If you're looking for a great grappler, look no further than WWE Day of Reckoning.
Why the weird name, you ask? Well, it has a purpose. After creating your own superstar from scratch (you can't pick a WWE superstar),the Story Mode has you beginning in WWE Developmental to build yourself up as a rookie, eventually making it to Sunday Night Heat, and then your choice of RAW or Smackdown!. Basically, it's your typical "rags-to'riches" story, which is cool, but the thing is, there's not only just an okay story to be had here, but you don't get any choices to alter your story. It's just straight matches that, are not only well-varied, but also sometimes have an objective to it, especially the first few matches. The Story Mode is fun, but really has no replay value, except to pick a different show to be on, which doesn't change the story at all; only the characters. On RAW, you work with Evolution (Triple H, Randy Orton, Batista, and Ric Flair), and on Smackdown!, which this doesn't make ANY sense, is the Ministry of Darkness (Undertaker, Booker T, and a few others). Raws makes sense, but Smackdown!'s is just dumb.
The gameplay makes up for all of this. This game has the Aki system, which revolutionized grapplers in WCW/NWO World Tour for the N64. Aki didn't help with this game, but Jakks and THQ did an excellent job putting it in here, as it rocks. It may not be as deep a grapple system as say the Smackdown! franchise on PS2, but it's still REALLY deep. You can pres A and a direction to pull off easy grapples, or grapple by pressing and holding A, then a direction and A. With tons of grapples, strikes, specials, and coll moves for your character, and for each existing superstar as well, this is well done. The system works great, and makes for some fast-paced, hectic matches, when using more than two people. Specials are activated by pressing A+B together, in order to enter a "Special" state. From this, rock music begins to play for the time as a sort of timer, and you have to press A+B in the right situation to use your special, which look so powerful, that's its staggering, due to the cool special effects and bone-crushing sounds.
The game features a Momentum system that can allow you to conquer your opponent and gain specials faster, or, if you're low on Momentum, you can pull off a Momentum Shift move to trade Momentum with your opponent and turn the tide mid-match. It also has the limb damaging, so you can work on a body part until they submit.
The number of matches are high, though there still isn't an Elimination Chamber, due to the 4-player only style of the Gamecube. But, who says you need 6 people? They did add, however, add the Bra and Panties match, though the game only has 4 divas in total, and created divas can't be used in the match. With all of the matches like Hardcore, Hell in a Cell, TLC, and more in place here, there's still lots to love. The roster is deep, although some ratings are off (Booker T in the 60's rankings? Please!). This still doesn't flaw the gameplay, surprisingly.
The highlight has to be the create-a-character. There is SO much you can do with your character, that you'll be building him/her for well over an hour. The neatest part is how you can take gear and place it on your superstar any way you wish. There isn't much space to do this with, as you get 8points to place hats, capes, and such on your character, but it's a really nice touch. Also, with the ability to make you own paint textures, I was able to make characters that look like Spider-Man and MegaMan X. No, I'm not kidding. Combine this with the ability to create you own entrance, from music, to special effects and pyro, to your movements and even the lighting. Creating a legend in this game is a piece of cake with these tools as well.
Speaking of legends, the likes of Bret Hart, Andre the Giant, and a couple others are in the game and are playable, though require playing through the story mode to unlock, which isn't a big deal. Also, there's loads of cash to spend that you can make from the story and even the tutorial mode that the game features to be spent in the ShopZone, na dan attribute system that works great and adds even more customization to an already deep create-a-character mode.
The graphics look great, as superstars look sort of like their actual counterparts (some more than others), the arenas look great and just like their Pay-Per-View counterparts, and the presentation is nice. The sound is good, with licensed tracks from Breaking Benjamin, Public Enemy, ZebraHead, and others on the menu screen and during the match (and can be used in entrances), and the crowd noises and slams on the mat sound as good as ever. However, some entrances are a bit off, if only for the release of the game right after or before an entrance change in real life.
Overall, WWE Day of Reckoning is a fun and deep game that, whether you're a WWE fan or a grappler fan in general, you're bound to enjoy. Just don't expect a really good story mode, just one that plays well, but doesn't have a very good story to it. The underlying gameplay of the game is worth a purchase in itself.