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ESRB: 
Platform: XBox 360
Category: Sports
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Graphics 7.7 |
Sound 7.7 |
Gameplay 8 |
Tilt 8 ||
Overall 8
Author: Kirby Y
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Developer: Yuke’s
Publisher: THQ
Features
Players: 1-4
Co-op: 2-4 Players
HDTV Output: 720p/1080i/1080p
Custom Soundtracks
Online Multiplayer: 1-4 Players
Downloadable Content
Leaderboards
I remember when I was younger, much younger, I would look forward to turning on the TV and watching some good old fashioned WWF on the weekend. With the likes of Macho Man Randy Savage, the British Bulldogs, Junkyard Dog, the Honky Tonk Man, and a much younger Hulk Hogan to name a few, I would sit on the couch and cheer on my favorite wrestling star. Since that time wrestling has gone through a lot of change, a new name, new factions, and new wrestlers along with a few old ones, now grace the TV. Something that has remained pretty consistent over the years is THQ’s yearly wrestling games on home consoles. Being able to take control of your favorite superstar has always been pretty satisfying. Well I had the chance to review both the Xbox 360 and PS3 version of the latest release, SmackDown vs. Raw 2009. So how is this latest entry into the wrestling ring? Read on.
Graphics
The visuals in SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 are a mixed bag. On one hand you have some great looking character models and all the WWE stars look like their real life counterparts. They are solid and have some really good animations too. However there is also some problems in the animation area given that some moves require a long series of animations. During these times this cannot be interrupted by the player themselves or his/her opponent. This can be strange and frustrating at the same time as it just doesn’t make sense. Regardless, from the entrances wrestlers make to specific fighting moves they pull off in the ring, WWE fans should be happy with this aspect of the game.
On the flip side, the arenas that the matches take place are somewhat of a let down. There are a lot of repetitive fans in the seats and arena’s higher sections don’t look as detailed as those below. Animations in this department are also mixed, and if anything they can be very repetitive. I know that the focus of the game will be on what goes on in the ring; however you can’t help but notice what goes on outside the ring in the crowd as well.
Technically speaking SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is not that bad as it generally runs at a smooth framerate. Wrestling is not the fastest sport in the world, but overall things move pretty good. If anything there is some strange clipping now and then and there are scenes where it doesn’t look like things are connecting. For example, in some of my wrestler’s entrances there were times when they had their championship belt slung over their shoulder but it looked out of place as it hovered over the body and not on the shoulder like it should have been. Overall issues like these are not frequent, but they do happen and take a bit away from the overall game.
The major difference between the PS3 and Xbox 360 version is that the PS3 looks a little darker and I found that the clipping issues occurred a little more often then they did in the Xbox 360 version. The games look pretty identical in terms of the character models and crowds, but the Xbox 360 just seemed to have a little more pizzazz given it was brighter and not plagued with as much clipping.
Sound
Like the graphics, the sound in SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is a mixed bag. On one hand you have all the voices of actual WWE superstars which adds to the realism of the game. This includes the announcers too as they come from the same stable of SmackDown or Raw shows. Allowing the developers access to the wrestlers to record the actual voices of those are on screen will let all the WWE fanatics out there live out the dream of being in the world of wrestling itself. There is also a great emphasis on the entrances of each wrestler and the music used in their real life entrances are used in game, and again this just adds to the authenticity of the experience.
Where this game seems to stumble in the sound department is in the actual sound effects themselves. I would expect a game like this to communicate the feeling of the on screen action. If I am to take a character like the Undertaker, and body slam someone as large as the Big Show, then the resulting sound of the Big Show hitting the mat should be thunderous. However it is not and the whole package of sound effects follows this weak approach. From choke slams, huge kicks, to the aforementioned body slams, SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 just doesn’t seem to have the impact it should in this area. It takes away from what is supposed to be a hard-hitting ‘entertainment sport’. I hope that in future versions the sound has more oomph. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 have some great sound processing abilities, however the game seems to lack taking advantage of this.
Gameplay
Something that I enjoyed about SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 was the two main single player modes that are included in this year’s version, Career and Road to Wrestlemania. In the career mode you choose either an existing WWE superstar, or create your own wrestler, and follow a certain path to eventually challenge for a title belt. Each path you choose has a total of five opponents to beat including the current owner of the title belt you wish to obtain. During your climb to the top you will wrestle and earn stars when you win. In order for you to take a shot at the title you need to earn a certain number stars before you are allowed to enter a title match. In each match you face you have a chance to earn up to five stars in three different areas including excitement, technical, and match results. These points go towards raising your stats such areas as durability, strength, speed, submission, technical, stamina, charisma and hardcore. These stats are increased automatically based on your actions in the match. For example, if your match is somewhat long you will gain stamina, whereas if you utilize a lot of power moves your strength will go up. The career mode is not one of those “play forever to get results” either and you should find yourself having fun here. Once you win a title you can choose to challenge another path and earn yet another title belt and eventually win all the belts available.
