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The classic video game ‘WWE SmackDown: Here Comes The Pain’ turned 10 years old this month.
The game was released in late 2003 for the PlayStation 2, and remains one of THQ’s biggest successes for the console. It was the fifth and final instalment of the highly successful WWF/WWE SmackDown! series.
Many fans still argue that this may have been the finest wrestling game ever made, even overshadowing many the ‘SmackDown Vs Raw’ titles. It featured a lot of technical and graphical improvements over the previous release, ‘WWE SmackDown: Shut Your Mouth’.
The game, called ‘HCTP’ for short, got its subtitle from a slogan used to promote Brock Lesnar. Whenever Lesnar went to the ring, commentator Tazz would shout, “Here comes the painâ€. Lesnar was the WWE Champion with the SmackDown brand when the game went into production. Lesnar had just completed a historic rookie year, winning the WWE Championship (twice), King Of The Ring, Royal Rumble and WrestleMania XIX main event. He featured on the box artwork and much of the publicity material for the game.
One of the biggest features of the game was the introduction of the ‘Bra and Panties’ match. This was the first game mode that was exclusive to the Diva characters. In order to win, a Diva must remove two pieces of her opponent’s clothing, stripping them down to their underwear. To help promote the feature, Torrie Wilson did a lot of publicity wearing just a bra and panties.
The game had a lot of improvements including a better grappling system and a much larger variety of moves for varying wrestling styles. It also featured the weight class system, which made it harder for lighter wrestlers to perform lifting moves on heavier wrestlers.
It is also credited with having one of the very best rosters of all WWE games. Although it looks dated now, it was particularly good for the year that it was released. It was the only game to have a good balance of present, past and FUTURE stars.
The game was praised for including Kane and Christian with their newest looks, especially considering how late into the games’ development that they had happened.
It was the first game to specifically feature the ‘Legends’. All of the unlockable characters were wrestlers from before the ‘Attitude Era’. While the selection was not impressive (George Steele & Hillbilly Jim featured), it was a greatly appreciated addition. The legends all entered the ring by riding in a miniature ring, reminiscent of WrestleMania III.
The game featured two versions of The Undertaker. This made him only the second character to be featured multiple times in a THQ - WWE game (Mick Foley was the first). But a unique block was put in place to prevent both Undertakers appearing in the same match.
Some of the big names available were ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Kane, The Undertaker (twice), Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Goldberg, Scott Steiner, Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Edge, Randy Orton, Ric Flair, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar. The legends included Legion of Doom, Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper.
One criticism about the roster is how poorly the tag team division were represented. The Basham Brothers, APA, Billy & Chuck, 3 Minute Warning and the Un-Americans were all left out (although Lance Storm featured).
The biggest criticisms were reserved for the Season Mode. ‘Just Bring It’ and ‘Shut Your Mouth’ allowed the player to roam freely around the arena prior to matches. Backstage interactions with other people would change the direction that storylines took. But this had been scaled back considerably in HTCP. You could not leave the locker room unless someone is in another room, and then you could only talk to this person. You were not allowed to look around for them. And most interactions were repeated and set you back. The storylines were largely irrelevant.
It was also the game that showed hackers what could be possible within wrestling games. People looking for cheat codes discovered that there was a lot of incomplete content on the disc. There were originally plans to add Jeff Hardy, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Nunzio, Jamie Noble, Ultimate Warrior and Mr. America as playable characters. While this information was useless at first, it gave hackers reason to experiment with later games. Modern SvR modding wouldn’t be where it is today if HTCP did not encourage hackers to search for possibilities.
HTCP is still kept alive today by that modding community. If you haven't done so already, check out the HCTP section here at OSR.
The game was released in late 2003 for the PlayStation 2, and remains one of THQ’s biggest successes for the console. It was the fifth and final instalment of the highly successful WWF/WWE SmackDown! series.
Many fans still argue that this may have been the finest wrestling game ever made, even overshadowing many the ‘SmackDown Vs Raw’ titles. It featured a lot of technical and graphical improvements over the previous release, ‘WWE SmackDown: Shut Your Mouth’.
The game, called ‘HCTP’ for short, got its subtitle from a slogan used to promote Brock Lesnar. Whenever Lesnar went to the ring, commentator Tazz would shout, “Here comes the painâ€. Lesnar was the WWE Champion with the SmackDown brand when the game went into production. Lesnar had just completed a historic rookie year, winning the WWE Championship (twice), King Of The Ring, Royal Rumble and WrestleMania XIX main event. He featured on the box artwork and much of the publicity material for the game.
One of the biggest features of the game was the introduction of the ‘Bra and Panties’ match. This was the first game mode that was exclusive to the Diva characters. In order to win, a Diva must remove two pieces of her opponent’s clothing, stripping them down to their underwear. To help promote the feature, Torrie Wilson did a lot of publicity wearing just a bra and panties.
The game had a lot of improvements including a better grappling system and a much larger variety of moves for varying wrestling styles. It also featured the weight class system, which made it harder for lighter wrestlers to perform lifting moves on heavier wrestlers.
It is also credited with having one of the very best rosters of all WWE games. Although it looks dated now, it was particularly good for the year that it was released. It was the only game to have a good balance of present, past and FUTURE stars.
The game was praised for including Kane and Christian with their newest looks, especially considering how late into the games’ development that they had happened.
It was the first game to specifically feature the ‘Legends’. All of the unlockable characters were wrestlers from before the ‘Attitude Era’. While the selection was not impressive (George Steele & Hillbilly Jim featured), it was a greatly appreciated addition. The legends all entered the ring by riding in a miniature ring, reminiscent of WrestleMania III.
The game featured two versions of The Undertaker. This made him only the second character to be featured multiple times in a THQ - WWE game (Mick Foley was the first). But a unique block was put in place to prevent both Undertakers appearing in the same match.
Some of the big names available were ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Kane, The Undertaker (twice), Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Goldberg, Scott Steiner, Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Edge, Randy Orton, Ric Flair, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar. The legends included Legion of Doom, Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper.
One criticism about the roster is how poorly the tag team division were represented. The Basham Brothers, APA, Billy & Chuck, 3 Minute Warning and the Un-Americans were all left out (although Lance Storm featured).
The biggest criticisms were reserved for the Season Mode. ‘Just Bring It’ and ‘Shut Your Mouth’ allowed the player to roam freely around the arena prior to matches. Backstage interactions with other people would change the direction that storylines took. But this had been scaled back considerably in HTCP. You could not leave the locker room unless someone is in another room, and then you could only talk to this person. You were not allowed to look around for them. And most interactions were repeated and set you back. The storylines were largely irrelevant.
It was also the game that showed hackers what could be possible within wrestling games. People looking for cheat codes discovered that there was a lot of incomplete content on the disc. There were originally plans to add Jeff Hardy, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Nunzio, Jamie Noble, Ultimate Warrior and Mr. America as playable characters. While this information was useless at first, it gave hackers reason to experiment with later games. Modern SvR modding wouldn’t be where it is today if HTCP did not encourage hackers to search for possibilities.
HTCP is still kept alive today by that modding community. If you haven't done so already, check out the HCTP section here at OSR.
