WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2008

"Better than last year in some areas, and definately worse in others."

Smackdown vs. Raw, the leading wrestler on the market. Admittedly, it doesn't have much competition, though. This is probably the leading cause of it's problems, and it seems the developers would rather play it safe than shake the earth with groundbreaking changes and risk the fans hating every one of them, or catapulting the series to greatness. '08 is the latest in the line, and while some improvements have been made, particularly in the animation department, it has lost a several other things in the trade off since last year.

Story: 4/10
Yeah, let's face it, people don't play this for the story. It's essentially feuds with other wrestlers over titles, insults, or at one point, a movie contract. And when you're the champ, it's all about how you don't deserve it and get stabbed in the back repeatedly, and either succumb to the pressure and lose the title match, or overcome all odds and retain the title. What keeps the score from being even lower, though, is the storyline where Vince McMahon intends to add himself to the WWE Hall of Fame, and you crash the ceremony, wreck the portrait of Vince, and generally destroy the whole thing, all this at the request of Stephenie and Shane, and then get to deal with the repercussions of insulting the most powerful man in the business. It starts off interesting, but drags on way too long. I won't spoil the ending, since some people consider that important, but it was really anticlimactic.

Graphics: 8/10
You can't really ask for better at this point. The wrestlers all resemble their living counterparts as much as you could want without the game being a movie with all the wrestlers as the actors. It is in the custom wrestlers that this somewhat falls apart. They look great, without the gigantic mouths and lips present in '07 (PS2), yet their facial expressions still leave a great deal to be desired, with square mouths when they speak, and the blood effects don't look nearly as good as they do on the WWE superstars, but I suppose that is to be expected considering the freedom needed in the character model. The animation really has been improved since last year, and the wrestlers walk more like actual people, as opposed to stiff-legged puppets. Many of the grapples have been reworked as well, such as choke slams now find the neck of their target with great accuracy, as opposed to when Kain would slap his opponent in the forehead then have his hand going through their jaw. There are still issues with clipping in holds when there is a substantial difference in size between the wrestlers, and you wind up with Khali "choking" his opponent's forehead, or Rey's arms going through his opponent's face, but these are relatively small complaints.

Sound: 6/10
The sound has some mishaps here and there. Once more the announcers narrate the story and call the matches, but it still seems somewhat broken. The glitches from last year that would have them talking about a wrestler who isn't even in the match are gone, and they sound exactly like they would on the show, if they were broken records. You'll hear the same lines repeated endlessly, and if it weren't for the fact that other than them and the crowd the matches occur in near dead silence, you'd be tempted to turn them off. Maybe next year it would be smarter to ditch the announcers and just play music in the background again. Of course, you can use your own playlists, so maybe I'm just griping about nothing here to some people. As for the wrestlers themselves, the sounds of fists on flesh, grunts of effort and pain, and impact on the mat are all there. That's it. They're just there. And sometimes they're not. Occasional glitches will cause an impact to not give its sound, but this usually only occurs in large matches with four or more wrestlers, and it immediately starts working again anyway, so it's hardly game breaking.

Music: 7/10
A halfway decent soundtrack this year, shock of shocks, and if you don't like it, you can use your own music for entrances. The 360 version of '07 should have had this anyway. You might listen to the music on menus for a while, but a few hours in you'll just ignore it anyway.

Controls: 7/10
The controls function like they should, but in tag and larger matches you'll often grapple or strike the wrong opponent just because they're closer, even if they are to the side of you while the one you're aiming for is clearly in the front. This can be frustrating when you accidentally pile-drive your partner into the mat. '07's grapples on the right stick return, and this year you cannot switch to the old control scheme, unfortunately for those who prefer it. You are also restricted to two sets of heavy grapples, since the ultimate control moves now occupy the left and right directions on the stick in that manner. One big improvement, though, is that you simply hold the left bumper and use the control stick to run, allowing you to, wait for it, turn while running! No more "dash-stop-turn-dash-etc."

Gameplay: 7/10
This is something that works so well in some areas, and is shot full of holes in others. First, the Season Mode has been replaced with the new 24/7 Mode. At the start, you are given the choice to be a wrestler or GM. Playing the GM is essentially the same as '07's GM mode, except with ECW added to the mix, there are two opposing brands to beat. As a wrestler, you play through the storylines as the season progresses, all the way up to Wrestlemania at the end of the year. Then you get to choose to move to the other brand or not, instead of being forced to do so like last year. The storylines themselves are rated in the above section, but what will make or break this mode is the simulation aspects. While before you would essentially just fight a series of matches, broken up by cut scenes and visits to your locker room to bulk up stats and spend money, you now have to monitor your wrestler's skills, activities and fatigue closely, because they all have their effects. High fatigue going into a match makes you more likely to suffer a serious injury, which, depending on where and how severe it is, will effect future matches until you recover. I suffered bruised ribs at one point, and the next two weeks I started matches with my body damage in the red. Bad stuff. Basically, you fill the days between matches with training exercises to increase your stats and skills, and events such as autograph signings, commercial shoots, or movie filming to earn popularity and extra cash, and mix in some R&R to bring the fatigue back down. I found the whole thing rather engaging and enjoyable, while some others did not. It's something you'll have to try yourself before you'll know if you like it or not, I guess.

Also new this year are the fighting styles. Eight in all, which adds some variety, as each has its own unique strengths, and while some are somewhat unbalanced, they all have their uses. "Powerhouse" wrestlers, for example, do more damage with grapples, and when their momentum gauge is full can enter Rampage Mode, where all their grapples become irreversible and their opponent's strikes bounce right off. Brawlers, on the other hand, do more damage with strikes, can perform striking combos, and when their gauge is full, they can Wreck Shop, which causes all their strikes to become irreversible. I believe that it is here that the balance comes in, in holding on to your momentum until the right moment to counter your opponent's special ability, though Showmen and Highflyers may still be at a disadvantage against the bigger wrestlers.

Matches themselves flow a little better this year, mainly due to the new targeting system when fighting more than one opponent. You simply must walk toward your opponent and when you get close, you'll switch targets. This can be a little difficult to be precise when opponents are close together, but I find it much more useful than having to cycle through four guys by pressing Select just to reach the one who is currently beating me into the floor.

All the Diva fans can feel free to boo at this point, because all the moronic match restrictions from last year are still on them. This feels even more out of place because this year created divas no longer have capped stats, allowing them to easily hold their own against the men. If this continues, Yukes should at least give them something of their own that the men can't compete in, even if it is the button-mashing nightmare that was the Bra and Panty matches in the DoR series. I'm sure they could come up with a better mechanic than that anyway.

Glitches: 4/10
Other than the above mentioned sound glitches, there are a few serious problems regarding 24/7 mode. Every so often you make decisions about what to do, or who to fight, as fans of the series are used to at this point. I encountered two very serious problems during 24/7 mode that nearly made me quit playing. To summarize, at one point I was offered a three-way choice of what to do, and the selection boxes were filled with what was evidently the subtitles of the announcers for the match intro. Frustrating. Later, I was given a choice to give up the title belt or continue to defy the McMahons. I chose to defy them, and yet still gave up the belt. What is most frustrating is that these are unavoidable paths through the story, and cannot possibly be missed. It's as though Yukes didn't even playtest the mode, which they probably didn't.

Overall: 7/10
With the engaging yet glitchy 24/7 mode, I'd suggest a rental first if the single player is the only reason you're interested in the game, and then you're probably better off with '07 or Day of Reckoning 2. If you're mainly interested in character creation and exhibition mode, with more match types than last year, then it is definitely worth a buy.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/26/07

Game Release: WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2008 (US, 11/13/07)