A Superb Title for Wrestling Fans!
Anyone who knows me knows that I love and adore three things: video games, movies and pro wrestling. So perhaps my review of Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 is from a fanboy perspective. But I’d like to think that despite being a rabid fan of the sport I can also look at the game objectively. Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 left fans incredibly disappointed but thankfully Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 redeemed the franchise. In fact, I liked Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 so much that I proclaimed that it was the best pro wrestling game to ever hit the market. So the big question this year was if the long-running franchise could continue on the right path and improve where the last game left off.
There are a lot of new editions to this year’s game but in my opinion the biggest is the ability to create and upload your own wrestlers. What this essentially means is if you want to play a wrestler who’s not in the game like Hulk Hogan you can go online, run a search for the Hulkster and be playing him within just a few minutes. This function works pretty well and since the Create-a-Wrestler mode has pretty much been overhauled your original creations or re-creations of wrestlers will come out looking spectacular.
The other big new feature this year is the “Create a Story Mode” where you create your own story using the WWE roster as well as your original character. You can select from a number of pre-made animations, locations, music, graphics and effects; then add your own scripted text to tell your own story. This mode is pretty awesome and can lead to some nifty possibilities. While it may not be possible to do every crazy thing you can think of, it’s a really good start to a mode that fans like me are going to spend hours using. One can only assume and hope that this mode will be even further expanded on and refined in years to come.
One thing Smackdown has always gotten right is the amount of match-types they put in the game. Whether you want to play an extreme ECW-style match, a cage match, tag team, triple threat, or a Hell in the Cell all those are here and a ton more. There’s also a new Championship Scramble match thrown in that you’ll probably play once or twice.
Leveling your character up, like last year, actually depends on how you play each match. For example, if you want to make a high flyer then jumping off the top rope and springing to the outside onto your opponent will help you to level up that ability faster. As you level up you also unlock abilities that can be added to your character via the create-a-move set mode. In last years game leveling up was tedious and could only be done in the career mode. Thankfully this year you have the option to level up just about anywhere in the game. You can even take your created superstar online and level them there or better yet take them through the Road to WrestleMania mode.
Speaking of Road to WrestleMania, the feature thankfully returns this year allowing you to pick from Edge, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, Mickie James a co-op duo of Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton and as already mentioned your own created superstar. Some of the stories are average such as Edge but others such as Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton and your create-a-character are really well done. I still feel that they could have polished them up a bit more this year. There are tons of graphical glitches throughout this mode that just shouldn’t be there. But considering the amount of content, it’s certainly a thankful return.
The create-a-finisher mode is back and you can create top-rope maneuvers. There are some really crazy combinations you can put together here. Yukes has also added a ton of front grapple moves making for even more customization. The big problem is that compared to the pre-made animations, many of the moves simply don’t flow together correctly.
The Highlight Reel is also back but contrary to last year it actually has a useful purpose. Now you can create a Titantron movie and upload your created scenes online. If you’re playing the PS3 version of the game, you can even upload your clips straight to YouTube.
Commentary has been updated. Michael Cole and Jerry the King Lawler call Raw, Todd Grisham and Matt Stryker call ECW and Jim Ross and Taz call Smackdown. Of course, those who follow wrestling know that Taz is now announcing for TNA and Jim Ross’ future is in question due to his health. From what I can tell THQ has tweaked the commentary and it does seem to flow more smoothly. With all the new voice work that’s put in, things certainly feel fresh.
The online mode is pretty much standard fair. We tried out a few matches and it seemed to run very smoothly. In my opinion the most fun matches are still Triple Threats and Fatal Four Ways. With so many people involved the action is fast paced and spastic.
This years Smackdown plays better than it has in many, many years. It feels incredibly smooth a majority of the time. It actually feels more like the gameplay in the early PlayStation 2 days (and that's NOT a bad thing). I’d compare it most with Smackdown vs. Raw: Shut Your Mouth. While Ultimate Control moves are gone from the left or right thumbstick, you can still do them via grapple if you so desire. I think this was a very smart move on Yukes part because it allows you to do four grapples instead of just two in addition to your four weak grapples. As in previous games, you can also transition between grapples and with the nice one-button countering you’re in for some pretty technical-looking match-ups. I would like to note that countering seems more difficult this year and it would be nice if they would perhaps allow a bit of leeway in future games for those of us who aren’t experts at countering.
I said last years Smackdown was the best wrestling game on the market but now it seems I’ll have to eat my words because THQ has managed to literally blow away their previous installment. The amount of things to do in SVR 2010 is simply staggering and fans will be well satisfied until next years’ iteration. Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 isn’t perfect by any means and I do have some minor gripes. The animation stutters every now again—perhaps it would be better to say that is briefly freezes during a match-up and sometimes even in cut-scenes for a split second. It’s not bad but it’s certainly noticeable. Also, I felt some of scenes in Road to WrestleMania could have used a lot more polish and not being to store your finisher up is really rather annoying. But don’t take these gripes to heart. I’ve had a BLAST with Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 and since its release probably played it well over 60 hours. I can also say that without question it’s a game I’m going to come back to again and again throughout the year. If you’re a fan of WWE or Pro Wrestling then there is absolutely no doubt that Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 is WELL worth your $60.00. Go out and buy it now!
