15 Best Wrestling Games Of All Time
14. WWE Day Of Reckoning 2
It's a crying shame that many haven't clapped eyes on Day Of Reckoning 2 before. THQ and Yuke's put it out as a Nintendo GameCube exclusive in 2005, and it launched during the peak of WWE games over on the PS2. Titles like Shut Your Mouth, Here Comes The Pain and the first SmackDown vs. Raw hogged the spotlight, and that meant DOR 2 was overlooked by most folks.
Rectify that as soon as humanly possible, because the game is a blast to experience.
The submission system had depth and the stamina system added a tactical layer to matches. Best of all, none of that detracted from the overall zip of matches. Yuke's struck a neat balance between the car crash no-sell style of older games like SmackDown 2: Know Your Role and a more measured approach from AKI's games over on the N64. That's worth seeing, people.
They got this juggling act spot on. Playing through bouts in the game is awesome fun, especially once you get to grips with the old "spirit"/momentum meters governing everything. That can take a bit of getting used to if you're more in tune with newer wrestling games, but it's worth persevering with - some of the matches turn out to be epic, because nobody can go full pelt from first bell to last.
Gameplay is the big lure here, but the Story Mode is nothing to sniff at either. Sure, it's a little less branching than gamers were getting over on the PS2. That's undeniable. It was still a hoot to plough through at least once though.