Gaming Reviews

WWE SmackDown vs. RAW

By W-E Staff on July 24, 2009

Intro
First let me say this game doesn’t deserve the bad rep it’s gotten because of the review. It’s a god damn shame that so many are gonna miss out on this game because they can’t think for them damn selves and depend on reviews and opinions on others. With that said onto the review.

Graphics 10/10

Let’s get this out the way, the Graphics are even better than last year and that’s saying something. Everyone looks as incredible as they did last year if not better. Caws look sooooo much better than last years outing unless purposely made crappy or by a bad CAW maker the caws look proportionate and like real people. With some timely investment you can make nearly photo quality of anyone.

Although Caw attires still look painted on and up close the skin textures when compared to the in game wrestlers are no where near as good. They still look damn good, I can’t wait until the pro CAW makers put their works out.

Sound 9/10

Most theme’s are accounted for, Batista, Flair and Stacy(as usual) are missing their themes. But what makes up for it is the A) Orton’s music is in and B) While the soundtrack is the same as DOR we get the themes in full and some bonus tracks as well courtesy of Powerman 5000. The voice overs what people ***** and complained about the voice overs, they sound find to me.

It’s the writing of the lines that suck. Although sometimes some of the wrestlers sound bored. but compare this to Toby McQuire’s VO in the Spider-Man games and these are actually good. JR and King along with Cole and Tazz are back doing the commentary and while the lines get repetitive I’m glad they’re here.

I missed them from HCTP makes seemed so stagnant without commentary even if it was terrible. Some of the lines will give you a chuckle. Though I have to ding the score because of some of the VO’s in season.

Presentation 10/10

Much like you can do in most EA games you can choose a respective brand to represent for on menus which is pretty nice. Menus are easy to navigate and most of the stuff can be found in the same place it was last year. CAW menu navigation is so much easier and well…clean which is good.

The new in ring camera angle really makes it look like you’re watching a WWE Program. As does the opening vids on PPVs(Both created and season wise) All in all good stuff, entrances are authentic the only one that’s not truly authentic is JBL he’s missing his limo.

But Eddie does arrive in his low rider which owns and for the love of god, Bret Hart has his right music and his intro is by far the best in the game. Your manager actually does accompany you to the ring and you’ll want them to do so all the time and I’ll get into that in a second.

Customization 9/10

I’ve pretty much touched on the CAW aspect for the rest of the stuff. CAPPV makes a welcome return the one feature I’ve always wanted back in the SD series has returned and with Created belts being awesome(Though costly) there’s almost no need for season when you can make your own belts and matches and but them on the line. For those who run storylines with friends or whatever this will greatly increase the replay value.

Want to prove you’re the hot **** put a belt on the line. Belt’s can be made with different materials of all types and colors. Don’t want a gold belt? Make it copper, Bronze, silver or even platinum if you want to. You can even color the leather how you want(Thus recreating old titles like the old school WWF IC belt) CAB in it’s debut in SD kicks ass.

But like I said you need ducats to make belts which might turn some people off. Crate a Stable is returned to it’s former glory with 5 men now. You can have four stars and a manager, Two Stars, a Tag Team and Manager the possibilities are endless and there is a ton of different intro’s for duo’s and trios. I just wish there were more in game stables but no matter.

They’ve added a few more moves but not that many which is what I’ll have to ding the score for.

Gameplay 10/10

Whoever review this at IGN needs to go back and play again, they’ve left out so many things and really blew some other’s out of proportion. With the opening bell Mini game feature on(Which you can turn off) they don’t happen all the time. Out of the 50 or so matches I’ve had I’ve only had those happen. Once. ONCE! If anything they don’t happen enough!

The stare down’s and pushing contests shouldn’t be as much fun as they are. Even the chop contest is kick ass, as are the instant reversal submission and the tug of war submissions are better. Like wise the Royal Rumble gets a much needed face lift with the ring out meter. What the Ring out meter is during the rumble instead of just clotheslining someone out the ring easily. You have to empty your opponents meter to get them out.

While this is a great feature sometimes it’s ignored, While it is realistic Crusierweights are at a big disadvantage in the rumble they can be eliminated with a full meter and bigger guys like the Big Show, Kane, Batista can military press and outright toss a ***** out!

Like I said it’s realistic but it’s frustrating when you work hard to survive and your tossed out in one second with a full meter.

