WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 (X-Box 360): Reviewed

Why WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is the best WWE wrestling game of all time.

I made a pretty bold statement when I posted my impressions of this game last week. The phrases “best WWE wrestling game ever,” and “the definitive WWE wrestling game” shouldn’t just be thrown out there lightly. By any stretch of the imagination Smackdown Here Comes the Pain, and WWF No Mercy before it set the standard when it comes to interactive wrestling video games. For a game to come along, and outshine and surpass those 2 standard bearers is a remarkable feat. So now it’s my job to tell you and illustrate that the praise I gave this game wasn’t just idle chatter. I have to explain to you why I lavished such high phrase on this game and why if you consider yourself a wrestling game fan that you need to own a copy of this game asap.

With recent new additions competitively this year to the wrestling/fighting game marketplace, THQ and Yukes realized that the 10th edition to the Smackdown vs Raw Franchise needed to be special. They needed to hit a home run. Last year, for the most part was disappointing on many levels. While it still maintained its status as the years best fighting game franchise. It still failed to live up to expectations of the wrestling game buying audience. A audience that now had a competing product to garner their attention. While TNA Impact for its first time out of the gate failed to execute. But still the potential is there for the series to make a huge comeback next year. So the pressure was definitely on THQ and Yukes to not only raise the bar when it came to what to expect from a wrestling game but to shake the very foundation of the wrestling game worlds. Okay that was a little melodramatic but hell it’s a video game about the WWE. The most melodramatic, exciting program on television. You still got my point.

So first lets get into the negatives and issues. And yes there are some issues that I have noticed. It’s not perfect and there are some questionable design issues that I am still coming to grips with. First and foremost, the decision to not allow gamers the ability to edit their Create-A-Superstars’ statistics and abilities exactly like they want from the onset of the game was a bad one. While I can see how they came about to that decision. But ultimately the create modes were always about control. Specifically the control that gamers had over their experience playing the game. They could make this huge 99-rated monster who destroyed everyone who came across their path or they could make a more moderate rated character and place them among the other WWE Superstars/entertainers in the game. With the way it is now, that control isn’t directly in the hands of the gamer. Instead they are forced to play through a mode just to get their stats exactly like they would want them. Even though I have been told that there is a possible fututre patch coming to address this problem this should have been caught much earlier and decided that this was not a good thing. I also miss the Create-A-Belt feature. I liked the idea of creating a personalized belt and being able to defend it against my friends either online or off. As I mentioned the create modes should all be about giving control to the gamers to edit their experience to their liking. And while I realize there maybe a licensing issue with the WWE having some issues of changing the in game characters outfits and what not but why can’t we be able to change the color of the ring ropes or apron. And why can’t gamers be able to make their own “Brand” with in the game with their logos, their ring colors , their Create-A-Superstars fighting for their belts.

Now lets get to the good stuff. The Create-A-Finisher mode was perhaps one of the most requested features over the years and it does not fail to impress. While limited to only front grapples the possibilities with this mode in future editions of the game is pretty much endless. in this mode you can make your finishing move from a huge selection of moves which you than string together in a simple but effective interface. With each step in the animation of the move you have the power to slow down or speed up the animation adding impact or making the move much more dramatic. You can spend literally hours making all kinds of moves from wrestlers from other federations or you can even make moves that have never been done before from your wildest imagination. Really the only complaint I have with the CAF mode is the fact that some animations do not transition well to other animations as well as they should. For example, when you lift your opponent up into the wheel barrel position the next move I can somehow turn him into the power bomb position which involves their entire body flipping and turning 180 degrees in about half a second.

