WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007

"Don't just watch it! Live it! Do you take the advice?"

Ah yes, Smack-Down vs Raw 2007 has finally arrived for us wrestling video game fans. THQ has done a good job in keeping us entertained for the past few years, and now that they have expanded to the PSP system, there's no telling what's going to happen next. There have been many debates about whether or not 2007 is a good game or not, and those debates don't stop with the hand-held version. Let's take a look at the PSP version, shall we? After all, that is the point of this review.

Graphics - Alright, so graphics is always one of the things you all look for in a video game, admit it. The graphics in this game are fairly good. If you have the PS2 version of this game, you'll immediately notice that the background animations on the main menu are gone in the PSP version. But the graphics during the game-play are good. The crowd is significantly smaller, but if you don't care too much about a big crowd, this won't be much a problem for you. It's not really noticeable anyway, unless you really concentrate on the crowd. The character models all look good, although after the matches the wrestlers faces look a bit goofy. But other then that, the graphics are just fine for a hand-held. Nothing mind blowing, but nothing bad, either.

Game-play - One of the most important aspects to a video game, because hey, let's face it: If you don't know the controls of a game, you can't really play it, can you? Well in this game, the controls are good. Because of the lacking of a second analog stick on the PSP, though, the controls were slightly tweaked. On the PS2 version, you moved your character with the left analog stick and taunted with the D-Pad. On the PSP, it's the exact opposite. And to grab your opponent, you press O. To initiate a strong grapple, you hold the R button and press O plus a directional button accordingly, and to perform an Ultimate Control Move (UCM for short) you simply press O and follow the on screen instructions. Nothing too bad. However, at first, it might be a bit difficult to go from the PS2 controls to the PSP controls, but after a few times switching back and forth, it's not a problem.

Sound - The sound is also well done. The commentating is gone in the PSP version and is instead replaced with the game's soundtrack, with is the exact same from the PS2 version. The music plays lightly in the background as you work your match. The wrestler theme musics also sound crisp and well done. No real complaints here.

One of the things that will get very annoying, though, is the lag. Every once in a while, the game will freeze, for a few seconds at a time, and you'll hear the system buffering. I actually thought the system froze a number of times, but luckily the match suddenly continued, saving me from turning off the system. This happens especially as you're pinning your opponent. Pinning the guy for three seconds will sometimes be like pinning him for seven seconds with the lags. And then after the pin-fall culminates, the lag gets really bad. It doesn't happen all the time, though, but it does happen frequently.

There's a PSP exclusive feature in this game as well, to make up for no on-line play (there is ad-hoc, but no infrastructure. Meaning you can play with people around you, but not on-line around the globe). This mode is called the Road to Wrestle-Mania mode. It's not that bad. There's four variations - Money in the Bank, Smack-Down vs Raw, King of the Ring and Road to Wrestle-Mania, all of which are tournaments, so for you folks who like tournament modes, you'll enjoy these.

Overall, I think 2007 for the PSP is a fairly enjoyable game. The load times are MUCH better then last year's. One really bad thing, though, is the created wrestlers still have only six layers to work with, so for you CAW makers out there, sorry, the CAW mode is basically useless. And this year, there's no PSP to PS2 connectivity, so you can't transfer data back and forth between the consoles. Bummer. But overall, this is a good game and I'd certainly recommend it if you don't have anything else to spend your money on.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/21/07