,there is no WWF anymore it was disbanded by WWE in some case gainst World Wildlife Fund(also WWF) and so the name has changed as well as away to change stuff around i.e. Stories,arenas,RAW is WAR broke down the name to RAW etc. WWF/WWE games are impressive on PS2 and GameCube but they lack on XBox(WWF RAW,WWE RAW 2 and WWE WrestleMania 21).the WWF/WWE "WrestleMania" titles also lack the only decent one was N64`s WWF WrestleMania 2000 which is the second best WWF game on N64.sorry i couldn`t explain WWE DOR2 but other reviewers can-Here i will just list out some WWF/WWE games on all 5th and 6th gen consoles(i might miss one) PLAYSTATION 1: WWF In Your House!(old WWF logo,and is 2D)(1996) WWF WarZone(First 3D wrestling game)(1998) WWF Attitude!("GET IT!")(1999) WWF SmackDown!(1999 OR 2000 not sure which) WWF SmackDown! 2:Know Your Role !(2000) NINTENDO 64: WWF WarZone(same as PS1 ver) (1998) WWF Attitude(again same PS1 ver)(1999) WWF WrestleMania 2000(2000) WWF No Mercy!(2001) DREAMCAST: WWF Attitude!(SAME!) (Dunno NEmore DC WWF games) PlayStation 2: WWF SmackDown! 3:Just Bring It!(2001) WWE SmackDown! 4:Shut Your Mouth!(first WW-E game on PS)(2002) WWE SmackDown! 5:Here Comes The Pain!(2003) WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW(2004) WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2006(Also on PSP) (2005) GAMECUBE: WWF WrestleMania X8(early 2002,commonly dubbed as a WWE game) WWE WrestleMania XIX(2003) WWE Day Of Reckoning(2004) WWE Day Of Reckoning 2(2005) XBOX: WWF RAW/sometimes WWF RAW is WAR(2001) WWE RAW 2(2003) WWE WrestleMania 21(2005) (I did not mention any WCW,ECW or anyother wrestling games i just mentioned WWF/WWE ones) Best 2005 WWE games are in order: 1)WWE SVR 2006 2)WWE DOR2 3)WWE WM-21. ---------------------------------------------- hoping for in future WWE:SmackDown! and RAW rejoin,The Rock returns full time,Lots of Stone Cold vs McMahon stuff,The Rock to grow back some more hair,John Cena and randy Orton form a tag-team,Brock Lesnar returns,The UnderTaker go to his "American BadAzz-Goth style rather than this legend state i want him back on his motorbike again,Kane to put his mask on again. Rating:  - Get Ready to Rumble!Prior to purchasing this game, I was using Wrestlemania 19. I must say, what a major difference between the two. Nearly every aspect about this game has improved from its predecessors. Anything from Gameplay to Story Mode, Create-A-Wrestler, fighting system, you name it. There are some changes that are remarkable and yet challenging in some parts. Lets begin with the GAMEPLAY. The wrestling moves are a lot more realistic. For example, my finished is the pedigree. This move is unbelievably cool. Your wrestler jumps in the air about 6' with your opponent and comes crashing down onto the mat. Phenomenal. The games features TONS of new moves which are crazy. Two, as opposed to the traditional one spirit meter for your wrestler, there is now Stamina and Spirit meters. Be careful. This is where the game become very realistic. You must preserve your wrestlers stamina because you can't just keep pounding away like in previous games. Everytime you run or attack your opponent, he loses more and more stamina. And when the meter gets to near the bottom "RED ZONE", your wrestler will just stand still in the ring with his head down and his hands at his legs resting until the meter begins to go up again. Also the spirit system you must be careful with. If your spirit gets to blue or at "Danger", chances are you will lose the match. The submission system has been completely reworked. When you put your opponent into submission mode, using the C-stick, you have four options. You can select, "Submit" which will give you the submission meter where you must tap "A" repeatedly to bring the arrow in the meter to the submit "blue" area. Or you can select "Drain" which drains your opponents stamina. Three is "Rest Hold" which drains your opponents physical strength. Fourth is "Taunt", which lowers your opponents spirit. Be careful though, when your first perform a submission move, your opponent can choose one of the four options too, and if you both choose the same thing, he'll kick right out of it. The matches are much more realistic, with the new AI Sytem. The computer has its own mind and strategies to make the fights more tough instead of one-sided. The Create-A-Wrestler mode is much more enhanced with more apparel, more moves (though you have to work your way through story mode to unlock the rest of the moves), better entrance effects. The Story mode is very diverse. As you go through, occasionally, the computer will give you two options. For example: 1. Go after Edge and shut him up or 2. Go after the Intercontinental