WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw

"This is what it's like when worlds collide"

WWE Smackdown vs. RAW is the follow up to Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain on the Sony Playstation2. While Here Comes the Pain was a good game and Yuke's releases the Smackdown vs. RAW a year later there are some things in this game that feels the same but there are some changes that makes the game feel different than the previous titles? What is there expect in Smackdown vs. RAW read to see for sure on that.

Graphics: 8.6 out of 10
When it comes to the graphics of Smackdown vs. RAW they look nicely done from the arenas of Smackdown and RAW to the PPV arenas such as Armageddon, Backlash, even Wrestlemania 19. Each superstar featured in the game Shelton Benjamin, Randy Orton, Undertaker and all the other superstars even commentators JR, King, Michael Cole and Tazz. While the superstars look amazing in this game the crowd on the other hand look like paper behind the barricade wall, with that in mind it makes you feel like you're taking part of a WWE match.

While the game looks somewhat similar to Here Comes the Pain but I think that the game does look to be more polished than the previous WWE title. Since the game looks nice but if there's one thing that I hate about the game is that the title belts don't seem to look to be very bulky. While in Here Comes the Pain the title belts looked more like their counterparts and not so bulky where it looks like it could possibly weigh the superstar down when it doesn't.

Gameplay: 8.5 out of 10
The gameplay of Smackdown vs. RAW doesn't feel like it had changed since Here Comes the Pain but there are some things in the game that make the gameplay more challenging in some way or another. For example when you go about doing a Royal Rumble match or a 6 man over the top match, instead of just putting them out of the match you have a new ring out meter. What is the ring out meter? The ring out meter shows how far a certain superstar is from being eliminated from a match when being pushed from another superstar while on the outside of the rope.

Another feature in Smackdown vs. RAW that you'll see is the added the feature of staring at your opponent to shove them to get that edge. Finally the newest addition to the game is having the ability to be a “Clean” or “Dirty” superstar which means that depending on your fighting style if you're the kind to use weapons like chairs to sledgehammers. Of course anyone should know what a “Clean” superstar is someone who prefers to stay along the rules of the WWE and earns the respect of the fellow competitors. The last new feature of Smackdown vs. RAW are challenges that are featured in the game that either put you in a match from the past or a match that some people would like to see in the future if possible.

Sound: 8.2 out of 10
With the sound of WWE Smackdown vs. RAW the sound department is good this edition of the WWE game. While in Here Comes the Pain there really wasn't much music to the soundtrack like in most games these days feature a solid soundtrack that suites each gaming title. Yuke's had decided to put in songs they felt that would be good while you're playing through Smackdown vs. RAW. Some of the songs include songs from Breaking Benjamin, Prething, Powerman 5000 and others. While the soundtrack may be alright but that's not the only thing that they decided to work on there was something new that they added which I think was alright to put in was the superstar voice-over. Some might think that the voice over isn't that good of a feature for the Smackdown games while it does add a new touch to the series.

The only gripe that I have with the voice-overs in Smackdown vs. RAW is when you pick a superstar such as The Undertaker, Kane, or even a superstar such as Rob Van Dam. When I went through season with one of those superstars I expected to hear the voice over for that particular superstar, which also I feel disappointed some who that were looking forward to having voice-overs featured in the game.

Replay Value: 8.6 out of 10
When you think that some fighting games don't offer that much in terms of replay value but some of the developers are trying out things to make the games in the fighting genre more to do in the game. While you play through Season mode you can earn money to purchase things in what is known as the WWE Shop from Legends like Hulk Hogan, Old Undertaker, Andre the Giant, even Roddy Piper. You can even go about purchasing more experience points for your created superstar if you have created a superstar. When in Here Comes the Pain you had to keep going through Season through multiple times in order to get your experience points up there in order to get your guy to the desired level overall.

Overall: 8.3 out of 10
Smackdown vs. RAW overall is a quality title that people of the fighting genre should see about checking out in some point and even with some of the flaws that this game has. If you don't overlook the flaws of this game you won't be able to enjoy this game to the fullest that the developer's of the game intended the game to be. From the nicely done graphics to the new features in the game Yuke's is able to deliver a find wrestling game that some of the people can pick up and enjoy. While it has that arcade feel to it that don't mean that this is still a decent game to try, some would've wanted to follow up to the previous with a sim like feel don't let the non sim like feel turn you off.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/10/07