Also new this year is the story based Road to WrestleMania mode which features 7 superstars as you take them through there own personal Road to Wrestlemania Story line. I spent a considerable amount of time going through all of the different story lines, and unlocking all of the different unlockables and it took me close to 30 hours to play through all of them and get all of the different un lockables. The unlockables range from Superstars/entertainers, a new match type, arenas, move sets, alternate attires and managers. This gives players a huge incentive to play through the individual stories multiple times to unlock all of the goodies. Not that the stories themselves are incentive enough. This is perhaps the best wrestling game story mode seen yet. All of the different stories are logical and they all follow a natural progression. This year you wont see the WWE Superstars/entertainers act unnaturally or behave different than they do on real WWE television. The voiceovers from the WWE Superstars are better as well and should be noted as well.

The Career mode allows you the ability where you can pick any character where you can book matches, win titles and switch brands. As I mentioned previously right out of the box, the Career mode is the only way gamers will be able to earn those abilities and raise their CAS statistics. THQ has mentioned that they were looking at fixing this problem post release with a patch. So there is hope, otherwise it looks like this is one mode that you will be spending some time with.

The Create-a-Superstar mode this year has been touched up and refined quite a bit over last years edition. They have added more 3D parts for your CAS and have made the interface more intuitive. The only complaint I have with this mode is that the mode still doesn’t have a lot of common items to add to it’s depth. The mode could still use more realistic hair styles. For years now people have requested something as simple as your basic slicked back hair. I also like the improvement THQ has added this year with the presentation of your CAS compared to the WWE Superstars/entertainers in game. On the selection screen in the past the CAS always looked out of place next to the nicely rendered superstars now this year the CAS actually look as good as the in game superstars. THQ and Yukes have perhaps the best customization character creator in video games simply based on the way you can fine tune and tweak the look of your character down to the smallest level. Really you can make characters that range from the biggest inbred genectic freak to a very close proximity to celebrities to all the way to putting yourself in the ring against the WWE Superstars/entertainers.

Also new this year is the highlight reel. Which is basically a replay mode where you can save, edit and relive 30 seconds of time from your matches. The editor is really well thought out and it basically has all of the functionality of a professional movie editor program you find on the PC. Perhaps the most fun, you will have with this mode is sharing your content for others to see. On the X-Box Live menu you have the option to view others clips and see their masterpieces. From what I saw, and I spent a good 2 hours going through all of the clips I can definitely see the appeal that this mode will have with some people. There is also a ranking system where you can judge other peoples clips. Another cool aspect is what this feature makes possible in future editions of the game. And that is the ability to make your own Titantrons. Which adds another layer of depth of realism to your Create-A-Superstar. You already can edit your CAS ring entrance attire, ring entrances animations, their finishing move, and you have the ability to use your own music for their entrances. Add all of that with that ability to edit and make your own titantron movies the possibilities are endless.

With close to 60 different match types most if not all of the various match types make a return this year but really the most exciting addition this year to the roster set is the new emphasis on tag teams. This year players now share 1 momentum meter among the team. So it does reward teams who work together as a team to bring their opponents down. And for the first in a long time the person on the apron now has an opportunity to do more things than just stand there and wait for a tag which depending on your tag team may or may not come. Now you can interact with the referee distracting him from making the key pinfall or you can grab your opponent so your tag team partner can lay into them a severe beating or you can blind tag your partner and get into the match to dish some punishment on your opponents.

Also you have the ability while on the apron to build up the hot tag meter. Which is the first in a wrestling game. Basically a hot tag is when your tag team partner is taking a sever beating and is trying to get to your corner to tag you in so you can take the fight back to your opponent. Once your meter is built up enough and your partner makes the hot tag you go into a little timing mini game where you have to press the correct button twice to knock your opponents down. Here is the thing though, their is a risk to do this. If you nail the button press besides knocking both opponents down you will be rewarded with a full momentum meter which you can utilize either a signature move or a finishing move which immediately puts you in the drivers seat. However if you miss either one of the button presses your momentum is automatically reduced to 0 and you have to fight your way back to earn the momentum meter to use your finisher again. And add the fact that you can use the hot tag feature once per match, the decision to use the hot tag shouldn’t be made with out some consideration on the overall damage your opponent has taken. If you do it too early the finishing move really wouldn’t have that much of an effect on your opponent because if you hit the move and went for the pin chances are you would only get a 2 count if that. However if you hit the hot tag late in the match this really could be the deciding factor in the match. THQ also has added some new double team moves this year. I do wish there was more of them however but what is there is enough to keep you busy till next year. I imagine based on my experiences of playing tag matches online that this will probably be the most played match type online this year.

