I’m going to just get this off my chest right now since I know it’s what every fan thinks every time a new wrestling game comes out: Why can someone not just make an updated version of N64’s No Mercy?! It was the pinnacle of wrestling games and it was two generations ago! Some developer please, just take the exact same game engine, amp up the graphics, characters, types of matches and move sets, slap a new name on it and get it out there. It is embarrassing that it has been over seven years since No Mercy came out and aside from the Fire Pro series, nothing has even come close to touching it in terms of gameplay!
Alright, now that that is out of the way we can move on.
THQ and Yukes have brought us their latest installment in their rolling juggernaut of Smackdown! games with Smackdown! Vs. RAW 2008 this time “featuring” ECW (which basically has as much prominence in the game as it does in real life, which means next to none).
From game to game, despite their glaring problems and limitations, the Smackdown! series has definitely gotten better, with the last couple of installments starting to hover around ‘very good’ territory. Hit-detection was getting a lot better, matches had a lot more flow, and the story mode (along with the General Manager option) was becoming interesting. They weren’t great just yet, but you could see that if the remaining problems were addressed, they were ready to make that jump.
Smackdown! vs. RAW 2008
Well they made a jump alright, right into a pile of crap. Not only are the exact same problems like stiff movement, inconsistent reversals, excruciatingly long load times, terrible computer AI, et al., still prevalent and in some cases even worse, they almost went out of their way to make the whole game itself take one big step backwards.
The storyline mode is now WWE 24/7 going all the way back to the whole ‘starting as a jobber and work your way to the top’ plot. This was boring years ago and it’s boring now. One of the most important elements in professional wrestling is its compelling storylines, and random run-ins, backstage attacks, and love triangles with no uniformity at all to any of it is just frustrating. They tried to make the experience deeper by adding training sessions and activities like in other popular sports games, which just came off as a very half assed to capitalize on those other games’ popularity by becoming more mainstream.
Smackdown! vs. RAW 2008
The graphics and sound are stunning as always, but the animations are still just as weird. If you’re going to do a Jeff Hardy leg drop while in the corner of the ring, you both still get magically transported right to the center to administer the move. If you’re performing a taunt, you still can’t stop yourself if your opponent is trying to attack you.
As for the gameplay, they have added a brand new element by splitting up all the wrestlers into seven different style categories ranging from Powerhouse to Hardcore to High Flier, etc. These all let the wrestler with that particular strength gain special powers like becoming impervious to attacks or get extra long submissions or be able to steal the opponent’s finisher.
The problem with this new feature is three fold. First of all it takes a lot of emphasis away from the finisher. Instead of being able to store it, you now store this new “ability.” Personally, I care much more about hitting my finishing maneuver then using this random new ability I have. Which is the second problem: These abilities are very old school arcade like. Since in real life no wrestler actually just becomes invincible for a period of time (ok, except for Hulk Hogan) it starts to take on a whole kind of Wrestlefest element to it. Lastly, it prevents you from making a wrestler your own. Before, if you wanted to make John Cena a prickish heel who’d argue with the ref and expose the turnbuckle, you could do it easily. Now that option has been taken away, pigeon-holing you into playing in only one predetermined manner.
Smackdown! vs. RAW 2008
There is simply no way to recommend this game. It not only does not take the series any further, it actually just created a whole new set of problems for itself. I want to give points for trying something new, but it simply did not work and results in just a completely forgettable wrestling game.
The most telling factor about this game though is that there is no way to build a compelling psychological match. There’s no drama or true back and forth, just random button mashing and hoping to land a string of moves in a row. Every match then ends up kind of the same as the last, and at the end, it’s just no fun to play. And if you can’t have fun in a game where the entire objective is to beat the snot out of some other guy, then you know something has got to be wrong.
Smackdown! vs. RAW 2008 ** (out of 5)
THQ/Yukes
Related Links: Official site
Review by Jonathan Popalis
Agree? Disagree? Post a comment.
I'm not sure if it's the copy i got (got it used from gamestop) but, trying to make a character is near impossible on the xbox 360.
the character gets hidden behind the menus and your left guess what things will look like. That just tops off my feeling for returning it.
Posted by: Dhaak | December 17, 2008 at 10:44 AM