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WWE SmackDown Vs Raw 2008 Review
Posted by Oren on 1/10/08
Back in 1997 Shawn Michaels handed over his world title because he “lost his smile”, although some analysts claim it was a political move, the phrase became a symbol to a time when a change is needed to stay on top.
In the latest installment of “SmackDown Vs Raw”, we got to see eight different fighting styles, a new 24/7 mode and most importantly the new ECW Extreme Rules match. The game was released to next-generation consoles as well as handheld consoles, this review relates only to the Playstaion 2 version of the game.
Fighting Styles and Interface:
A major change to the engine of the game occurred when THQ announced the brand new fighting styles, the idea behind this addition was to add an element of realism to the game, even though we got to see fighting styles in previous titles, the division to eight different styles should have given the players the feel that they’re playing with there real life counterparts.
Each wrestler in the game has 2 fighting styles; the major fighting style gives the player a special ability that impact the match much like a finishing move, the secondary is basically having the fighting style without the special ability. The fighting styles in the game is mostly about dividing the regular moves that are already in the game instead of adding new moves, common moves like stealing your opponent finishing move is now assigned to the “Showmen” fighting style, it seems like that THQ wanted to add the fighting styles but didn’t pay much attention to the content of it, for example, one of the most enjoyable fighting styles in my opinion is the “Hardcore” fighting style as it’s really fun to perform moves with weapons, however this advantages won’t come to play unless you’re playing a no-disqualification match.
Don’t get me wrong the fighting styles are fun to play and they are one of the best additions to the game but the minuses like running away from the ring when a wrestler with a “Brawler” fighting style gets into frenzy mode (becomes invincible for a short period of time), hurts the game.
Another change to the game is the brand new submission-struggle feature, while performing a submission move a new turn based mini game would appear, the wrestler which performs the hold could tighten it while their opponent tries to break from it, by adding more pressure to the hold the opponent will be forced to submit, the new submission system is something that doesn’t affect the game as we saw similar and possibly more affective submissions features in previous titles.
While playing the game players would immediately notice the use of the analog controls, in previous titles the player could switch back the controls to the d-pad, in “SVR 2008” players are no longer able to switch back to the d-pad and it may disappoint some gamers.
Roster:
The roster is solid, even though it was reduced by almost 20 percent comparing to last year game, all the key wrestlers are in the game, but names like Shelton Benjamin, Brian Kendrick and Paul London are definitely missing. Legend wise we got to see Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Mick Foley and more, making there debut in the legends poll are Terry Funk and the late Rick Rude, notably missing from the legends poll is Hulk Hogan who appeared in previous titles.
For the first time since the era of the original Playstation console ECW wrestlers make their return to the world of videogames, seeing faces like Sabu, The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer really warms the heart of the fans.
However the game still suffers from an un-updated roster. Usually in the early creation process of the game the roster is decided by THQ and the WWE (the WWE has a final say of-course), the problem is that we get a roster that is updated about 6 months before the release of the game, as a result of this we don’t get to see wrestlers like Santino Marrella and Cody Rhodes in the game, even wrestlers that changed their attire or gimmick won’t appear in their new form in the game.
The solution to this problem is just around the corner as downloadable content on both the X-Box Live and the PSN should be available in future titles.
Match types and modes:
As I mentioned above “SVR 2008” features the new “ECW Extreme Rules” match that was made famous during the 90’s in the rebellious organization from Philadelphia. The extreme rules match is very similar to the hardcore match that appears in the game for years, but there are some additions that make it much better. In the match menu the player will be able to choose the weapons for the match, weapons like guitar, kendo sticks and even crutches. All these selectable weapons will be added to the regular weapons such as tables, ladders and chairs. In Extreme Rules matches the player will be able to select which weapon he wants to pull from under the ring, another major addition is the ability to set a table or a barbwire bat on fire.
The rest of the matches in the game are pretty much the game. The ladder match even after the change that was made last year is still very problematic, it becomes ridicules when playing with more than 2 wrestlers in a match, the ladder is unstable and falls too many times, grabbing the object takes too long and it seems that THQ tried to extend the length of the match in an artificial way instead of improving the core of it, similar thing can be seen in table match as-well, unlike the real table match the player can’t miss and drive himself into the table and that’s very disappointing.
The artificial intelligence in the game is solid, causal gamers won’t find it difficult to beat their opponents in the normal difficulty settings, even though the “Legend” difficulty is challenging at times the computer controlled opponent won’t try to win the match at any cost, it’s notably seen in multiplayer matches, if I were to compare the A.I in the game to “Here Comes The Pain” that was released in 2003 I can say that “SVR 2008” A.I is inferior.
