This October will mark the 11^th game in the “WWF/WWE Smackdown” videogame series. It's a line of games which has consistently been the best professional wrestling gaming experience out there for many a year and has sold in vast quantities every annum since the year 2000. No wrestling computer games have been lauded so highly nor criticised so regularly since their inception, it's a procession of controversy for many a fan. Some love it, others hate it (and long for the days of “No Mercy” on the N64 game console). Personally, this writer has always been a big fan.

I still remember the day like it was yesterday, running home from school like a, well...like a schoolboy and finding a copy of “WWF Smackdown!” in my bedroom staring up at me with a smile which promised virtual bodyslams and countless show-stealing headline performances at Wrestlemania. The month was May, the year was 2000. I had been waiting for this moment for quite some time – eagerly badgering my mother to purchase me a copy if I stuck in with my coursework and relentlessly reading articles about the game in magazines over and over again. Of course I'd played such games as “WWF In Your House” (which was more like a comedy version of Mortal Kombat than a grappling game), “WWF Warzone” (which promised so much yet still felt oddly tame) and “WWF Attitude” (which captivated a young Jamie Kennedy into creating his own Pay-Per-View cards and playing them out quickly, complete with his own commentary) but something always seemed to be missing. If the games weren't extremely light on actual wrestling, they encouraged you to press a 24 button combination simply to execute a clothesline! All this was about to change however, “WWF Smackdown” had a revolutionary new control system and best of all, a STORY MODE which would allow you to play out the career of your favourite wrestling superstars! It all seemed to good to be true.

When I popped that sexy little disc into my Playstation system, I felt a nervous tingle of excitement creep up my young spine. Boy oh boy! I was going to get to chokeslam The Big Show at Summerslam and win the World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title with The Undertaker. It was possible to drop “The Peoples Elbow” onto Triple H on “RAW is WAR” before raising an eyebrow and sending the sell-out crowd loopy. I could make Paul Bearer the World Wrestling Federation Women's Champion!!! Ok wait...WAIT! Let's back up a little bit here, let's not lose the childlike magic of the moment.. Yes the option was accessible to make 'Takers overweight shrieking MALE manager the champion of the companies only female division, but I was willing to overlook this little discrepancy and get onto guiding “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to winning every available title in the game.

If I thought the first Smackdown game really changed the way I looked at wrestling videogames, I was in for a major kick up the Kennedy backside by the time November of the same year rolled around and THQ/Yukes gave birth to “WWF Smackdown 2!: Know Your Role!” right onto my doorstep. This was even better, the story mode had actual angles which had played out on WWF television. Steve Austin was actually destroying the DX Express in virtual living colour right on my TV screen! This game was where it all started for me, this is where for the next couple of years – I actually became more of a geek than I had ever thought attainable. Yes, this is where I actually started “working the game”.