Another new addition this year is the first ever Inferno Match which the goal is to throw your opponent over the top rope and set him on fire. During the match you have a heat meter which you need to build up to 500 degrees before you can for the win. You build up the meter by hitting big moves onto your opponent . Here is the thing though, you and your opponent share that meter so your opponent is also trying to get the meter up so he can throw you into the fire. Also personally, I would like to see THQ and Yukes next year take a closer look at the other game modes that was not touched this year. In the example of the tag team and ladder matches while there is a few new animations you can perform for the most part the basic mechanics of the match has not changed drastically in several years.

One of last years biggest complaints about the game was the somewhat limited roster. This year, THQ/Yukes have really blown it out of the water. Pretty much the entire WWE roster is in this years game and add the fact that for the first time THQ is offering DLC for gamers to update their wrestling game experience. I am also impressed with the fact that for the most part you have over 60 very unique and different playing characters to choose from. There really isn’t a character in the game that stands out in my mind as the generic character that no one would really ever use. With the way abilities are done this year makes each Superstar/entertainer different from one another. Speaking of abilities, the abilities that made there debut last year return this year although in a slightly different form. Each Superstar/entertainer has their own unique set of abilities that sets them apart from the other Superstars/entertainers. The abilities are Referee Shield, Dirty Pin, Springboard Dives, Outside Dives, Evasive Dodge, Steal Taunt, Move Theft, Hardcore Resurrection, KO, Hammer Throw, Fan Favorite, Ladder Match Specialist, Table Match Specialist, Steel Cage Match Specialist, Durability, Object Specialist, Lock Pick, Kip-Up, Resiliency, Possum Pin and Submission Specialists. Each Superstar/entertainer has anywhere from 5 to 6 abilities to utilize during their matches.

Another feature that has not been mentioned yet is that in the new roster editor, you have the ability to download the latest roster data. Meaning, that will change the current belt title holders in game and update them with the current title holders in real life. And I also imagine that next year if their is Draft or if a Superstar changes their Brand that this will correct that in the games roster. Also it has come to light that gamers will have the ability to import some of the SvR 2009 Superstar/entertainer roster over to WWE Legends of WrestleMania once that game is released in March 2009. This allows and creates a huge potential of some dream matches. No word if you will be able to bring over the Legends to the SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 roster.

Graphically this game is a power house. The lighting, character models, arenas and animation all look outstanding. There hasn’t been a WWE Wrestling game that looks this good or moves that look this realistic for that matter. Between the lighting and the outstanding texture work THQ and Yukes have almost achieved photo realism in this years game. While there is some ways to go but I can easily see that in 10 years we will be playing a wrestling game just as realistic as what you see on Cable TV every Monday, Tuesday and Friday night. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 move at a rock solid 60 frames per second. I am also digging this years new ringside camera angle when you and your opponent are outside the ring. In fact with the addition of the Highlight Reel this year it’s truly amazing on all of the little details you now can see close up. I do have to admit there are still some small issues that still persist graphically/animation wise like the fact that the Superstars/entertainers still walk a little robotic but even that has improved from last year. The new motion captured moves this year are pretty well done which is a considerable feat considering the sheer amount of new moves and taunt animations that needed to be captured with a huge number of Superstars/entertainers making their WWE video game debut. And yes, some of the facial animation could use a little work. For example when have you ever seen the Undertaker look scared in a match? One thing that WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 does so very well and this is what impressed me the most about this years game. Is that it really does capture the little things very well. Little touches like the fact that when the bell goes off before the match, Festus does his rage animation. Or how they absolutely nailed Randy Orton’s entrance down to the smallest detail. Yukes did an absolutely an amazing job of capturing the eyes of the blue eyed killer. You can tell that he is definitely not all there and that he can cause some serious pain and enjoy himself while doing it. The arenas also took a nice upgrade this year, the pyro has never looked better. And while this was in last years game I still cant get over how the ring apron sways and ripples.

