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WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2008
Like the wrestling business itself, WWE games have had their ups and downs over the years from the brilliance that was the N64’s ‘No Mercy’ to the downright shoddiness of the ‘Raw’ series on the Xbox (no surprising that it was ended after only one sequel). The Smackdown games, now at the ninth incarnation, have been the only mainstay and much like football games are an annual tradition. So where does this one place in terms of overall quality? About in the middle.
The ever familiar problem with WWE games is that the roster is already out of date at the time of release, meaning that it still has people who are no longer in the company, characters have changed and everyone looks different. Even though the game contains the newly formed ECW and unlockable legends, the roster size is somehow smaller than the 2007 version.
However each wrestler has their own fighting style, with their own special moves and abilities, meaning that powerhouses like Batista can kick out of pins easily and hardcore fighters like Sandman can set tables on fire. This means that it doesn’t feel you’re like your just playing the same characters with different faces, the weight or speed of your chosen wrestler actually dictates how you should fight in a match.
In a quest to make it as realistic as possible, the gameplay has been altered once more. The use of the right analog stick to perform all the main grapples means that you will need to learn the combos and master individual fighting styles rather than button bash. A useful addition is the new “struggle submission” system which allows you to choose how much pressure to apply during, for example, a sleeper hold. The changes should be welcomed by old fans but may confuse those who are new to the series.
Graphically the game is quite impressive, with the animated characters being almost true to their real life counterparts. A lot of the bug and glitches that have dogged the series have almost been removed, meaning that the wrestlers no longer fall off the top of cages or hit moves that obviously don’t connect, but it’s still far from perfect. Regardless of the faults it feels more solid than previous games and for the first time since ‘Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain’ you actually have a lot of control over your actions.
But the commentary, as ever, is dire. Even though the different brands (Raw, Smackdown and ECW) have their own unique team of announcers you frequently hear the same stock phrases being spouted out at inconvenient times no matter what show you’re on. The persistent yells of “this has the makings of a real slobber knocker” by JR get annoying very fast and eventually end with you putting your foot through the screen.
Whilst the multiplayer option offers a lot of fun, the main problems with this game lie in the single player career modes. The new 24/7 feature, which allows you to control the day-to-day actions of your character or be a General Manager, often falls flat, is extremely fiddly and more repetitive than ever. Also for some reason you can only play through one 24/7 game at a time, meaning that you have to finish or abandon a game if you want to start a new one. Plus with a mere 19 wrestlers from the main roster to choose from in this mode, you’ll be spending a lot of time making your own wrestlers with the incredibly detailed, if somewhat tedious, create-a-character mode.
Only the newly added King of the Ring and Beat The Clock tournaments offer any sort of lasting one player challenge.
As a multiplayer game ‘WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008’ is enjoyable and gives players the choice of a wide range of matches, including the brilliantly interactive ECW Extreme Rules. But anyone interested in the single player career modes will be disappointed by the lack of purposeful development, characters to choose from and in-depth storylines. There are plenty of hidden extras to unlock, such as WWE legends The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, but once the novelty wears off this will be placed on your shelf to gather dust until it’s eventually traded in when the next game comes out.
While it’s an improvement on last year’s game and the alterations to the gameplay keeps the series fresh, too many faults stop this from being more than just an average game. This is one for fighting fans and wrestling enthusiasts only.
Overall 6/10
Genre: Wrestling
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Yuke's Media Creations
Ages: 16+
Available on: PlayStation 2 (reviewed), PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP
