Review: WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2010, The Champ Is Here!
by Daniel Lipscombe - October 25, 2009
Comments (0)
The problem with past WWE games is that they often lack spectacle, the drama that WWE is renowned for, albeit in a soap opera fashion.
In previous iterations the career mode or manager modes would become stale, often feeling stoic due to lacking any real narration other than very basic feuds which lead to matches. Smackdown vs Raw 2010 looks to break that mould by injecting more drama than ever before. For once, playing a WWE game feels like being part of the show, the ups, the downs, the betrayals and of course, the action. This edition has a fair few new features compared to last year, most of which give a sense that Yukes and THQ have ‘rebooted’ the series.
With so many new features it’s hard to know where to start. From the opening screen it’s clear that other sports games have likely influenced the production on this game, particularly FIFA, strangely. Just as the football game opens in a stadium, striker vs goalie with no crowd. SvR 2010 opens in an empty gym, John Cena staring across the ring at Randy Orton; you take control of Cena and quickly discover that this is the training mode.
Using Orton as your practice dummy, as you go through the moves a checklist will pop up in the corner and tick that move as learnt, guiding you towards the next move on the list. It’s a very intuitive feature that gives the game a more ‘grown up’ feeling, rather than just boobs and blood.
Pressing start takes you to a muddled and overly complex menu, with so many options to choose from, it’s quite tough to find the career mode straight off the bat. First port of call is the ‘create a wrestler’ mode. Whether you’re creating a Diva or Superstar there are plenty of options to choose from, things feel a little more streamlined here compared to other versions. From here you have the freedom to choose whatever you would like to play. Exhibition matches, career mode or the new road to wrestlemania mode.
The career mode has changed a fair amount since last year; it’s a lot more basic and straightforward. Whether fans of the franchise will be pleased with this is yet to be decided, but to be honest the other modes here will fill in any gaps left over from the distinct lack of story moments in this career mode. The system here is simple, you want to fight for a belt then you have to earn 15 stars to do so. You accrue stars by fighting other superstars and depending on how well you perform in the match you will be awarded up to five stars per match. Once you’ve achieved 15 stars you can fight one of the superstars again to become number one contender and then in turn fight for the belt.
While this is a suitable mode to play through the career, moving from belt to belt, you won’t get any story moments at all. These are found in the road to wrestlemania mode and this mode is by far the best feature in the game. Once you select to start this, you have to choose from several predetermined wrestlers and each one has their own unique story that runs over the 90 days the lead up to the annual event.
The beauty of this is that you play one slot per show, it may be a match, it may be a backstage segment, but each part is fun and exciting. There are run ins where rivals may come in and interrupt your match causing you to lose, you may have to interact with a star in the parking lot and choose whether to shake their hand or kick their arse.
Each stars story is thoroughly entertaining and plays just like watching any of the shows. Playing through these storylines will also unlock secret superstars, arenas and items for the create a wrestler mode. But if you still don’t like the stories written for the game, then why not create your own.
Using the WWE story designer mode, you can choose from hundreds of animations, environments, actions and superstars and divas to take part in your chosen storyline. By using the storyboard you can make your own shows and even load them up onto the internet for others to download and play through. This is a fantastic feature and even though after a long time with the feature you may run out of options, it’s ridiculously fun while it lasts.
With so much to experience in this year’s edition it’s likely you’ll be playing right up to the launch of next year’s edition. With the WWE creating new matches and bringing in new talent each season, it’s obvious that all of these will be at your disposal, one of the newer matches being the championship scramble.
All of these new features hold hands with the idea that the series has been rebooted, even changing the way some of the matches play. An example of this is the Royal Rumble match which now allows two to three to eliminate via a QTE moment, there are also mini games that will allow you to push people over the top rope in various positions.
SvR contains so many great moments but there are still a few issues that slip under the radar. There are many clipping issues in the graphics, which are otherwise superb and a step above any other editions. There is minor input lag on button presses, which means at times you’ll find that even though you’re 100% certain you blocked or reversed that move in time, you still get slammed into the mat.
Another frustration is the animation of the wrestlers; practically every superstar uses the same animation layout, which sometimes means you can both be getting up from the mat using the same movements, a shame when so much has been improved.
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 surpasses expectations and betters all other versions previously released, with better graphics, excellent story options and modes fans of WWE will be over the moon with this edition, in fact even non fans might be swayed by the content. THQ and Yukes are laying the smackdown, the title is theirs.
