THIS GAME IS THE BEST WRESTLING GAME OF THE 6TH GENERATION OF GAMEING. IT
HAS SO MANY MATCHES EVEN LUMBERJACK.

I'm gonna keep it short as the reviewer below named Mike Wasion (California, USA) really nailed it right. But here's a few more great things that make Smackdown a playable classic.

This is a great game for not only wrestling gamers, but also fans of Tekken and the Dead or Alive series, since this is more arcade style fighting than true slow paced wrestling games like it's followers(Here comes the pain and the Smackdown vs Raw series)

The biggest grip I have with the newer wrestling games, is that they're so SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW with combat. Sure, it's true wrestling by slowing down and having a complex grapple system. In real life, watching that is amazing, but in a game I want the fast speed that most fighting games have. And that's what Smackdown Shut Your Mouth does. So far, it's THE Fastest wrestling game out there, and the only one with fast recovery punches(when you're down, you can recovery punch someone, so you can leave them open for an attack) kinda like Dead or Alive where you hop back up and hit them with a weak kick to knock the opponent back. Also another move that the newer WWE games took out was the escape roll. The escape roll is very useful and saves you from strikes and gang ups when needed. Very fast paced and alot more fun than the newer games.

Also, the create a wrestler is SO amazing, you could make any wrestler you can dream about! Well, for me I don't like making wrestlers too much. I like making japanese animation characters on Smackdown and lemme tell you, they look amazing. The BEST and most easy create-a-wrestler system is on SYM because it doesn't go into specific nonsense with the newer WWE games. If they're any Anime fans out there reading this, I can tell you I was able to create Sailor Moon, Goku from DBZ, KOS-MOS from Xenosaga, Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII, and even Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion with VERY creative effort and they look VERY authentic. And best yet, all the characters I created have moves, attacks, and taunts that resemble their real counterparts! Except the powers of course LOL.

In the end, Smackdown is 6-player madness of fast paced action. It's so fun, you can compare it to Gamecube's Super Smash Brothers Melee and Dreamcast's Power Stone 2. I'm not joking! And personal advice: If you make an army of custom made characters, instead of playing the wrestlers, then it's showtime. When you have all 30 slots of characters YOU made yourself with moves and specials that are sicker than the wrestlers available, it becomes a whole new experience.

THE SHORT: The best roster of the Smackdown series and, more importantly, the deepest story mode. High replay value, good create-a-superstar mode, and lots of unlockables. The best overall entry in the series; the only problem is that it doesn't have some of the upgrades that later editions of the game have.

THE LONG: Fans of the PS2 Smackdown series have surely checked this one out already, which at the time of this writing is already several years old. This review then is meant for those who entered the series late or only recently and missed out on this title.

This game was released at a very transitional period in the WWE. A little more than a year prior the company acquired rival WCW and most of its stars, many of whom appeared here for the first time in a WWE title (such as Diamond Dallas Page, appearing here for the first, last, and only time). This is major, as it's the first Smackdown title to really have major WCW stars. Second, this game came out right after the time of the WWE's "brand extension"- that is, splitting its wrestlers between its two main shows. And lastly, the game came out after the spring of the N.W.O. joining the WWE, meaning the first time Hogan would be included since the Super Nintendo days.

What does any of this matter? Well, that roster is pretty robust thanks to WWE legends and current headliners combined with the likes of WCW greats like the Chris's, Benoit and Jericho. There's a total of something like 45 or 50 wrestlers to pick from, missing only (but unfortunately) a few of the last half-decade's greatest such as Mysterio, Goldberg, and Sting (who's not under contract to the WWE anyway). Second, that draft makes a great launchpad to this game's also robust story mode. The game begins as you choose a brand, Raw or Smackdown, and work for either Mcmahon or Flair. The first thing you do is watch (and participate) as each of the two brands picks its top ten wrestler choices, and the results aren't always the same- sometimes you'll wrestle alongside your favorites, sometimes against them. This is already much more random and unpredictable than most of the following WWE games.

This begins the game proper. You start with some exhibition matches as you try to earn a little headway with the boss, attempting to get enough points for a title shot. Realistically, only the top contenders get to try for the title, with a point system (based on wins and losses) showing who's doing best. Your matches take place on a weekly basis- each of the 4 weeks per month you'll wrestle and talk amongst people backstage, or try for those titles. At the end of the month is a pay-per-view, and the big money-matches usually (but not always) occur then, so if you're good you can participate.

The best thing about this game, the thorough storyline, is evidenced here. Even if a pay-per-view (or most common matches) don't feature you, you often get to participate in behind-the-scenes drama like being involved in a fight or jockeying for position with other jealous wrestlers. And if you don't like all the talk, you can watch, interrupt, or take control of (as another wrestler) matches in the undercard of most fights.

But, I yet again reiterate, the story is what makes things interesting. Unlike the storylines of the following 2 games, which were linear with little change between a few paths, the stuff in SYM doesn't get repetitive after one or two times through. The season takes place during several years, with a few constants such as the rivalry between Flair and Mcmahon, but there's lots of chance for customization in between. You'll have opportunities to pick match types with your opponents, appear in a film and take time off, and dramatically turn face (or heel) by doing things such as hitting your opponent during contract signings and so on. And during the last year or two, you have a great deal of freedom to shape your own destiny as the boss rivalry and N.W.O. stuff cools off. Whereas the storylines in the next couple games were worth maybe a couple plays through and totaled about 5-10 hours each, the story in SYM is deep enough to last 20-30 hours per play-through. That's as long as some RPGs, to the point that some magazines actually complained that it was too long (the same people, like EGM, who complained, although fairly, that the previous game was too short).

Since little changed as far as the graphics, sound, and control go, it's fair to say that this entry looks and plays about as good as the others in the series. The options are very thorough, with just about every match type except the (pretty silly) bra and panties match of the next game and the (slightly less interesting) casket match of previous entries. But it does have the important ones such as Hell in a Cell, Royal Rumble, and Elimination Chamber.

Basically, what makes this series any good seems to be most solidly packed in this entry. A great roster of wrestlers (the only one with Hogan, DDP, Kevin Nash, and Brock Lesnar together) in addition to what I've been harping on all this time, the deepest and most open-ended story mode in the series, make this the ultimate version of Smackdown available. I can only guess that some of this was axed in favor of features like voice acting, the bra and panties match, and online capability of the next games (none of which were all that great), so it's my opinion that this is the Smackdown to choose. And at around ten bucks or less, there's not much reason for any wrestling fan to pass it up.