1. WWE Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain - PS2
Almost ten years to the day of its release, Here Comes the Pain remains, in our opinion, the greatest wrestling game to ever be released. A superb season mode that leaves you frothing at the mouth for more, gorgeous graphics that would not look entirely out of place to this day and gameplay that's through the roof. This was the last WWE game released under the Smackdown banner before it morphed into SvR. We gave props to Smackdown vs. Raw 2006. It's awesome. But my god there's some stinkers carrying that brand name. On the whole, we look back at the original Smackdown games fondly. The initial Playstation release deserves a mention - Shut Your Mouth was awesome too, but this is just so great. Still the funnest wrestling game out there and seemingly evergreen. Another touch we love? No commentary. Modern developers could learn from this. If it's going to sound like it's coming from an auto cue or is insanely repetitive, why include it? It takes you right out of the game. For this game they said enough of that bullsh*t... for a year. The gameplay is the most well tuned of the Smackdown series and has that pick up and play ability that so many Smackdown vs. Raw games lacked. Multiplayer is an absolute delight and the ridonkulous high spots that you can pull off will keep you and your friends entertained for a long, long time. Play it, love it - pray that WWE can top it imminently.