WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007

"Strength in numbers"

Generally speaking, I have been impressed with nearly all of the titles in the SmackDown! series, all the way back to the series conception on the original PlayStation. They have provided many new gameplay elements into the world of wrestling video games and have provided a lot of entertaining mechanics and charm for wrestling fans to enjoy. Each installment usually adds some things to make it worth buying, but 2007 is easily the weakest entry in the series and for many reasons.

For one, the storylines present in 2006 are completely down away with. Instead of playing through a storyline-driven branching campaign, SmakDown! vs. Raw 2007 makes you play through a boring career mode with generic storylines attached to the matches. Why they chose to get rid of one of the reasons why 2006 was so fun is beyond me and 2007 seriously suffers because of this decision.

For two, the gameplay is clunky and tedious. The controls are pretty weak and confusing, making many of the moves hard to pull off, not to mention there's a giant wrench thrown into the gameplay to make everything so very slow. You lose stamina as you play and you have to hold down the Y button quite a bit just to get your stamina back up. One of the reasons why this series is so successful is because of its fast-paced edge of your seat gameplay and crippling that gameplay with a weak mechanic that forces you to stand in a corner and recharge your stamina was an awful idea.

There are a decent amount of matches available to play though, and one of 2007's strongest points is that while a lot of the game is tedious and irritating, it still gives a player a lot to do. The roster is filled to the brink with very colorful superstars and it's perhaps the best roster out of all of the SmackDown! vs. Raw games. The match types and arenas are plentiful as well, and there's a lot of options for the create-a-superstar mode, more than in its successors.

I mentioned earlier how 2007 basically butchered the career mode in the series, and it also takes the cake for making General Manager mode pretty bad as well. I loved GM mode in 2008 because of how addictive it was, but 2007 just provides a generic version of the GM mode found in 2008 and it shows throughout the entire game. It feels like a poor tech demo instead of an actual mode, and the developers would have been better off just doing away with the mode completely if they weren't going to invest enough time and effort into it.

Multiplayer though is still where the series shines the most. Despite the weak controls, the multipalyer is still extremely fun and you'll have a ton of "holy crap!" moments by the time you put the game back on the shelf for good. Matches filled with at least six wrestlers are the best match types to play because there is so much chaos going on that taking breaks to refill your stamina bar will seem very few and far between.

2007 is also pretty attractive in the graphics department. The character models are nice and there are substantially less glitches than any other title in the series. The load times aren't strenuous and there is a nice amount of detail in the arenas and matches, though the crowd looks beyond pathetic. The menus feel generic and like they were ripped from the days of the Super Nintenod, but that's okay since the rest of the game is pretty damn gorgeous.

The audio in 2007 is also fairly well done, with a very nice soundtrack that contains some of the best songsin the entire series. There is a lot of well known songs on the track like "Animal I Have Become" by Three Days Grace, plus you can listen to all of your favorite wrestlers' theme music as well. The voice acting isn't too bad and it doesn't seem to repeat itself as much as it does in the other games. The audio quality is a large part of why 2007 isn't a complete loss.

Completing career mode and GM mode, as much as you may dislike doing it, will take a lot of time. If you are unfamiliar with the other SmackDown! vs. Raw games, the multiplayer will most likely suck days of your life away. Since there is a large roster, you'll find yourself experimenting with different wrestlers often and you'll have a blast doing it. The achievements are also plentiful and they are actually fun to go for and not annoying like the achievements found in some of the other games in the series.

Even if you're a wrestling fan, you may want to be cautious about picking up SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007. There are many problems with the game, and despite the areas where it shines, it's not enough to truly warrant a purchase unless you've never played a SmackDown! vs. Raw game. There are better wrestling games out there, and you will be best off spending your money there.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/09/09

Game Release: WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 (US, 11/14/06)