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Developer: Yuke's
Publisher: THQ
Genre: Wrestling
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 02 Nov 04
User Rating
9.3 (235 votes) -
- THQ brings out their cash cow as this latest wrestler improves on all aspects of its predecessor with slick visuals and ever-growing modes.
More Screens (69 total)
Overview
Wrestling games have always been a very successful genre for all major consoles, as they have all had solid wrestling games. I can still remember playing all the great wrestling games for the N64 and PlayStation, and now we have come to the current generation consoles where the WWE has yet to really put out a "great" game in their Smackdown! series. Now they have had several tries but is this year their lucky year, its now time for our review of WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW for the PlayStation 2.
Gameplay
The Smackdown! series up until now has made very solid appearances on the PS2, but has yet to do a few things which were supposedly addressed in this year's game. First off the game has never had an online mode, which is now available on WWE Smackdown! Vs. RAW. If you have read any of my reviews in the past on the Smackdown! series, I have always been disappointed with the mere fact that their story modes are always so bland and boring. This year they were supposedly going to make some key advancement to the story mode. So is this year's game the one to take the Smackdown! series to the top?
Last year was the first year in a while that we have seen any major upgrades to the gameplay mechanics as they started to become much tighter and polished. This year, instead of making any major changes like last year, they improved upon last year's system with some new upgrades. One of the most prevalent upgrades is with a new meter. As in the show, the game features both faces and heels, and this meter rewards you for wrestling with the appropriate style. So if you are wrestling as a face, you get rewarded for doing good things and vice versa. Filling up this meter makes it so you get a stage of invincibility where your attacks inflict a whole lot more damage. This idea just gives you one more way to pull off some great moves, and another idea to throw into the mix.
Overall though the gameplay mechanics of the game really haven't been tweaked all that much, which means for the most part the game plays identically to last year's game. There were little things added, like now the wrestlers can't try and easily pick up the opponents that are twice their size, which makes the game much more realistic then before.
The biggest addition to this year's game is the online capabilities, which are alive and well in WWE Smackdown! Vs. RAW. The online mode consists of pretty much the basics of online modes, giving you different channels for different skill levels. One of the best features is the ability to use your own character but unfortunately this doesn't automatically mean that the online play works all that well because it really isn't all that great. Although some of my experiences in the game haven't been all that bad, the majority of them have been lag-filled experiences. It's one thing for games online to experience lag, but for fighting games this can be crucial, and unfortunately the game just doesn't play all that well with the online mode. Overall I was quite disappointed with the lack of options there are in the online mode and with the poor quality of the gameplay online.
The other big addition that worked quite a bit better was the lack of reading in the game, which equaled a whole lot more listening! Something I have been begging for in a WWE game for quite sometime now. Now in the story mode you won't have to read through pages upon pages of dialogue, instead you will actually get to hear it played out. Although the game may not be the best voice-acted game out there, just the idea of not having to read anything is a great one. Unfortunately they really didn't nail it down perfectly yet, and I would expect next year to have the best story mode yet. Unfortunately this year just doesn't have enough depth to really make it.
Overall the gameplay of WWE Smackdown! Vs. RAW is actually quite impressive, but unfortunately there really isn't much new to speak of in this game. The general gameplay mechanics are solid, but the additions of tweaks are not enough to really put the game over the top. The online mode will hopefully be improved with better results next year, but this year it just isn't all that great.
Graphics
Last year the Smackdown series saw some of the best visuals it has ever seen, with a heavy amount of detail, and solid animation. It came with just a great visual experience. So does WWE Smackdown vs. RAW keep up the solid visuals?
This year's game really doesn't have all that many differences from last year's game, as the two look basically around the same. The graphics still have the same look and feel as they do last year with solid character models as well as some great environments. Looking at this game comparatively to last year's game I really am not seeing any real differences. There is a little bit better of lighting effects in this game, but nothing all that great. The level of detail in this year's game is a little bit above last year's, but not anything overwhelming.
Overall WWE hasn't been improved all that much from last year which is quite unfortunate as this year's game could have really pushed the bar up in the world of wrestling games.
Fun Factor
The thing about wrestling games are that as long as you have a good solid system to back your game up you will have an enjoyable experience. WWE Smackdown vs. RAW offers a wide array of different match types to choose from, which leads to quite a bit of diversity in the game. This highly helps the longevity in the game. The story mode is still quite impressive and has plenty of length to it. The only downside that holds this game back from being fun is the lack of solid online support, which could have been a lot more enjoyable then it ended up being.
Overall
WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW is a game that provides a solid showing in almost every category of the game. Any wrestling fan knowing if they need to upgrade for the online support I would say, don't because I think it's still a year away from being perfected. Otherwise if you didn't get last year's game for whatever reason, this game makes a very solid showing this year worthy of a pick up.
- Gameplay
8.0 - Graphics
8.0 - Fun Factor
9.0 - Overall
8.0
