WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role
| WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | YUKE's Future Media Creators |
| Publisher(s) | THQ |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release |  November 20, 2000 |
| Genre(s) | Fighting, Wrestling |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role (Exciting Pro Wrestling 2 in Japan) is a video game released on the PlayStation console by THQ. It is part of the WWF SmackDown! series based on the World Wrestling Federation's weekly TV show of the same name. This was also the last of six WWF games to be made for the PlayStation.
This game was succeeded by WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It on the PlayStation 2.
Features
Released only a few months after the release of the original WWF SmackDown!, Know Your Role proved to be a success for fans. Know Your Role brought out more match stipulations to participate in. These included such matches as Ladder, Table, Iron Man and Hell in a Cell.
Whilst retaining almost all of the previous instalment's superstars, the game's roster also increased vastly and included many new stars like Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero. Also included in this game was the ability to unlock superstars to play while playing Season Mode such as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley.
The Season Mode was also modified in this game. Along with removing the pre-season mode from the original, Know Your Role gave more storylines and more matches per show. These changes were given a mixed reaction, some proclaiming the bigger variety of storylines in the game. although there were some flaws in the Season Mode, such as skipped matches being fought between two battling meters. Another issue was the long loading times needed for even the most insignificant scenes, such as a wrestler walking down a corridor.
The Create-A-Superstar mode improved greatly from its predecessor. Taking ideas from WWF Attitude, fans could now put more detail into the superstars such as facial features and attire. The original head, upper and lower body mode from the original could still be used in this game as well. A new Create-A-Taunt feature was also added in which you can create a new taunt for your superstars.
The arsenal of moves available increased in this game (such as The Rock's spinebuster and sharpshooter), expanded to accompany not only superstars in the game but also those not in the game. Movesets of superstars from other wrestling promotions such WCW or Japanese promotions could be used for created superstars. In terms of gameplay, wrestlers have more striking moves with the inclusion of moves made by combining the X button with a horizontal and a vertical arrow button. Double team moves in tag team matches were also a new inclusion as well, and could be pulled off by placing an opponent in your partner's corner and making a turnbuckle move. However, this made double team moves impossible in Tornado Tag matches.
The entrance style of wrestlers from the previous game still existed in Know Your Role. Although more entrance movies were added, they still appeared in front of a superstar's TitanTron video and not the entrance stage like other wrestling games released around the same time, such as WWF No Mercy.
It was also speculated that Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler would provide commentary for the game, but this feature was not added until the next installment in the series.
Issues with the game
Know Your Role retained the fast paced arcade feel of the prequel, which many noted for its lack of realism. Players had no momentum, and no weight. A wrestler could go from standing still to running at full speed, and then stop on a dime.
Though the game featured a "Hell in a cell" match option, it barely resembled the real life structure. The "cell" was simply a cage with a roof on top, and players moved to the outside by diving headfirst through a side of the cage. Once on top of the structure, the roof was indestructible, save for a convenient square in the center. Ironically though, as gameplay and realism improved in later installments, the gameplay near the edge of the roof actually got worse in recent versions, where players suffer absurdities such as accidentally walking off the side and falling off due to unbreakable animations that move players over to their doom. Comparatively, in Know Your Role, the Cell had somewhat of an "invisible wall" at the edge, making it more forgiving, practical, and overall less likely to fall off for no reason. Though even with this gameplay balancing safeguard in place, it was still possible to perform the ultimate move off the top of the Cell through "release" maneuvers, such as the release powerbomb, release over the top belly to belly suplex, and release German suplex.
Roster
Featured wrestlers
Unlockable wrestlers1: Both Big Show and Ken Shamrock were originally created and ready to be in the game but due to events leading up to the game's release, both were made unavaliable to play. They both however sometimes enter a royal rumble match referred to as "Unknown". It is also possible to play them through the means of a GameShark. Andre the Giant, Jerry Lawler, Bob Backlund, and Sgt. Slaughter's bodies were available in Create-A-Wrestler mode, but their heads had to be hacked in with a cheat device such as a Gameshark. Trivia
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