What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

[AugustWest71]

I'm used to be a big WWF fan and used to play all the old school games (No Mercy, Royal Rumble) but I kinda gave up on wrestling a few years ago. What is the best wrestling game for the PS2?

[sven]

Re: What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

The Smackdown series peaked with Here Comes The Pain IMO. Smackdown vs Raw was a huge step backwards.

[RailStone]

Re: What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

The Smackdown series peaked with Here Comes The Pain IMO. Smackdown vs Raw was a huge step backwards.

Agreed. the best wrestling game on ps2 is a japanese import, king of colosseum 2. Best wrestling game ever hands down IMO. however, unless you have the means to play imports, than smackdown HCTP is the best.

[Graphik]

Re: What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

Why does everyone choose HCTP over SvR? I dont get it. For single player, yes, HCTP provides a nice season mode and also the CAW mode is a tad bit better only because it has more clothing and other various accesories. But IMO, SvR's CAW is more steamlined making creation easier than HCTP. In SvR, the season mode has taken a step backwards but in terms of gameplay, I think SvR hits the nail on the head.

You got a better balance in submission moves(on HCTP, the A Submission moves drove me nuts. With the addition of "B" Submission moves in SvR, that are also reversable, you get a much better balance in gameplay.)

The Weapon system has been refined. (No more taking 400 shots from a chair before being able to finnally move while your entire body turns red. In SvR, hit a guy three times and the chair disappears. Once again, a better balance to the gameplay. Also, if you get hit with a weapon, you can best believe that you'll be down for a while. In HCTP, you could take a flurry of shots from a weapon and hop right back up like it was nothing)

AI is a tad bit better( Not completely braindead this time around. In HCTP, on the Smackdown lvl, you could easily beat the living crap out the cpu with no problem. In SvR, the AI did'nt get any smarter, they just cheat more. I mean more reversals, more momentum and better logic....ie:using more moves out of they're moveset. Plus the biggest thing to me is the ref is'nt a weakling nobody anymore. The ref can and will block or reverse the majority of your attempts to knock him out. You gotta be slick with it this time around and depending on the type of match, a DQ will be issued if you knock him out to many times. I dont remember seeing the ref this intellegent in HCTP. You can pretty much take the ref out of the match. Some ppl still can beat the CPU on the highest level on SvR....the solution, make sure you fight ppl who are evenly matched or handicap yourself with a weaker opponent. I cant tell you how many good matches I've had when I take a 80+ rated superstar and pit him against a 90+ superstar. It is'nt easy let me tell you.)

Limb Damage is more refined-(nothing totally out of the ordinary but targeting a person limb means much more in SvR than in HCTP.)

Besides those, the Royal Rumble is uber fun. The PPV and Create a Belt mode is a waste unless you got friends and the ratings system is more detailed in SvR. Not by much but better than in HCTP.

So with that said, can someone please explain to me why HCTP is better. Even No Mercy. I have No Mercy, play No Mercy occasionally and all that game has is a true to life speed and momentum and a great season mode. Besides that, the choppy graphics and limited move sets leave alot to be desired. I have'nt played any imports so I cant speak for those.

[sven]

Re: What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

If by streamlined you mean ****ty yeah the SvR CAW is much more streamlined. Its been out like 8 months now and even the best CAw makers out there still cant produce anything that doesnt look like some ******** mongoloid version of the person they're trying to create. Where as for HCTP I have two saves full of damn near perfect ROH and TNA wrestlers.

Its not streamlined its dumbed down.

[RailStone]

Re: What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

there is no way even still, that SVR is more refined of a title than No Mercy is. the crate a ppv mode in SVR is a complete joke, the gameplay is in fast foward mode basically. I do like the changes made with the weapons system, but my biggest gripe is the flow of the matches.

Every match feels the same to me. there is no drama in them, there is not some fast paced matches with alot of close counts and then a slower paced match, it all feels to scripted to me which is why I still enjoy imports and older wrestling games more than the latest smackdown game. HCTP, for a better roster, since the create a ppv and belt mode are so wacky, still makes for a better multiplayer experience for me.

