Oct 5, 2007

With SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 debuting next month, now's as good a time as any to look back on the series' highs and lows from the last decade - without the original PSOne titles (sorry fans). Join us on a rollercoaster ride through the heart of Grapland...

WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It

Although the series came to be revered, SmackDown's PS2 debut is underappreciated - a little like Lita, one of its four featured Divas. Visually it was an inevitable step up from its predecessors, with a plentiful supply of smooth moves and grand arenas to ground and pound in. The big new feature was matches featuring up to eight wrestlers, up to four of whom could be controlled by human players, with the CPU taking charge of the remainder.

With a lightweight Season mode - all you got was a couple of backstage skits and matches for each character - these eight-way marathons were the game's highlight, so it was baffling to see them dropped for next year's SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth. Indeed, they've never returned. Shame.

Verdict: A watchable curtain jerker.