Besides 24/7 mode, the game features the brand new “Hall of Fame” mode which gives the player the chance to enter the wrestling hall of fame after completing a series of challenges including classic encounters such as the Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Mick foley, the classic WrestleMania match between The Rock and Stone Cold, and much more.
Although it’s not the first time that we are seeing a challenge mode it’s definitely the best variation of it (the same goes to the fighting styles).
Another addition to the game is the tournament mode which was long over due, the tournament mode enables the players to play in a set tournament such as Raw Vs SmackDown and even create their own tournament (with a maximum of 16 wrestlers), this feature could be much better if THQ would enable 2 players to select the same wrestler (for example Triple H Vs Triple H).
Graphics, Sound and Creation:
The creation mode in “SmackDown” games is considered to be one of the best in the world of videogames, the game features the regular create a wrestler feature (a special storyline is available to created wrestler in 24/7 mode), create a championship, entrance and stable are all in, but the ability to trade created wrestlers on-line was taken out from the Playstation 2 version of the game.
The graphics in the game is in the top level of Playstaion 2 sport games, the details of the wrestlers and the presentation itself (entrances, menus, etc) gives the player an experience that resembles the real world of professional wrestling. Animation wise, alongside new animations such as a re-animated RKO and Tombstone Piledriver there are still old animations that appeared in the first SmackDown game that was released in 2000. There is still hoping that in the future we will see new and improved animations for simple moves such as an elbow drop.
The soundtrack in the game is decent and stands tall comparing to other sport titles; the major disappointed in the sound department is still the commentary in the game. When playing the game you will notice that the commentators don’t talk much about the match, they use some lines that mention the wrestlers that are taking part in the match, but after playing a few matches you will know these lines by heart.
Also there is a bug when playing a elimination match such as the Royal Rumble match, the commentators will keep talking about wrestlers who already got eliminated from the match.
24/7 Mode:
The main mode in the game is the 24/7 mode, the mode gathers under one umbrella both the season mode and the general manager mode. One of the major disappointments in the season mode is that only 19 wrestlers are selectable (it’s impossible to play as an ECW superstar).
The goal in the season mode is to elevate the status of your wrestler to the status of a legend, in the top right corner of the season mode menu appears a progression bar that shows your progression towards the goal. In your calendar you’ll be able to see your wrestling schedule, on your days off, the player will be able to train his wrestler in order to improve his skills and popularity, each action will have an affect on your wrestler, for example if you won’t rest your wrestler then he will face the risk of injuring his body, although it’s possible to compete when your wrestler is injured it’s much more difficult to win a match.
The storylines in the game are based more on messages that the player will read in the season mode menu and less on the famous cut-scenes that made the “SmackDown” series famous, the cut-scenes in the game took a turn for the worse, there are less cut-scenes and those that are in are repetitive ones, in every show you’ll notice the same pattern of cut-scenes (except for some specials occasions). The storylines are based on a monthly basis, the influence of the player on the plots is very limited to say the least, key elements from the real world are missing, things like turns, forming stables and more are missing. In order to become a legend the player will have to win championships, defeat legends and much more, the season mode is enjoyable at first but after a while it might become stale.
Unlike the season mode, the general manager mode enables the player to manage the ECW brand (as-well as the regular Raw and SmackDown brands), at start you could choose whether to play with the regular roster or to create a fantasy draft, afterwards you’ll deal with budget problems and injuries that will affect your rivalries and thus your show ratings.
The main goal in the general manager mode is similar to the season mode, the goal is to become the general manager of the year, in order to do so you will need to boost the popularity of your wrestlers, win the ratings war and more. Similar to the season mode the player would be able to train his wrestlers on the days off; unfortunately you can train only one wrestler per day. The general manager mode sounds like a lot of fun but it may become frustrating after dealing with many injuries at the same time.
In conclusion, “SmackDown Vs Raw 2008” is a good wrestling game that would provide hours of fun, it may appeal to new gamers more as hardcore gamers might feel little bit disappointed that the game isn’t that different from “SVR 2007”. If we look back to 1997, eventually Shawn Michaels returned to the ring and alongside Triple H and Chyna he formed D-X, the rebellious trio paved the way for the famous Attitude era. Hopefully in the future THQ could find its own Attitude era and elevate the SmackDown Vs Raw series.
Have a happy new year,
Oren Nathan.
bigsexy@013.net
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Released: November, 14 2000
Dvlpr: Asmik Ace Enterainment / Aki Corporation
Publisher: THQ
System(s):
Nintendo 64
5/5 Stars |
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