Singles w/ Manager matches I never played because manager’s were useless. While in HCTP they fixed it a little bit it still kinda sucked. NOW however Singles with Manager matches are among the best matches in the SD series. What you do now is with the analog stick you can command your manager to hop on the apron and distract the ref or hand you a weapon, in the right hands you can get snuck a weapon, then have them distract the ref, smash your opponents skull in and get off Scott clean!

Manager’s will grab opponent’s feet break up pins and assault people while outside and more. Tag Partners are easier to control as you can command them to attack the other guys partner or the legal man in the ring. This is a great addition and adds more strategy to singles and tag matches, well done.

The Dirty/Clean tactics add a whole new element as well. Dirty tactics are rewarded with a devastating low blow that can turn the tide of a match and clean tactics allows wrestlers to Hulk up in a way automatically counter anything, and have specials do more damage. To be able to enable this you have to use tactics, heels have to well cheat.

Remove turnbuckles, throw people into ring stairs argue with the ref after 2 counts(Which is fun) and my favorite hold submissions longer when someone gets to the ropes which causes the ref to start a 5 count. With these mechanics in playing a heel is so much fun, but faces they have to taunt a lot, kick out of bad situations and use high offense or high flying maneuvers to build up the meter. Heel’s clearly get to have more fun.

Also an easy way to build up SD bucks, just like in Madden and NCAA where you have in game challenges. SVR has them as well such as using your special twice, or stealing and opponents finisher. Doing these gets you shop zone money to unlock legends, Arena’s loading screens, Caw points and other stuff. So you don’t even have to touch season. If you don’t want to.

Season 6/10

Because of all the things added this year Season took the biggest blow of feature removal, you can no longer change wrestlers to different brands, walk around back areas or take out and add people to season. The only belts you have to compete for are the US, WWE, World and IC belts which is a serious let down. You follow a pretty much set storyline though choices can be made here and there making it at least a bit less linear than DOR’s story mode.

Divas play the center of many storylines but they’re all on the wrong shows. Stacy and Trish are on SD while Torrie and Sable(WTF is she here again?) are on Raw it’s just..wrong and bizarre and where the hell is Victoria?!

I haven’t experienced everything in season however like all SD’s certain superstars have their own storylines and I’m sure if you have a belt that opens up new paths so I can’t really speak on everything. But thus far Season is SVR’s biggest let down.

Matches 10/10

While several matches like Singles, Tag and Royal Rumble got a face lift most are the same. The EC has been made a little bigger to make it easier to manage and there’s a new camera during the chamber opening. The new kid on the block is parking lot brawl. Parking Lot Brawl is a BLAST for you DJFFNY fans out there you’ll feel right at home with Parking Lot Brawl. Something about smashing your opponents face through a car window is gratifying.

Hardcore matches are limited to one back stage area, and while that is pretty lame the backstage area provided is so interactive I’m sure there’s some things I haven’t discovered you can throw your opponent into pyro. Into a Soda Machine slam a grage door down on them and probably other things. Nice line up of things to keep you busy.

Online mode has been added but is limited to Singles or Bra and Panties(Please get rid of this match), Online play is governed by Gamespy unfortunately so there’s a lot of lag, but you can still have a good time. There’s no headset support but Caws and Legends are usable since this is the first time seen in any wrestling game Yukes still has a lot to improve with this mode and hopefully it’ll be better next year (30 man Online rumble plz!)

Roster 8/10

With recent firings in the WWE the roster is already small and outdated. I have no problem with the people not in because I don’t use the in game wrestler’s anyhow. After awhile I sorta forgot about how small the roster was, but I’m sure others will piss and moan, where as I don’t care.

Closing

In closing SVR is a lot better than people think. If you think missing features and yes a half assed online mode make this a pass I at least hope you give it a rental. While it’s missing a lot it’s pumped with so much more that makes up for it.

It’s a nice follow up to HCTP even with the missing features the game still kicks the ass out of most of the other wrestling games out there. If this really is the last entry in the series(Whether because of the Lawsuit or Yukes gearing up for the PS3 Debut of the series or a serious engine overhaul) It’s a nice way to go out. If there is another SD in the future this game is a nice test of the waters of what needs to stay(The gameplay mechanics) what needs to go(Bra and Panties) and what needs improving(Commentary, Online)

It’s a solid buy for any wrestling fan in my opinion. Despite the few bumps in it.

Total score: 9/10

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