Along with the enjoyable career mode comes the Road to Wrestlemania mode. Here you take on the role of one of six wrestlers in a unique story that portrays a particular wrestler’s on screen effort to eventually fight in WWE’s famed Wrestlemania. Being able to take the role of such wrestlers as Triple H, CM Punk, Undertaker, John Cena or Chris Jericho, and play out their own storyline is pretty cool. During the Road to WrestleMania you will are given objectives to meet, and if you are successful you will unlock new characters to use in the game. The whole Wrestlemania experience is brought to life here too. Having to make your way through various challenges and events in each wrestlers story makes for a somewhat engaging experience and you actually feel as if you have some sort of control in getting your wrestler an eventual appearance in Wrestlemania.
If these two modes don’t cut for you, or you just want a quick bit of wrestling action, there is an Exhibition and Tournament Mode. Exhibition is the best mode to practice and the large variety of match types you can play including One on One, Two on Two, Triple Threat, Fatal-4-Way, 6-Man, Handicap, and Royal Rumbles. Each match type has rules that can be applied from Hell in a Cell, Ladder, Tables, Steel Cage, ECW Extreme Rules, TLC, and Battle Royale to name a few. Tournament mode is a multiplayer only mode where you set up a tournament with some pre-set configurations like King of the Ring, Beat the Clock: Sprint, Smackdown vs. Raw or the Road to WrestleMania. There is also an option to set up a custom tournament where you decide the rules and match types of the tournament.
As noted in this review, there is the ability to create your own wrestler using the Create a Superstar tool. Here you can create your own vision of a WWE superstar of any size, shape, or form. You can alter facial features, hair, size, weight and even clothing. You are free to do what you want how you want. I had the chance to create some pretty weird, but yet almost WWE looking wrestlers. Something I found interesting was the fact that you had the chance to design your ring entrance, choose your move set for your fighting style, and even create a finishing move. The latter was pretty impressive given that you could choose from a large list of move parts, and after chaining up to 10 different parts your finishing move could look not only look impressive, but look quite painful as well. I spent quite a bit more time here then I anticipated, and I believe you will too.
So how does the single player mode play? I would have to say quite well. It has been ages since I sat and watched wrestling on TV, so when I played the game I was amazed with how many different matches I could participate in (14 in total). To me the choices were dizzying, but to the WWE fan it should satisfy their need to live out what they see on TV. As I battled it out on screen I found myself in some pretty heated battles with the computer AI. They could be as aggressive as any superstar you see on TV and there was a sense that some programming smarts went into my AI opponents. I also liked the fact that each wrester had their own unique abilities and moves. There are total of 60 wrestlers in the game, not including those you create, and as they each have their own set of moves it was a nice change to see what others had to offer me. All in all the single player experience is pretty good and I would say that most WWE fans should be happy with this component of the game.
Should you find yourself looking for some human opponents, you can head online or play locally with SmackDown vs. Raw 2009. I will focus on the online component. You can choose from a large roster of WWE fighters from the SmackDown, Raw or ECW factions, or you can use your created wrestler. You can play in either ranked or unranked matches in any wrestling mode that is on the game’s disc. I should note that six-man matches and royal rumbles are only available locally. I didn’t play nearly as much as should have online, but the games that I did try out online were pretty smooth, but when lag did hit it did affect the match. What I found is that the more experienced players knew how to take advantage of weaknesses and actually used strategy in the match. Should I have mistimed a move, or just gotten my button presses confused, the more experienced players I battled were able to hand me my ass. However, win or lose, I enjoyed my matches. The newest edition to the online experience is the ability to capture clips from your matches, edit them together, and upload them for all to see. I found that there were some really interesting videos to view and users out there are being quite creative. Pretty cool stuff indeed.
Conclusion
SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 sticks to what it should do best; provide a great wrestling experience for fans to play at home. The gameplay is pretty good, and the addition of the Career and Road to Wrestlemania modes will allow wrestling fanatics to live out the WWE dream. However the hit and miss graphics and sound, while not bad, still have some kinks to work out. Overall fans of the WWE won’t be disappointed with the final product and I have no problem recommending this game to both the hardcore and casual fan alike out there. Now excuse me, I have a few more title belts to go out and win.
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