HCTP is a fast, and fun wrestling game with endless replay value
Here comes the pain is one of those games that has that special something that makes it extraordinary. The fast pacing of the game, the amazing roster of playable characters and the long list of playable game modes gives the game it's long lasting appeal. The game at the time had a good visual presentation and a pretty good soundtrack, which made the game fun to look at and listen to, while you were laying the "Smack down" on your opponent(s). To top that off there's a long and satisfying season mode in which you can make decisions that can determine the outcome of how you get to the top and become champion.
Graphics:
I'll start out by reviewing the graphics of this game and tell you whether or not it holds up for it's time and if it holds up to today's standards. The graphics in this game are really outstanding from the character models to the tables you'll be using to slam your opponent through, it really packs a punch in this area. The detail in the character models is simply amazing, if you take a look at the Goldberg's face it looks almost just like him.
The detail in the wrestlers tattoos are also amazing, but the detail doesn't stop there because the entrances are also very good looking. The undertakers entrance is a good example of a realistic detail because, the undertaker would come down riding his motorcycle and it would look great, same goes for almost all the other wrestlers. There are some negatives that I have to point out and that would be clipping issues and that is simply when one graphical image will go through another graphical image. An example of this would be if you were playing as Kurt Angle and applied one of his finishing moves the ankle lock, Kurt angles hand will go through the opponents foot which is noticeable, but doesn't detract to much from the games graphics. Still on the clipping issues, you cant really put that as a big negative because, every wrestling game that there has been and ever will be will have this issue. Here comes the pain's graphics were really something when the game came out and definitely stand the test of time. 9/10
Sound:
The sound in the game is somewhat of a love or hate kind of thing, I say this because when your in the menus the music will play either song that fit the game or just make you wanna turn the sound down. The menu music is a either hate or love thing but the wrestlers music theme is all perfect and fits all the wrestlers but, the legend wrestlers like the old school undertaker, they don't have any entrance music at all, which is a little disappointing. The commentary in this game really doesn't exist which is a little disappointing but if i had to pick between commentators and music while I play the game I'll easily choose the game music. The sounds of the entrances as said is great and some wrestlers have entrance pyro and that all sounds great as well. The sounds of the wrestlers getting hit by a punch or by getting slammed on the mat or through a table all sound great and satisfying. So the sound of the game isn't the high point of the game but all the sounds sound great as they are. 8/10
Gameplay:
The gameplay had been greatly improved from the other games in the series, and the way it was improved is by making the grappling system much my deep. The grapples are broken down into different types of grapples such as power, signature and submission. This makes the game feel fresh and much more fun to play because if your playing with a wrestler and don't like one of his power grapple moves then you can just change it with the "create a move set" feature. The grappling system is great but how will that work with the reversal system you might say, well instead of guessing what direction your opponent is pressing you have to press one of the shoulder buttons when the time is right. Lets say your opponent is about to punch you you have to press L2 at the right time and the wrestler simple reverses the punch. The same goes for grapples, you have to press R2 when your opponent does a grapple move and the grapple gets reversed. The game is really face paced, much faster than most wrestling games that are out now days. when comparing a game like "Smackdown vs Raw" game pace, here comes the pain is simply much faster in every way. The game is realistic but at the same time since the game is fast paced it is also very much like an arcade game, which makes it fun to play with friends. The game supports up to 6 players, and when you get 6 players in a match together things go crazy in the best ways possible, simply put the game plays well with others.
The game doesn't have a co-op mode though which is disappointing by today's standards but back then it probably wasn't even thought of yet. There is a whole bunch of game modes to play with, most of which have already been in other wrestling games such as Hell in a cell, cage match and TLC but, two new match types have been added one of them being bra and panties much were you just try to rip off the other opponents clothes until their in their bra and panties. That match type isn't really to exciting but thankfully the other game type is the elimination chamber which essentially is a big chamber surrounding the ring with four pods at each corner and every minute or so another wrestler enter the match. The elimination chamber is without a doubt my personal favorite match type. With every match type you can pick with arena you want to wrestle in which just adds more realism to the game because it would be boring wrestling in the same arena over and over again. Such arenas include the raw and smackdown arenas also summerslam, royal rumble, survivor series and of course Wrestlemania, and all of these arenas are different so it's some motivation to pick the arena you play in. Every Wrestler has a move set complete with two finishers which all look greatly animated and fun to watch and fun to pull off.
Thankfully you can go ahead and change moves as you see fit and to your liking. That would bring me to the create a wrestler which is the same as other wrestling games but with more clothing options and things like that, none the less the create a wrestler is still fun no matter what. The same goes for the create an animation which is great to but you wont spend lots of time on that feature. The Season mode is the one of the big highlights of the game and I say this because it's the type of game were you can choose your adventure and take different paths on your way to Wrestlemania. You can choose to play as any of the wrestlers on the roster or your own created wrestler when you choose the season mode but playing as one of the more high profile wrestlers like The Undertaker or Brock Lesnar you are automatically able to challenge for the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight championship depending on which show you pick which is great if your favorite wrestler is someone like Triple H. Really all in all the gameplay in here comes the pain is practically flawless if your a wrestling fanatic, from the roster to the arenas and game modes. 10/10Overview:
Here comes the pain is easily one of my favorite games of all time because of it's amazing roster, fun game modes, cool arenas and create a wrestler mode. The game looks great for it's time and still today, it sounds great from the music to sounds of wrestlers getting slammed on the ground. Here comes the pain can be enjoyed by anyone who watches wrestling or just likes fun party games. HCTP is a fast, and fun wrestling game with endless replay value.