[Graphik]

Re: What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

If by streamlined you mean ****ty yeah the SvR CAW is much more streamlined. Its been out like 8 months now and even the best CAw makers out there still cant produce anything that doesnt look like some ******** mongoloid version of the person they're trying to create. Where as for HCTP I have two saves full of damn near perfect ROH and TNA wrestlers.

Its not streamlined its dumbed down.

What CAWs are you trying to make? I have about 15 WWE legends and various old schoolers and they look great to me. I used formulas from the internet. Like I said before, the CAWs in HCTP was definitely better but SvR's CAW mode is'nt as bad as ppl make it sound. Now WMXXI had a crappy CAW mode.

And on that note, I remember spending countless hours perfecting all those CAWs on HCTP only to stop playing the game quickly after I maxed out my CAW space cause the gameplay was bad.

[Graphik]

Re: What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

there is no way even still, that SVR is more refined of a title than No Mercy is. the crate a ppv mode in SVR is a complete joke, the gameplay is in fast foward mode basically. I do like the changes made with the weapons system, but my biggest gripe is the flow of the matches.

Every match feels the same to me. there is no drama in them, there is not some fast paced matches with alot of close counts and then a slower paced match, it all feels to scripted to me which is why I still enjoy imports and older wrestling games more than the latest smackdown game. HCTP, for a better roster, since the create a ppv and belt mode are so wacky, still makes for a better multiplayer experience for me.

I dont really like the speed of the Smackdown series etheir but the arcadish speed makes for some good multiplayer mayhem. The flow of the match is quite predictable against the CPU. But at the same time, they provide a challenge and thats more than I can say for HCTP. The AI is scripted to a point where you know when he's gonna use his Smackdown finihsers but its all up to you to dictate the flow of the match. But once again, its a bit better than HCTP. Where you can beat a guy in 3 minutes tops. I get plenty of 10+ matches against the cpu and thats good enough for me. I get a nice multiplayer session at least once a week from SvR along with the crappy CAB mode and PPV mode but we make the best out of it.

All I'm saying about SvR is it has all that I need in a wrestling game. It has all the moves, the CAW is'nt that bad, all the matches are there, the submission system is perfect IMO, the limb damage is perfect also, the reversal system is good, the ratings for the wrestlers add more stratergy to the game, the weapons system is good, the CPU AI is good especially when compared to other wrestling games and this is more than I can say for any other wrestling game in the US.


I'd kill for those Jap import games however. All I hear is great things about em. I dont wanna go through the motions of having to get my PS2 modded then pay extra for a import game.

[goh]

Re: What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

Fire Pro Z but I'm basing that on Fire Pro D and I haven't played KOC.

HCTP if you can't get imports. Rumble Roses is sadly the best recent non import wrestling game,BYW 2 didn't do much of anything to improve and SD vs Raw as already mentioned was a huge step back from HCTP.

[MagikT]

Re: What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

Yeah, The CAW Mode in SvR sucks. I didn't buy SvR because of it, and ofcourse the camera angle that they used. I know I could have gotten used to the Camera angle but I dont understand why they changed it in the first place.

[Assassin]

Re: What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

I like SvR as well because it's got good create a wrestlers as well as moves that HCTP doesn't have.

I wish that could have been as good as WM XXI was carrer mode wise but hey they did pretty damn good IMO.

[RubenDouglas]

Re: What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

there was this game on gamecube... forgot the name... i enjoyed that better than both ps2 games.

timlpfeltball

[BlackNGold]

Re: What is the best wrestling game on the PS2?

King of Colosseum II is currently the best wrestling game on the ps2 IMHO. My only gripe with it is they left out the Vale Tudo season mode that was in KOC Red. Gotta love MMA!

But it most definitely may change on 9/15 when Fire Pro Wrestling Returns is released for the ps2 unless Spike majorly drops the ball. So far though, it's looking fantastic. If you haven't yet, check out Spike's FPR site. It's full of info about the new stuff and even move clips. This one is gonna be HOT!

http://www.spike.co.jp/fr/

You can also check out Monitor's Wrestling Games Site

http://kocaccess.gswf.org/