There really is a good, solid wrestling simulation under all the brashness of the WWE. Finally the GameCube gets something to properly rival the "Smackdowns" on the PS2.
The game itself still has a great blending of wresting and "sports entertainment" so if you won't that signature WWE feel you won't be disappointed. Flaws and all, this is THE best wrestler for GameCube, bar none.
Quite possibly one of the best wrestling games ever made, the story mode was fantastic, the soundtrack was awesome, and there were many modes to choose from to keep it from getting boring.
Graphically, I feel that Day Of Reckoning runs a little too fast a times. Wrestlers fly across the ring at the speed of light and when pulling off an Irish Whip on your opponent it is far too easy to completely miss them as they bounce off the ropes and come back across the ring towards you, simply because your move is so difficult to time.
Unfortunately, like the Wrestlemania X8 and XIX games, DOR still isn't much fun to play with friends because the constant button mashing needed to get up, escape a submission, and rip off clothes really starts to hurt after only a few minutes.
A huge disappointment. After "Wrestlemania 19" I was really expecting something special from this, but it retains everything that was bad about that game and merely covers them over with prettier graphics and a few new modes. Time to continue praying again for the return of AKI.
WWE Day of Reckoning is a good game for the Nintendo GameCube. It has good graphics, story and controls. The momentum shift is a good addition to the controls.
This is quite possibly the greatest pro-wrestling sim ever made. The roster is fairly robust, the controls are simple yet expansive, and the difficulty settings are finely tuned. I wasted many hours dreaming up angles and playing out the matches in exhibition mode; my only gripe is I wish there were title belts in exhibition mode that you could put on the line in matches. My only other gripe is that "rest holds" should not make my opponent submit. Other than that, this game is nearly perfect.
I am The Destroyer. I will break games, complain about the littlest detail, and tell you whether or not the game is worth buying. A lot of things to say here, but can't due to the 5000 character limit.
The user score has been trolled -- not by me, but by others. The evidence is by clicking on the other reviewers profiles (which you can't by the way). Amazing how fake accounts can really shine a rating! Anyway, I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to talk about WWE Day of Reckoning! And wow, it's an epic trash dump! Epic because you know you wanna see it, and it's cool at first. But then it begins to ruin itself after 10 hours of gameplay.
1. Story
The story looks beautiful. But does it stay that way? **** no! It opens up with you having to create your character, because the game won't let you take a pre-made superstar into the story. You start off in the jobbers league, off television, doing dark matches, and gradually working your way up until you are promoted enough for some airtime. Now that sounds cool! But after you get halfway through the story, you'll begin to notice that the story given doesn't really involve you at all. It's just one big giant gauntlet of matches with an objective every now and then, sugar-coated by a pitiful story and unnecessary cut-scenes. The game's roster is so small that you wind up wrestling the same guy 5 times, sometimes 3 times in a row. Your character doesn't grow any testicles until near the end -- which you'll have to play the entire story to understand what that means. You make only one decision in this story, and that's it.
Now the story itself does contain elements that will make you wanna keep playing. You'll be hung in suspense many times, and will wanna find out what happens next week. However, for reasons stated above, the replay value is greatly penalized. Criticism has been earned.
2. Graphics and Visuals
The graphics, though not at their best for 2004, are still pretty good. The animations of all moves are amazing to watch. And the visuals after a weapon breaks will be unsuspecting.
3. Gameplay
Gameplay refers to combat & matches, and customization. Put it all together and it's below average!
-Combat-
The wrestling's Quick Grapple and Strong Grapple moves deserves phrase because it opens up many combing possibilities. The high-flying moves are decent, as well as the running, and turnbuckle moves. You are given a lot of variety for beating down your opponent. Despite this; the wrestling is unbalanced, and feels like it's missing elements that should be there. For example; once you receive enough damage it will take forever to stand up! Second, the longer a match plays out, the faster everyone's finisher meter will fill, making the charisma stat somewhat pointless. Third, submissions and hold moves drain your opponents momentum meter much faster than any other move, making them an ideal choice over all others during singles matches. It feels like a step backwards overall in gameplay.
-Customization-
A lot of customization here for creating your character -- which is a good thing considering it makes you do that before you can enter story mode. Because of the variety, it won't feel like a chore creating characters. Pretty sad that this is the best part of the game.
4. Soundtrack
The music is great, but the way it's introduced won't be! You're listening to the same songs over & over again, songs that are normally played at a rock concert. THQ thinks this is cool, but it's not! After enough time has passed, you'll get sick of the tracks, and turn off music completely.
5. Personal Enjoyment
So many pointless things exist in this game to piss you off. Like why is there a referee in the cage with you during a Steel Cage match when Pinfall and Submission is disabled? Why does the referee attack you using Stone Cold Steve Austin's moveset when DQ is turned off? What's the point in Bra & Panties matches when it plays no role in anything? Why do Smackdown superstars exist in the Raw storyline? Why can you set up objects on the turnbuckle but you can't actually throw your opponent through said object? Why can't you use the steel cage as a weapon during a Steel Cage match? Why does the Royal Rumble match instantly end if all players have been eliminated? Why are there no backstage brawls during gameplay at all? Why can't pinfalls & submissions count anywhere during a Hell in a Cell match? And why do submission finishers do a ridiculous amount of damage compared to all other finishers? All of these things DON'T MAKE SENSE!
6. Overall Verdict
Wrestling fans should just move on and not bother with this game, however I can't say that it's a bad game because it does some things right, despite doing many other things wrong. The verdict is a 4 out of 10.
SummaryHit the ropes against WWE's top superstars in WWE Day of Reckoning, which features an all-new story mode filled with deception and betrayal. As your own created wrestler, you can rise up the ranks from the "minor leagues" of sports entertainment all the way to prime-time WWE programming. You can choose your favorite WWE Divas a...