Based on an advanced version of the Toukon Retsuden 4 (a Japanese wrestling game from Yukes, the company also developing Smackdown) engine, the game looks surprisingly good. Our editors, on location in Las Vegas, claim it may be the best-looking and best-animated wrestling title ever.

Videogames.com's Ryan Mac Donald got a chance to play the 60 percent complete version of WWF Smackdown last night and found that it definitely showed promise.

"The most significant feature we found in Smackdown that other wrestling games don't have is backstage drama and dramatic match interruptions. Before and after matches you're approached by other wrestlers who want to ally with you. Whatever decision you make ultimately leads to other scenarios and outcomes. For instance if you're approached by D'lo Brown and he wants to partner up with you; you say yes and you tell him to come and give you a hand the next time you're getting the snot beat out of you in the ring. Other things that that could happen backstage were wrestlers jumping each other either by themselves or with the help of another. The two outcomes of this scenario that we saw were either your wrestler laying there on the cold concrete in pain, or alternately, your partner bringing the surprise attack to a halt by laying a beating on the would-be attackers. All of these backstage scenarios are cinemas with text -- text that you read and respond to with preset answers.

"Like in WCW Mayhem the action in Smackdown occurs in and outside of the ring. But unlike in WCW Mayhem you can actually pick where you want to go. After running up the ramp and making it to the main backstage area you'll find doors that lead to various places like the garage, kitchen, boiler room, locker room, and loading docks.

"While you can use the PlayStation Multitap to play with or against three other people simultaneously, the new three-player feature that allows one player to be a special guest referee sounds awesome. THQ told us that Vince McMahon brings the guest referee into the ring onscreen. The third player, the one controlling the ref, can also get in a few shots of his own against the opponents, hence swaying the match and affecting the outcome. More so, since the third player is the ref, he can take his time when counting out a wrestler, counting more slowly if he's partial to or more quickly if he's biased against a particular wrestler who's being pinned.

WWF Smackdown will offer gamers more than 30 selectable wrestlers. So far, we've seen: Road Dogg, Mankind, Kane, Bradshaw, The Rock, Al Snow, Farooq, Big Show, Mr. Ass, D'lo Brown, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Big Boss Man, Paul Bearer, Tori, X-Pac, Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, The Undertaker, Chyna, Hardcore Holly, Christian, The Hardy Boys, and Jeff Jarrett.

WWF Smackdown will also feature a story mode that, as described, seems more advanced than similar modes in any other wrestling game we've seen. The story mode makes you feel as though you're watching the real WWF TV shows, using lots of backstage areas and recorded speech to tell an actual story. For example: Say you're standing backstage between matches when all of a sudden two rival wrestlers come out of nowhere and start brawling with you. Or you and your buddies can hang out backstage and plot your next move. Lots of speech will be captured for these segments, ensuring some authenticity. Speaking of speech, the game won't have either--a feature typically, and unfortunately missing from most of THQ's wrestling games.

Another cool feature we've found in Smackdown is that during a match you can go backstage by walking down the ramps and actually leave by going through the backstage doors. So, far we've seen a parking lot, a boiler room, and a locker room.

WWF Smackdown also includes the now-requisite create-a-wrestler mode. This lets you customize a wrestler's width and height with sliding control bars. Also, there is a bunch of standard preset sample graphics you can use to customize your wrestler's head, body, and legs. Want Mankind's head on your guy's body? Go for it. THQ has said that there will be at least a cage mode and royal rumble mode in the game. The graphics may look a little grainy in our screenshots, but the game runs at an ultra-smooth framerate.

"Visually, the game looks quite different from any WWF game we've seen on the PlayStation. The wrestler animations are pretty good. You can't really notice the transition between moves, which gives the wrestlers' movements a very natural, realistic look. The collision detection on the wrestlers is great; we didn't really see any instances of wrestlers' arms or legs going through one another. The face and clothing detail level is quite high. Even the crowd is full of people waving signs and photographers popping off flash bulbs. The different areas that you can fight in all look impressive, as do the various weapons and objects that you can pick up and smash over your opponents head. The TV style camera angles change when one of the wrestlers is performing a move.