Title. I thought that was good for a change, choose your wrestler's path. It doesn't alter it much, but a couple matches may change. Overall, this game is really utterly phenomenal. I enjoy this game very much and think it is one of the best wrestling games I have ever owned. The graphics are nearly 100% accurate to real-life faces and body outlines. Everything about this game makes you feel like you are in the ring with the real WWE Superstars. Rating: - I hate THQ!!!!!!!!!First off, let me say this game totally sucks! One complaint I have about it is that the rosters are STILL totaly out of date! Yeah, I know that it is supposed to be a continuation of the first Day of Reckoning, but at least put Batista on Smackdown! The controls are sluggish and unresponsive, it is impossible to win by pinfall, the camera angles are confusing, and there is STILL no voiceover or commentary! In this day and age, no voiceover or commentary is just plain sad. Also, Create-a-championchip, create-a-pay per view are also absent in this GameCube version, but automatically included in Smackdown vs. RAW 2006. THQ is totally biest to PS2 and Xbox. If they had just included all of these features and less frustrating gameplay, this could have one of the greats, but since they didn't, it is one that will be on the hall of shame. Screw you, THQ!!!!! Rating: - Better than the original, but still lackingFirst things first... I'm not a tweleve year old kid and I've played a heck of a lot of video games (especially wrestling and RPG)in my day, so I'll only tell you the facts about this game. Create-A-Wrestler has more interesting attributes, moves, clothing and features. It even has twenty facial expressions and twenty lighting effects for pictures. That's the good news. The bad news is that it takes a long (and I mean LONG) time to create the superstar because the computer can't load the image fast enough. Imagine waiting twenty seconds to preview the look of clothing on your wrestler. That's twenty seconds for EACH outfit... and we haven't even gotten into colors yet. The entrances still stink... just the plain ole' WWE banner behind the wrestler as s/he walks out to the ring. Nothing original there. And while the plot is original, there's only one of them. Unlike the first game, you can't choose between RAW or SmackDown. There's only one plot, so the replayability feature is very limited. The graphics are a HUGE improvement, but the wrestling methods is not. There's only one new exhibition match other than the standards--welcome the "Last Man Standing Match." Remember the other WWE games for the PS(2)? Lumberjack matches, casket matches, ambulance matches, I Quit matches, survival matches? None of that cool stuff is in here, no siree! Why would we be interested in a multitude of great exhibitions when we can have the same-old-same-old? And let's not forget the backstage matches, lockerroom matches, outdoor matches, garage matches...etc. Nope, just ring matches again... that's all we need, plain ol' ring matches. Okay, some good points... There's a new "Stamina meter" that goes down when you are pounding on someone and goes up when you are lying flat on your back (and that will happen a lot early on). This prevents you from punching the pud out of people forever without worrying about small things like resting. It will get on your nerves after a while, but you'll love it when your enemy runs out. :) There's four different submission holds affecting your opponent's spirit, stamina, physical well-being and even one that enables you to rest (remember that stamina thing we were talking about?) Again, no female superstars are allowed to participate in story mode (the only answer for this is prejudice and bigotry), the bra-and-panty matches are horribly lame (just when are the programmers going to be smart enough to let the player choose outfits for the female wrestlers?)and after a while, you'll have so much money that you'll have bought everything in ShopZone and still have a million dollars in the bank, sitting uselessly. But the best part of this game -- the thing that makes it outshine its predasessor by leaps and bounds -- is the full roster of talent that can be used. Everyone from Paul London to JBL to Eugene to Mankind can be summoned for a quick bout. But heaven help you if you are stupid enough to enter a Fatal Four Way or a Three-Man match. You'll quickly find yourself Rock Bottomed, Stunned and Pedigreed! The computer targets you... and sometimes only you. Those matches turn into handicap matches faster than you can say, "Quidditch" Mister Potter! I will leave this review the same way I leave all of my reviews, RENT FIRST, BUY SECOND!
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