Sound direction in wrestling games is often overlooked but it does play an important part to the overall effect. Slams should sound like they hurt and the crowd should sound like they are excited they are watching this dream matches unfolding in the ring.

I also do have to say while the commentary this year is for the most part improved over previous years although at times it does still feel a little stiff and mechanical. At this point I am not entirely sure why exactly and how exactly it is that way. For example, if you notice and pay attention to the commentary on real WWE broadcasts that there is a ebb and flow and pacing to the commentary during a match. And that just has not been translated over to the video game realm yet. In the video game, when you hit your finisher the commentator says “this is it this is the finisher” in a excited tone of voice and not 2 seconds later you do another move the tone and excitement from the commentators voice is now gone and replaced with a monotone phrase that lacks the excitement that existed just 2 seconds prior. I do like however the fact that this year the commentators do call moves in the matches a lot better than previous years. I also absolutely love the way they mention and elaborate on the story lines during the Road to WrestleMania mode during the matches. I really do feel that it adds to the realism to that mode.

I really cant overstate this enough but the addition of the 2 signature moves to each Superstars/entertainers move set really opens up the strategy element in this game. Basically the way it works is that your able to store a signature move once you gain enough momentum. Once your momentum meter is full you have a choice of either going for a finishing move which every character in the game has 2 of them or deciding to store a signature move which you can utilize at anytime during the match as long as your in the proper position to do so. They also added this year a new evade move where if your character is taking a pounding on the mat you have at least a fighting chance to get back on your feet to bring the fight back to your opponent. Reversals are done with either the left or right trigger on the X-Box 360 or the L2 or R2 on the PS3 controller. One issue I have noticed and evidently so have several of you is the submission system. I was never a big fan of the struggle submission system to begin with. So it was one aspect of the game that I really didn’t use very much if at all. Which obviously put me at a disadvantage if I picked a submission based Superstar/entertainer as my character. It’s unfortunate however that not all submission moves are struggle submission. I can understand going in one direction with the gameplay but to have 2 different submission moves and 1 of them not even having the ability to make the opponent tap out unless of course you are using a character with the submission specialist ability.

The AI this year has been considerably improved where basically for the first time in a long time, gamers will actually be able to sim matches with some degree of certainty that they will be well played and fun to watch. I lost count of the hours I spent just setting the difficulty to legend, and letting the computer fight it out amongst it self. For the most part, the Superstars/entertainers will all wrestle, as they would in real life. Also a huge improvement this year is the decrease of loading times. This has always been a issue with the series and to see a 60% decrease in load time is a very noticeable change for the better.

All in all, despite all of this games quirks and faults, you won’t find a better WWE wrestling game. What puts this title ahead is the attention to details and the sheer amount of replay value with the absolutely huge roster, the outstanding Road to WrestleMania mode and the possibility of expanding your game play experience with future DLC. THQ and Yukes should be commended for not only stepping up their game but exceeding expectations and finally making a wrestling game that overshadows every other wrestling game in the past. SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 has set the bar and raised the standard when it comes to Wrestling games and fighting games. As a long time fan of Wrestling and Wrestling games I look forward to what is in store for the future. For years, gamers have wanted a true WWF No Mercy Killer, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is that game. For $60 you wont find a better value for your dollar when it comes down to it.

Gameplay: 5 Stars
Graphics: 5 Stars
Sound: 5 Stars
Value: 5 Stars
Tilt: 5 Stars

#1 RIOT!

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