"The one disappointing fact we learned is that the game will not feature speech or announcers. WWF Smackdown will, however, feature the authentic ring entrance music for each wrestler with accompanying sound effects. However THQ still wouldn't show us any of the intros; they said that they're trying to do something new with them and aren't ready to be shown at this time.

"Whereas the game may look quite different, it plays much like any other wrestling game you've played. You can punch, kick, run, and grapple. Although still early in development, the game's controls do, however, feel pretty tight and responsive.

"The create-a-wrestler mode looks to be quite extensive. You can pick different heads, torsos, and leg types as well as change the wrestlers' overall height and width. You can also pick the style of wrestler he or she is, whether he or she's a power wrestler or technical wrestler, etc. Each of these individual styles has a wide range of various settings and options like speed and strength. In addition you can handpick forty different moves for your wrestler as well as his or her ring entrance style and theme.

"WWF Smackdown, even early on, looks to be turning into quite a WWF title. With tons of options and features like the backstage drama in career mode, WWF Smackdown looks like it could truly capture the spirit of the WWF."

Videogames.com got a chance to play the 60-percent-complete version of WWF Smackdown last night and found that it definitely showed promise.

The most significant features we found in Smackdown that aren't in other wrestling games are backstage drama and dramatic match interruptions. Before and after matches, you're approached by other wrestlers who want to ally with you. Whatever decision you make ultimately leads to other scenarios and outcomes. For instance, if you're approached by D'lo Brown and he wants to partner up with you, you say yes, and you tell him to come and give you a hand the next time you're getting the snot beat out of you in the ring. Another thing that can happen backstage is wrestlers jumping each other, either by themselves or with the help of another. There are two outcomes of this scenario: Either your wrestler lies there on the cold concrete in pain, or your partner brings the surprise attack to a halt by laying a beating on the would-be attackers. All of these backstage scenarios are cinemas with text - text that you read and respond to with preset answers.

Like in WCW Mayhem, the action in Smackdown occurs in and outside of the ring. But unlike in WCW Mayhem, you can actually pick where you want to go. After running up the ramp and making it to the main backstage area, you'll find doors that lead to various places like the garage, kitchen, boiler room, locker room, and loading docks.

While you can use the PlayStation multi-tap to play with or against three other people simultaneously, the new three-player feature that lets one player be a special guest referee sounds awesome. THQ told us that Vince McMahon brings the guest referee into the ring onscreen. The third player, the one controlling the ref, can also get in a few shots of his own against the opponents, hence swaying the match and affecting the outcome. And since the third player is the ref, he can take his time when counting out a wrestler, counting more slowly or more quickly if he's partial to or biased against a particular wrestler who's being pinned.

Visually, the game looks quite different from any WWF game we've seen on the PlayStation. The wrestler animations are pretty good. You can't really notice the transition between moves, which gives the wrestlers' movements a very natural, realistic look. The collision detection on the wrestlers is great; we didn't really see any instances of wrestlers' arms or legs going through one another. The detail level of the faces and clothing is quite high. Even the crowd is full of people waving signs and photographers popping off flashbulbs. The different areas you can fight in all look impressive, as do the various weapons and objects you can pick up and smash over your opponent's head. The TV-style camera angles change when one of the wrestlers is performing a move.

One disappointment is that the game will not feature speech or announcers. WWF Smackdown will, however, feature the authentic ring entrance music for each wrestler with accompanying sound effects, though THQ still wouldn't show us any of the intros. THQ said it's trying to do something new with them, and they aren't ready to be shown at this time.

Whereas the game may look quite different, it plays much like any other wrestling game you've played. You can punch, kick, run, and grapple. Although still early in development, the game's controls do feel pretty tight and responsive.

The create-a-wrestler mode looks quite extensive. You can pick different heads, torsos, and leg types as well as change the wrestlers' overall height and width. You can also pick the style of wrestler you want: a power wrestler, technical wrestler, etc. Each of these individual styles has a wide range of various settings and options, like speed and strength. In addition, you can handpick 40 different moves for your wrestler as well as a ring entrance style and theme.

WWF Smackdown, even early on, seems to be turning into quite a WWF title. With tons of options and features, like the backstage drama in career mode, WWF Smackdown looks like it could truly capture the spirit of the WWF.