WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw

"WWE Smackdown! Vs. Raw Alot of highs, with some glaring lows"

When I first Purchased this game I was really excited and raced home so I could play it right away. When I started playing at first, I was really awed by the game and the graphics but, after a little while I really started to notice some glaring mistakes/problems with the game. Mostly things from Here Comes the Pain that really worked well that for one reason or another was removed from this game. That being said here are the highs and lows of the game as I see them.

Highs of the game:

Graphics: The graphics are off the wall they ( to me at least ) seem to improve quite a big from Here Comes the Pain, the models look far more detailed then before, especially the faces. The range of expressions the wrestlers are capable of are mind boggling.( to be able to make Kane actually look worried/scared blew me away. ) The entrances are allot smoother both in look and flow. But the big pop comes with the elimination of some of the incredibly annoying clipping problems from HCtP. No longer do the Diva's hair fall through their shoulders or do ropes pass through wrestlers as they enter the ring. Over all the graphics really kick it up a notch from previous WWE installments.

Game play: The game play has also ramped up from HCtP. The in ring action is more realistic with impact points and wrestler movements that are more accurate then before. While playing this game I really got a feel for the different wrestlers, how they moved and reacted when you pulled different moves. It was almost like someone ported in the ability to feel the difference in how cars handle from various racing games and converted it to wrestler's movements. Gone is the easy to reveres tactics for both player and AI. I found it far more difficult to reverse moves both strike and grapple. The most obvious of this come from the weapons. No longer can they be reversed constantly by you or the AI making weapons far more effective and if you ask me, realistic. A really nice touch is being able to reverse the grapple moves while actually in the move INCLUDING Smackdown moves. No longer do you need 2 full meters to reverse these. I was fully stunned when my Undertakers Last Ride was countered by a very hurt no special meter wrestler.

Stories: In this I include who is holding belts and what gimmicks are being used. Again I was stunned with what I saw. Randy Orton holding the Raw title The Undertaker with his new Gimmick, especially his entrance. The story line are fun and really do keep you interested thought the season mode. The Challenge modes are a nice addition to the exhibition mode. Having to complete the various tasks from the easy rookie to the sometimes insane sounding legends challenges. The only flaw I can really find in this is that you can set up the matches to make it allot easier for you and allot harder for the AI. On a side note I really enjoyed the Diva Option added once you complete the Diva story line.

General: The purchase unlock is back as well though now it is smaller and things are less expensive to purchase. Both of these I think make this a bit better then before, simply because you don't have to work so long just to unlock one thing especially the wrestlers. Now instead of attribute points you can amass Experience point that can be used for your CAW. You can also purchase these points in the unlikable shop zone though these tend to take awhile to build enough money to do so.

Low points.

Okay the first glaring thing I found that I didn't like is not being able to move wrestlers from one show to another. I felt this was a really good aspect of HCtP. You could take your favorite wrestlers from both shows and place them on one letting you have more or less have a dream team show if you will. though more realistic it takes away from the fun factor a bit.

Next comes the Ledges Wrestlers. Though I applaud the choices of wrestlers, epically the return of Andre the Giant and Mankind. Again I have to wonder about a few of the choices most glaring is Bret Hart. Who pretty much hates the WWE. More so though comes the absolute amazing blunder of making these guys usable in exhibition ONLY. What!? I was dying to use Andre in Season mode and team him up with the likes of Big Show and run rampant all over at least Smackdown only to find I couldn't. What was THQ thinking! Much like not being able to switch wrestlers it does add to the realism it really takes away from the fun factor to me.

Voice over: At first this is a real good thing. To hear Tazz and Cole or good ol' JR. and The King Jerry Lawler, but after about 5 minutes it starts sinking in that this isn't such a good thing. Even the wrestlers voice overs tend to get grating after a few story lines. What it ends up doing is dragging scenes out making them allot longer then they need to be, I'm talking RPG long sometimes. Not to mention the dubbing is way off. The wrestler will start moving their mouth and start talking 2 seconds later or will stop talking but still keep moving their mouth, I really started to feel like I was watching a Kung-Fu movie. Not to mention the voice overs were very generic, rarely do you here a wrestlers name mentioned, as a matter fact the only time you hear their names is during match announcements. Though it only comes when the announcers are making a comment about a wrestler. Other wise when talking about the actions it falls right into generic comments such as " These two wrestlers " " That will not the taste out of your mouth ". Honestly it gets REAL tiring to hear things like that over and over again. Not to mention instead of adding to the fun factor it instead steals from it. I have NEVER head Jerry Lawler sound so boring or uncolorful basically it's just not him at all. It gets worse if you hold a title belt, you always get referred to as Champ, the Raw champ, the Smackdown Champ. Would it of been so hard to have the names recorded?

General: I know there is a limited amount of storage on the discs but this kind of bothered me as well. When I first played the Raw side I used Triple H. I went into story mode and of course got right into the story lines. I noted something in the story lines that really just didn't fit. That was the generic win animations of the story line matches. Since when does Hunter wave to the crowed, and why is it if I steamroll over a guy in a match allot of times I'll get an animation where hunter could hardly stand up like he'd been through a 60 minute marathon. I much rather the choices from HCtP after I won then to this. Season mode story lines as well. If Someone was insane enough to get into the Undertakers face and tell him to take a hike I REALLY don't feel like Taker would just walk away. speaking of which it really seems they limited your choices in the stories you don't get to interact so much with them. Also gone is the ability to move around in the back stage area and interact with other wrestlers adding a nice distraction to those that get a little bored of going from one story to another. Also lacking is the ability to watch the other matches on a program. Sometimes I really enjoyed watching some of the matches, again it was a fun distraction from being the action all the time. I laughed allot watching Rey Mysterio Vs. Big show. Or the classic Austin Vs The Rock. Finally comes the lack of the back stage brawls. this is what made the game real fun in HCtP. the different areas and the ability to interact with the back stage areas. In one full season mode I had ONE back stage brawl.

Over All: To sum this all up out of 10 I gave WWE. Smackdown! Vs. Raw a 7 where the graphics Game play, up to date gimmicks and Stream lined Unlockibles. There really was allot that took away from this game. The lack of being able to use the Ledge wrestlers in season mode, the highly annoying voice overs, not being able to move wrestlers from one show to another, and the generic story and victory animations. Along with the lack of choices in the story modes and the ability to move around back stage and interact with other wrestlers or to be able to watch the other matches on the program AND the lack of back stage brawls really hurt this game allot. I know I left out a few things such as the CAW and Online modes. The truth is I haven't used the CAW as of yet and I don't go online with my PS2 right now. Even so, I doubt they can shift the balance of the score. I feel THQ should have stuck with most of what they did in HCtP and left out things like the Voice overs. SvR is a fun game to play and worth buying over all despite these glaring problems. It has a decent replay in which I'm sure the online and CAW helps allot. I just hope the next installment THQ puts out will fall back on the more fun aspects of the game instead of going for all out accuracy.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/04