By By Sean Ewing
Since the days of Pro Wrestling for the NES, wrestling games have been becoming more and more immersive and real. The Smackdown series has been the greatest innovator, bringing in a new grapple system, actual storylines and the most detailed create-a-wrestler ever. With the newest iteration Smackdown vs Raw, developer Yukes has made a game any wrestling fan needs to own.
The grapple system is simplistic but more than up to the task. You tap or hold circle to initiate a grapple, then a direction and circle to execute a move, or a direction and strike to pummel your opponent. This allows you access to a multitude of moves while keeping the gameplay smooth and simple. This is especially important this year, as there is a momentum system. You can’t just repeat the same move ad naseum to win your way through the years. Doing this will turn the crowd against you, and give your opponent a boost. You have to learn how to play to the crowd and get them into the match. Sometimes though, the gamefeels a bit random. A well wrestled match will be going on, and then with one knee to face, the crowd suddenly comes alive for one of the wrestlers.
When the momentum bar fills up, you can use your finishing maneuver, or store it for later use. The damage is based on how much momentum you have though, which is a nice touch, and further adds to the feeling that instead of just fighting, you really are putting on a match.
There are a good number of gimmick matches to spice things up, and they play pretty well for the most part. The buried alive match works well enough in player controlled match-ups, but the computer becomes utterly infallible in these environments. There is a timing mini-game to escape the coffin, and the computer never misses these. The same minigame is applied to submission holds and tests of strength, but the computer is better about not dominating these.
The season mode is fantastic this year. There are plenty of different storylines and angles your wrestler to go through so it doesn’t feel stale after multiple plays. The actual wrestlers lend their voices to the storylines and the player gets to choose whether they want to play as a good guy or a bad guy. These do have mechanical effects, as bad guys can beat up the referee, use weapons and give low blows. Good guys get to rally the crowd for more damage and use special moves.
Another new addition is the franchise mode. This is where die hard fans will likely spend all of their time. This mode allows you to become the general manager of either Raw or Smackdown and take control. You hire wrestlers, book matches, build feuds, manage funds and try to score as many viewers as you can.
This mode is very in-depth and is a great feature. However, the match maker template is useable, but isn’t as intuitive as it could be. It would be nice if you were able to orchestrate the winner of your matches, but at the same time, that would eliminate some of the excitement out of the mode. Having to change your plans on the fly because the champion lost the belt two days before a pay-per-view match adds a more frenzied pitch to the mode.
The franchise mode is the all-star addition here, and it’s exciting to think about how much stronger it will be if Yukes works out the kinks. Another facet of the game that shines is the commentating.
Game commentaries always sound stale and canned, because they are, but Yukes really made a great effort here, with tons of pre-recorded stuff and character specific comments to help make it all feel more “live.”
Smackdown vs Raw is a fantastic game. The matches feel fast paced and play out better than their tv counterparts. The graphics are very polished, and aside from the repeating audience textures, fantastic. The franchise mode is what fans have been clamoring for and it is a ton of fun for a real fan of the sport. The unlockables and different storylines will keep you coming back. No wrestling fan should be without this game, and that’s the bottom line.
Final Grade: A-