Nintendo
wrestling fans have been patiently waiting for the
day when Yukes and THQ would upstage their already
popular Smackdown series on the PS2 with a stellar
wrestling title on the Cube and it looks like their
day of reckoning has come. DoR2 is the best wrestling
title available on the Cube and I'm going to even
go so far as to suggest that it indeed has stolen
the Heavyweight Championship Belt from Sony's console,
thus making DoR2 the best wrestling title available...on
any system. However a caveat remains: It's only the
best when played with other humans because the CPU
AI is simply too erratic to enjoy for long periods
of time.
Yukes
not only improved the visuals of the wrestlers (increasing
polygon counts) but managed to inject some incredible
new innovations into the mechanics of the game. The
new stamina based system works well for the most part,
but there are some inherent kinks to be ironed out
in future renditions of the series - God willing.
In previous games players will remember getting into
the ring with a stronger opponent and being beaten
to a pulp while they could barely get a grapple to
initiate. The stamina meter changes all of that and
creates a better sense of balance. Each move drains
stamina from the meter which in effect will leave
stronger opponents weak as kittens after having their
way with you for awhile. This allows you to champion
the reversal and take the fight back to them once
they are weakened, which is what brings people to
their feet in arenas and living rooms the world over.
This feature alone captures the true essence of why
people love wrestling in the first place. Where it
falters slightly, is that it tends to draw out matches
far beyond their expiry date in my opinion. That's
a completely moot point if you love long dramatic
wrestling bouts.
Certainly
the stamina meter is a welcome addition but it's the
submission system that changes the face of videogame
wrestling and is a keeper for all eternity. The submission
system is mapped to the C stick and allows wrestlers
to select 4 different moves depending on which way
the stick is directioned. Submit (Up-C) puts immense
pressure on your opponents weakened areas. Drain (Right-C)
drains the opponent's stamina allowing you some breathing
space. Taunt (Left-C) reduces your opponents crowd
momentum while Rest Hold (Down-C) increases your own
stamina. Your opponents aren't overpowered by this
system either. If they guess exactly which move you're
going to execute and initiate the same on their C-Stick,
the move is broken. I'd love to see this mechanic
utilized in an online game, when you're player 2 can't
simply look over once the submission animation begins
to see which move you're pulling resulting in a cancel.
Players
eager to continue last years game with their created
wrestler will be disappointed that there is no import
feature available. THQ explained that it's due to
the vastly improved polygon characters used in DoR2.
However this is a pretty fatal oversight as the story
mode continues from the first DoR. This means that
you'll have to either recreate your character from
the first game in the games robust create feature
or simply invent another one....think of it like the
two Darren's on Bewitched. Maybe no one will recognize
that this years version of "Big Bruiser"
is 4 inches taller and black. The story mode while
perhaps a little drawn out is the only way you'll
unlock many of the games various arenas, so it's a
worthwhile venture.
DoR2's
biggest drawback is the lack of space on the GC disks
which didn't allow for voiceovers from your favorite
wrestlers. This isn't the fault of Yukes as they did
the best they could under the circumstances, but reading
the text isn't the same as hearing it delivered from
the mouths of your favorite grapplers. The games second
knock concerns its bizarre AI. Sometimes the wrestlers
will just stand there unable to do anything while
other matches will require every amount of talent
you've got in your little fingers. Unfortunately the
game bounces back and forth between challanging and
cakewalk.
If
you can overlook the lack of aural excitement, DoR2's
presentation and is second to none...for now. The
ring entrances are excellent and the sheer amount
of wrestling modes, characters and arenas are sure
to delight any WWE fan. The roster of available wrestlers
is hefty at 45 (including Divas and Legends) and while
that's great for a Cube wrestling game, the upcoming
Smackdown 2006 promises more than that - so DoR2 can
bask in the spotlight for a little while longer.
I
was extremely impressed with the first DoR's control
scheme and the sequel finetunes everything. It's definitely
not a button masher. Players who spend the time learning
the proper moves, timing and when to effectively use
their stamina and submissions will find a challenging
deep game. Much like Soul Calibur, DoR2 really rewards
those who take the time to understand the nuances
of the control.
This
is definitely the games swansong on the Cube and it's
definitely going out on top. I expect to see this
franchise continued on the next gen consoles although
I suspect that it might not be a Nintendo exclusive
given the amount of popularity and good press surrounding
the series. In any event if Yukes tightens up the
AI, continues to evolve the submission and stamina
meters and puts the voices back in, WWE fans everywhere
will be falling over themselves to play the third
iteration. Just don't expect to import your character
next time either.
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