The gameplay is a dream. It's logical, well thought out, rarely requires any button mashing, and has a great tutorial that for the most part, walks you through the entire thing.
Easily the best WWE game made for the Gamecube and arguably for any system, Day of Reckoning 2 addresses a number of bugs from the previous title and adds a larger sense of strategy and timing to the game itself.
An excellent game for the wrestling purists, and while it would actually have been nice to get a little more good ol' WWE brand tackiness, it's hard to decline what the game offers: beautiful bodies on beautiful display, doing beautiful violence.
Absolutely essential as a multiplayer title, but if single player action is what you're looking for, the appalling AI that some characters display is a bit of a let-down - although there is fun to be had.
Let's have me stop now before I go over the line, but I urge you grappling fans to pick this one up, as it's truly one of the last great wrestling games for this generation of consoles.
In more ways than ever, Reckoning 2 feels like an afterthought for the Yukes team to get one last Gamecube wrestler out there before they go out with what appears to be a real winner with "SmackDown vs. RAW 2006."
Wrestling games past and present have suffered from the same basic flaw: lack of depth. We gamers are a sophisticated bunch when it comes to our melee. We can handle it. Imagine us not as stupid cavemen wielding funny looking colorful misshapen clubs (read: controllers).
This game was amazing. Graphics were advanced for their time and are even better than most SmackDown vs Raw games
Brilliant story mode as well. The actual gameplay of the game is the best of any wrestling game so far, even better than No Mercy on the N64.
WWE Day of Reckoning 2 is the best WWE game for the Nintendo GameCube. It has good graphics, good game play and story line. The create-a-superstar have the most extensive mode when compared to the other three WWE game on the GameCube.
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.
After having to review two other wrestling games for GameCube, a third times a charm. Despite the game not being perfect, Day of Reckoning 2 makes the cut. Don't even bother going to the original Day of Reckoning -- this is where the action's at!
1. Story
The story continues 11 months after the original Day of Reckoning game (Raw brand) where the World Heavyweight Championship gets vacated. Things happen, but can't say what those "things" are due to spoiler-free review, so let's just say you wind up wrestling your way towards the goal of getting "your" championship back. Day of Reckoning 2 comes with a bada$$ intro to top. For once, a story in a sports game is well-written, and well all know that sports games aren't renown for story-telling, and having romance in Day of Reckoning 2 makes it all the more skeptical. But this will turn out quite well. Finally, you feel involved because you get to make your own decisions in the story that affect the type of matches you play, even if it's only for one or two of them.
2. Graphics and Visuals
The graphics are amazing in this game, and finally Nintendo has facial expressions. But In terms of wrestling moves, not much that has improved. It's still the same animations from the previous games all copied & pasted over.
3. Gameplay
Gameplay refers to combat & matches, and customization. Put it all together and it's average.
-Combat-
In some situations, it doesn't feel like you're playing a different game. But you know it's a different game because you can kick out of a pinfall with a low durability stat and a red body part! The main focus of this game is momentum or spirit meter over damage. Yep, that's right! As long as your meter is yellow, orange, or red, and you're a decent A-button tapper, you cannot be pinned! You can still lose to submission moves though. So the combat follows a system that slug-fest dummies aren't going to appreciate. Now here's the fault: the longer a match goes on, the faster you and your opponent will gain momentum. At a certain point, gaining a red meter will be a cakewalk for both sides, causing the match to go on forever without submission moves! This will be very frustrating for PvP matches. There's also a stamina system present in the game, which you have to constantly keep track of as you're doing moves, because if that ever hits 0, you are gonna be ****** so hard. At 0 stamina, you will constantly pause and not be able to do anything, and defending yourself becomes much more difficult.
-Customization-
The amount of customization options in this game looks impressive, but is actually a nightmare! You will constantly go through a loading screen any time you want to modify a single piece of equipment on your created superstar. Customizations that should only be about 5 minutes will wind up being 30 minutes, which is completely unfair.
4. Soundtrack
Hats off to the soundtrack of this game, even if it can be a bit tiring for some people. These tunes fit decently for a video game atmosphere to the point where they don't feel repetitive.
5. Bugs & Glitches
The AI tagetting system in this game during Triple Threat and Fatal-4 Way matches is broken. All AI's for some unknown reason, will stop whatever they're doing, and immediately attack player 1. And this will happen every match where 3 to 4 superstars are present. Oddly enough, it won't do this when a second player is present. The AI targeting will magically work during 2-player games.
6. Personal Enjoyment
How hard is it for wrestling companies to play-test their games? For crying out loud! Following the logic of "You gotta get this game out NOW!" doesn't work well for rating! Any gaming company reading this: don't do this to your fans! The PS3 era is a perfect example of why games should never be released pre-maturely. Nobody will wanna buy your ****ing games if you keep delivering terrible products. Day of Reckoning 2 feels unfinished because of the crappy AI targeting, cookie-cut animations, and broken momentum system.
8. Overall Verdict
Fans might have expected more from this console era, but least it was given a valid attempt. Despite the issues, the game does hold up, it does have replay value, it does have a worthwhile story, and the wrestling is arguably passable. Verdict is a 7 out of 10. For Nintendo GameCube, this is as good as wrestling is gonna get.
You would think the sequel to the excellent WWE: Day of Reckoning would be equally as good, but sadly this is not the case. While it has a bigger roster and a slightly better create-a-wrestler tool, it unfortunately has a wrecked submission system, annoying stamina meter, and horrible difficulty imbalances. If playing the highest difficulty in the first game was like driving a Ferrari, playing it in this game is like driving a Yugo; don't expect matches to have any give and take - your opponent will counter just about everything you attempt. Also, how hard would it be to have title belts in exhibition mode? Or AI opponents who fight each other in triple threat matches? Stick to Day of Reckoning 1 if you want a satisfying wrestling sim.
This game could be incredible, but has several flaws of varying degrees of seriousness that cripple it. Despite having possibly the most robust create-a-wrestler systems in any wrestling game as well as the most extensive move list, this game is still hamstrung by flaws. The most obvious one is the new stamina system which, while not a deal breaker, is just unnecessary and annoying. The most rage-inducing flaw only appears in triple threat and fatal fourway matches against bots. They aren't triple threat or fatal fourway matches at all; they're two-on-one and three-on-one handicap matches. The bots almost never attack each other, will surround and gang-bang you, break up any grapple that you attempt, and will never stay down. The amount of frustration that will come from playing these matches on any difficulty above easy is astronomical, and is enough warrant a 0 rating. Avoid at all costs.
SummaryIn the sequel to WWE Day of Reckoning, you must fight your way back to the top of the wrestling ladder. WWE Day of Reckoning 2 features new legendary fighters, a new story mode, and more.