So what has changed between WWE Smackdown! Just Bring It and Shut Your Mouth? Just about everything really. Fans of the series will instantly recognize the jump in the quality of the graphics. Where Just Bring It seemed like a high-res version of the PSX Smackdown games, Shut Your Mouth looks like a next generation wrestling title, with improved character models, lighting and even more animation than before. The graphics aren't perfect though, with some wrestlers not looking like their real-life counterparts at all, but they certainly do the job. The entrances for each wrestler are also well done, with just about every little detail packed in, such as the crowd chanting "You suck!" along with Kurt Angle's theme music, or the Undertaker slapping his leg before driving his motorcycle down to the ring accompanied by the appropriate pryo.

Unfortunately, like Wrestlemania X8 for the GameCube, some of the entrance themes are missing or have been altered slightly, but it's not too bad. The look of the wrestlers themselves range from excellent (Brock Lesnar, Rob Van Dam) to average (all of the WWE Divas, some lower-card wrestlers). The crowd still looks like paper cutouts, but thankfully the arenas are all based on the real sets used by the WWE and the virtual arenas (such as the boiler room and the locker room) are all designed wonderfully, especially those that take advantage of rails and other overhangings to act as "turnbuckles" that you can jump off of.

Like all of Yukes wrestling games so far, the animation in Shut Your Mouth is beyond any other wrestling title on the market right now. Little details like Brock Lesnar shrugging his shoulders after every move or Chris Jericho cocking his head from side to side as he mouths off this opponent only makes the experience more authentic and enjoyable. Not only that, but the flashy high-risk moves of high-flyers such as Rob Van Dam or the sickeningly brutal power moves of big men like Kane make Shut Your Mouth one of the more visually pleasing games on the PS2 period. When you see wrestlers constantly reversing each other with smooth transitions from each move, the game becomes a sight to behold.

The biggest improvement between Just Bring It and Shut Your Mouth is the game system itself. The Smackdown series has always been very fast-paced and arcadey compared to other wrestling games, but Shut Your Mouth is different in that the pacing is slower than previous installments, making the game seem more like what you would see on TV. You can easily adapt a completely different fighting style depending on which wrestler you choose. With a mat technician such as Kurt Angle or Chris Benoit it might be better to go with a slow and deliberate pace, while wrestlers like The Rock are better suited to a high-offense strategy.

The button layout stays the same, with the X button allowing you to strike your opponent while the Circle button initiates grappling moves. Triangle is used to run in any direction while the Square button serves as your universal counter. Reversing counters takes a little more effort than in other wrestling games, where you actually have to perform different button presses if you want to counter a strike or a grapple. This leads to some great guessing games between experienced players and makes the game far deeper than before.

What's great about the reversal system is that it's not actually affected by the stamina of the wrestler like in the AKI wrestling titles. In games such as WWE No Mercy for the N64 you actually had a better chance of reversing a move if you had high stamina rather than low. In Shut Your Mouth that does not happen, which means that you need to be careful at all times. Also new to the game is the ability to set your opponents up on tables or ladders with the push of a button. Before it was a pain for anyone to setup situations like on Raw or Smackdown with an elaborate setup of tables and ladders, but with this new feature it's easy as it can possibly be.

Other new additions include weapon specials (a clever way of incorporating Rob Van Dam's Van Daminator special into the game) and some interesting new match modes. The most unique new match in the game is easily the Captain Fall match, where you will fight in a Tornado-style match with one member of each team designated as a captain. If that person should happen to be pinned, the match ends, but other wrestlers can be pinned and eliminated as in a normal elimination style match. This provides some interesting strategies as you'll have to come up with ways to make sure that your captain doesn't fall in battle.

The Season mode in Shut Your Mouth has been completely revamped, featuring a neat first-person perspective before all matches where you can walk around the entire arena and strike up chats with fellow wrestlers. Say the wrong things and you'll wind up in the ring against them, or say the right things and they might team up with you or become your manager. There's an actual storyline to Season mode too, mimicing some of the events that occurred last year and this year in the WWE, such as the brand draft pick (which occurs at the beginning of Season mode) and the Armageddon Hell In The Cell match.

Finally, there's the Create-a-Wrestler mode, as well as an accompany Create-an-Animation mode where you can create your very own moves for your character. Create-a-Wrestler is incredibly detailed, as you're able to customize your creation down to every little intricate detail. Is your wrestler's arm too big, or his head too wide? You can easily fix that by changing the size of every body part down to the pixel. It's great to finally have a CAW mode that's actually extensive and flexible in its use. It's especially nice that THQ was able to include complete movesets in CAW mode for wrestlers who weren't present in the WWE during the development in the game, such as Rey Mysterio and Scott Steiner.

Is WWE Smackdown! Shut Your Mouth without flaws? No, there are some minor flaws in the game. The aforementioned entrance theme issue is one of them, as is the wacky ledge physics when fighting on top of a cage or an arena set. I suppose it is pretty real to have wrestlers constantly falling down from great heights when executing moves in those tight quarters, it doesn't make for an entertaining wrestling match. Other oddities like submission moves being completely invincible, entrance sequences still running in Season mode when they are turned off in the options mode and the sometimes less-than-stellar AI are noticable in the game, but they don't ruin the overall experience of the game so much that you would not want to play it.

After a somewhat lackluster showing with Just Bring It, WWE Smackdown! Shut Your Mouth has brought the series to greatness. Sure, it's not as technical or demanding in terms of dexerity as some other wrestling games are, but it's fun and most importantly it captures the spirit of the sports entertainment shows that we love (and sometimes hate). Any fan of the WWE or of wrestling in general should pick this game up, a terrific game for both its multiplayer and single-player aspects.

· · · Reno