After just eight months since the release of the insanely popular WWF Smackdown! for the PSOne, THQ has come roaring back with yet another title under the WWF franchise. As the last wrestling game backed by the World Wrestling Federation license on the PlayStation, THQ had under a single year to prepare a new, fresh experience for those crazy ‘rasslin fans on Sony’s dying gray box. With an updated roster, new modes and slightly more advanced play mechanics, WWF Smackdown! 2: Know Your Role (SD2) should be the perfect way to go out with a bang on the original PlayStation, right?

Well, almost.

Despite the plethora of additions, Smackdown! 2 still has a few problems which include not only old obstacles present in the initial Smackdown!, but a couple fresh technical quandaries as well. While not totally at the fault of the game’s developer, the engine of Know Your Role limits the entire game from replicating the shows themselves to an impeccable mark, unlike it’s Nintendo 64 sister WWF No Mercy. Still, in the end the surplus of options and fun -- albeit slightly frustrating -- gameplay yet again ensures a winning combination for the boys at THQ and PSOne wrestling fans alike.

The strong point of the first WWF Smackdown! was the game’s unadulterated amount of play modes, and SD2 is no different. On top of last year’s introduction to Last Man Standing and Guest Referee matches, Smackdown! 2 comes out swinging with new features like Casket matches, Table matches and the much-vaunted (and now available) Hell in A Cell mode. While I only listed a few of the new fights to headline the game, just understand that SD2 has a lot of modes to play. Oh, yes, more than a bunch. THQ went so far to even include its own made-up gimmicks, such as the SlobberKnocker fight. Plus, a few of the existing modes got tweaked a bit, like the Guest Referee feature having been updated so you can now have two special zebras in the ring. It can be quite hectic now having to deal with two refs in the ring, especially when one can actually interrupt the other’s count. Very cool, THQ.