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Jerry Lawler is the "King." The Rock bills himself as "the most electrifying man in sports entertainment." Big Show is, well, "The Big Show." There is little doubt that the WWF knows it has something special going on in the world of entertainment. With unabashed confidence and a flair for the spectacular, Vince McMahon and company bring their travelling soap opera to millions of dedicated fans several times a week.

The WWF did not always used to be on top. In fact, its ascension into the mainstream of American culture has been a relatively recent phenomenon. It is hard to remember, but it was not too awfully long ago that the WCW was the hottest wrestling promotion in the United States. Throw in a rebellious, beer-drinking tough guy named Stone Cold, add a little sex appeal and drama, and you are left with a recipe for knocking off the top dog. This formula is precisely what the braintrust at the WWF executed several years ago to claim victory in the ratings war. Wrestling games have sported the first part of this recipe for success over the years, but never has a game effectively attempted to add the all-so important "drama" element to its feature list. Finally, THQ has realized the importance of this element for the WWF, and included it in a videogame -- WWF Smackdown.

WWF Smackdown is the most complete rendition of the World Wrestling Federation ever put forth. It offers a variety of exciting game modes, fully customizable features, and the ability to create PPV events. While this cornucopia of wrestling goodness goes a long way in helping to make Smackdown a great game, there are some annoying items that are poorly implemented or not included. Read on to get the full scoop. Gameplay:

There are a plethora of gameplay options in WWF Smackdown. Gamers can battle it out in "Exhibition Mode" for a quick match. The main modes, though, are "Create A PPV" and "Season Mode." There are also three difficulty settings. Setting the game to "Hard" will offer a nice challenge to most users. The ability to customize most of the items such as camera angle, sound, vibration, entrance movies, etc. is a nice touch.

I address much of the nuts-and-bolts issues of gameplay in the sections on control and longevity, but here are several general thoughts on the gameplay. First, this game is smooth. The matches stay exciting and move quickly. The CPU-controlled wrestlers are fairly aggressive in one-on-one situations. With more than one wrestler in the ring, such as in four-way matches and the Royal Rumble, it is too easy to stand around and watch the opponents pummel each other, then get in the action when only one wrestler is remaining. Of course, you should be careful because some of the multiple-wrestler matches have rules that call for the winner to be the first one to gain pinfall or submission, so be sure to pay attention to the rules before each match.

Second, the backstage area in WWF Smackdown is the best yet seen in a console wrestling game. During the "Anywhere Fall" mode, the wrestlers can fight in a variety of backstage areas. From the parking lot to the kitchen, there are plenty of weapons and utensils with which to deliver a beat down on your opponent. The developer did not stop at strategically placing a bunch of items for the wrestlers to pick up and use, but also included the ability to climb on certain surfaces and move from room to room. So much of the wrestling now occurs outside of the ring in the real WWF, that the inclusion of the backstage areas in Smackdown is a welcomed feature.

One thing I find particularly irritating about Smackdown is its toned down nature. For starters, there is no blood. I want to see blood when beating down an opponent with a chair and baseball bat. I do not see what is so bad about showing blood, considering the game does include items such as the Godfather's "Ho Train" and Val Venis' suggestive entrance video -- or does that drill just represent the fact that Val likes carpentry? In any case, the lack of blood takes away from the fun in destroying an opponent, especially in hardcore matches.

Longevity:

WWF Smackdown has great longevity if you enjoy its style of wrestling. The career mode is awesome. The storyline is cool and all, but it is not cohesive and deep enough to get me jumping up and down. Fortunately, the rest of the career mode delivers in a big way. The user can opt to use a preexisting WWF Superstar or create a wrestler. I highly suggest creating a wrestler for the career mode. Once the wrestler is created, the gamer can go through a year of preseason matches. During this phase, the created wrestler can gain attribute points depending on his or her success. Additionally, the wrestler can form alliances or make enemies.

Rising from the depths of the rankings as a created wrestler to the top takes quite a few matches. The career mode utilizes a point system to determine the ranking of the wrestlers. It took me a long time, and a lot of wins, to finally gain the top spot. It must be said that the repetitive matches can become monotonous at times due to the fact that the gamer must wrestle the same people frequently. However, since the wrestlers can gain attribute points and have their sets of moves changed, a sense of freshness keeps the gameplay captivating.

Controls:

If you have played Wrestlemania 2000, then you pretty much know what to expect from WWF Smackdown. The control system in Smackdown is based more on intuition of the CPU than the combo-style system implemented in titles such as WWF Attitude. The more basic moves such as punches and kicks are complemented by the more complex grappling moves such as pile drivers, suplexes, and sleeper holds. The signature "finishing" moves of each wrestler do not become available until the gamer has significantly beaten down an opponent.

In general, the control is responsive to input. One fault that I have with the control lies in the tag team matches and matches in which there are more than two wrestlers in the ring. The problem is that it can be tricky to face the appropriate foe. It gets irritating when you are in your own corner and your wrestler keeps automatically facing your tag team partner. I end up delivering quite a bit of punishment to my partners due to the aforementioned phenomenon.

Graphics:

The graphics in WWF Smackdown are superb. The wrestlers look just like their real-life counterparts. Perhaps the area of the graphics that impresses me most is the ring entrance. The authentic theme music of each superstar plays, while a video of that wrestler is shown. The wrestler is then shown walking down the ramp, exhibiting the specific trademark mannerisms of the superstar. The Godfather is even trailed by his "Ho Train." The quality of the entrance videos is excellent. Few games on the PlayStation have sported such quality full-motion video.

In the ring, the wrestlers animate well. The animations are done in such a way so as to present a smooth flow to the matches. The amount of moves in Smackdown is great, therefore making the quality animation that much more impressive. The signature moves of each wrestler are included. Everything from the "Rock Bottom" to the "Stone Cold Stunner" is in the game. Chyna's crotch shot comes off as being very believable. I cringe every time I see her kneel down and get ready to deliver a crushing blow to the family jewels.

The menu screens and the like have a nice look about them. I never felt lost while navigating through the many areas of this title. One area of disappointment is the game manual. WWF Smackdown is a deep game, with a lot of options. However, the manual does not adequately explain many of the features of the game. I found myself going online quite a bit to find information about Smackdown. I do not desire a full list of moves and holds of the wrestlers, but a little more depth in explaining the basics of the title's features would be nice.

Sound:

The sound in Smackdown is of good quality, but the wrestlers do not say anything. I was disappointed with this aspect of the game, as it is always entertaining to hear D-Lo yell, "Who sucks now!" I suppose that some people may argue that individual sound clips would get repetitive. I do not care if the superstars' phrases do get repetitive. Hearing Mankind say, "Have a nice day!" or the Rock talking about checking someone into the "Smackdown Hotel" never gets old to a true WWF afficionado.

Aside from the lack of ring sounds, the rest of the audio is solid. The entrance music is spot-on. While the full versions of the songs do not play, enough is played to get the gamer in the mood for WWF wrestling. The menu music is fine, but nothing memorable.

Overall:

WWF Smackdown is hands-down the best wrestling title for the PlayStation. Although I prefer the combo-based system of WWF Attitude, I grew accustomed to the scheme used in Smackdown. The sheer fact that the developer included a storyline element with the career mode is encouraging. Admittedly, the storylines do not flow as well as desired, but the mere inclusion of this "extra" is a nice touch. Hopefully, future wrestling titles will build upon this concept and make improvements. With good graphics, solid sound, and an above average feature set, this game is one of the better software efforts of the past couple years. WWF Smackdown is an essential buy for WWF fans, as well as for wrestling fans that do not necessarily follow the WWF.