WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It (PlayStation 2)

WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It marks the series' transition from the PlayStation to the PlayStation 2, bringing with it the signature arcade-style gameplay and flashy, television styled presentation that sets it apart from the competition. The series' strength lies in its ability to accurately convey the emotion and adrenaline-pumping excitement that fans can feel when watching a great ring entrance, or when their favorite wrestler executes a trademark move. WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It improves upon the series' strong background with a more fleshed out story mode and more of the over-the-top WWF style.

WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It has much of the SmackDown! 2 formula intact. The greatest Superstars of the WWF make up the cast, 36 of whom are available from the start, with more to unlock in the story mode. Wrestlers still have the ability to run, use weaponry, and perform a wide variety of strikes and grapple maneuvers. The key to success with the grappling system once again relies on timing and the proper gauging of distance between your wrestler and the opponent. Either you'll grab the opponent and perform your move, or you'll catch empty air, opening your defenses up to a retaliatory maneuver. Rounding out your abilities is the counter, which can be used to block and return punches, slide between your opponent's legs, leapfrog during a run, or reverse certain grapple attempts. Nailing moves on an opponent will generate momentum, which then powers finishing moves. The more fatigued an opponent is, the longer he'll stay down, and finishers just about guarantee a pin fall.

The WWF Superstars in their PS2 debut.

SmackDown! Just Bring It looks like and controls nearly identically to SmackDown! 2, albeit with a few key changes in certain areas. In addition to the standing and dizzy grapple moves, a new set has been added for when the opponent is picked up into a clinch. Each wrestler now has a pair of finishing moves, though wrestlers with only one finisher to choose from, like Stone Cold and his Stunner or Triple H and his Pedigree, are instead treated to a slightly different animation of the wrestler's one finisher. Another key change is JBI's use of a referee in the ring, notably Earl Hebner. Earl can be attacked during the course of a match and will then play favorites, but how he actually enforces the rules is most impressive. In previous wrestling games, when you would choose to interfere in a tag team match on your partner's behalf, a certain amount of time would pass and you would automatically return to your corner. Earl will now physically restrain you and through a series of gestures will explain how you need to get out of the ring, or else. He'll clap his hands, point at the corner, and even give you a shove or punch to prove his point. Adding even more to the new features is the ability to take the fight into the stands, where the crowd, made up of moving two-dimensional standees, will move aside and watch the fight from a safe distance. The contrast between the realistic wrestlers and the comically poor-looking audience makes you think that this feature should have been held off until technology can support interactive, three-dimensional crowds.

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