Sadly after playing the game for a few hours it becomes obvious that there are some glaring problems that make this one of the poorest Smackdown games for the past few years.
Road to Wrestlemania Mode
One of the most heavily changed sections of the game is the removal of the familiar Season mode. Instead this year players choose one of 6 'Roads to Wrestlemania' which takes the chosen superstar(s) from just before the Royal Rumble to Wrestlemania XXIV.
Initially this mode is astoundingly good. Each begins with a video clip of the chosen wrestler, before they 'become' digital and deliver a small promo about their road to Wrestlemania. This leads into their own individual and unique trip though 3 months, in which the player occasionally gets offered optional goals that, if completed, unlock new content.
No Replay Value
Unique was possibly the wrong choice of words, as this is the first bone of contention with this new mode. Although each one has its own spin on things, at least 4 of the stories follow a very similar plotline, which involves earning a title shot, having the title match thwarted (usually by interference) and then teaming up with an unlikely ally to take on the two people you are involved in a feud with.
Aside from this each one is short in comparison to the old style Season mode, giving little more than an hour and a half's play for each.
The storylines ARE entertaining, but offer practically zero replay value as the player only really makes one or two decisions which have little impact other than to lead to a slightly different unlockable item.
Career Mode
Career mode was designed to give players something to do with created wrestlers and the other 50+ superstars that don't have their own Road to Wrestlemania, as well as adding some playability to the game.
The problem with career mode is that it’s tedious. Choose a title, choose an opponent, choose a match type, fight, get some attribute points, repeat, and so on. When it comes down to it, it's nothing more than a glorified exhibition mode and not a patch on the General Manager mode that it seems to have replaced.
Gameplay Problems
Some of the gameplay aspects seem to have taken a step backwards when compared to last year. The ultimate control grapples in particular are sluggish and unresponsive; often players will find themselves slamming the right control stick in a direction only to see their superstar stand motionless until the opponent counters.
The new semi-auto targeting system which Ledesma described as 'near flawless' is, well, flawed. Stand too close to the opponent’s corner in a tag match and the controlled superstar turns their back on the action to face the person on the apron, while Triple Threat matches are a nightmare, with focus constantly switching to the nearest person without warning.
Add to this the fact that the Inferno Match isn't really revolutionary (and was never going to be, considering its real life counterpart is also nothing special) and while the create-a-finisher mode is a step in the right direction, it is still limited and a lot of the moves end up looking jerky and awkward.
Finally, the PS3 'Exclusive' first person entrances are shambolic, to put it mildly. Switching to first person mode gives the player a brilliant view of the scaffolding above the ring, and no matter what way the wrestler is facing or looking; this view never seems to deviate.
Good Points of Smackdown Vs Raw 2009
For all its downfalls, this game does actually have some plus points. A lot of the unlockable items are great and well worth playing through the RTW mode to get to, tag matches are a vast improvement and the roster is huge with the possibility of expansion with Downloadable Content.
The Highlight Reel is easy to use and some impressive videos and screenshots can be made, although they seem to suffer in image quality when uploaded due to size constraints.
The Final Verdict
Overall the game is very polished and for the time it holds the players attention, it is brilliant. Sadly at the moment it has no lastability outside of the online modes, and only the diehard fans that can get enjoyment out of playing exhibition matches will get their full value for money.
Downloadable content could save this title from having a poor shelf life, but at best it is likely this will only be a few roster updates, giving the player some more Superstars to play exhibition matches with.
The copyright of the article WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 Review in Sports Games is owned by Jay Davies. Permission to republish WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Please don't read this and think I'm trying to
cast a bad light on the game. I'm a huge WWE games fan, I've owned
practically every one since Raw for the Mega Drive. I wanted this game to
be good so badly, and at first it is, but soon you realise that theres not
really much to do once you've finished the Roads to Wrestlemania.
I hope THQ can pull something out of the bag with the downloadable
content, but I don't think they have the capability to let players download
new RTW's or a GM mode that it so desperately needs. JD
Nov 8, 2008 8:35 PM
Guest :
If there's nothing left to do after RTW you're probably not a huge WWE
fan. With a pretty big roster compared to recent years and the multitude of
match types you could spend hours and hours playing exhibition mode alone.
Add to that create modes, career mode, RTW and online play and chances are
you'll get your money's worth. I thought last year's game lacked replay
value. The roster sucked and so did 24/7 mode. Gm mode was tedious and I
still haven't figured out how to win GM of the year to unlock VKM. SVR09
can only be an improvement.
Nov 9, 2008 7:11 AM
Jay Davies :
Trust me I'm a big WWE fan, haven't missed a PPV, Raw or Smackdown in about
10-11 years, been to see it numerous times even though there isn't much of
a chance for that in the UK, and as I said before, owned every WWE/F game
since Raw on the Mega Drive.
Exhibition mode is alright if you
are playing against someone else, and in that case yes I will get replay
value from the game, but since leaving Uni I don't get that much chance for
multiplayer games. For me an exhibition match is pretty pointless once I've
seen all the entrances, experimented with all the finishers etc.
Create Modes? Create a Superstar, Create an entrance and Create a Moveset
are old hat, been practically the same thing for years so once I've made a
few CAWS theres not much in that. Create a finisher, as I said, is alright
but is still in the early stages as to what its capable of.
Last
years game was poor too, Im not denying that, 24/7 mode was dire, but the
GM mode was a challenge. GM mode, in my opinion, is better than Career Mode
because it actually takes more skill than just the wrestling side of
things. Even on Legend difficulty the matches aren't particularly hard to
win, so even then I can make my way through Career mode without many
hitches, perhaps the odd loss when the comp got lucky. With GM mode it
is a struggle to balance all the different aspects, and although I think it
has got worse every year since they introduced it, I still think it gave a
lot more life to the game than CM, and especially with the huge roster this
year.
I don't doubt a lot of ppl can sit there for 4-5 hours
just setting up exhibition matches and playing through them, but a game has
to have something to hold attention, and seeing as WWE is very much plot
based, a lot of players will expect the game to be in the same vein, and it
isn't.
I'm not saying its not a step in the right direction,
because it is, but that being said Smackdown: Just Bring It was a step in
the right direction, but it still had no replay value and a shocking season
mode that needed building on.
Nov 9, 2008 9:39 PM
Guest :
Could Gm mode possibly be a download? I hope so cause I'm beginning to
think more and more that Yukes doesn't know or don't care what the fans
want. Through the years of making these games they've gotten lazy with
their product. I hate that they took out manual targetting and WHY!?! there
is no reason for it... why mess with a perfectly good targetting system.
How about fixing the many bugs in the game instead, or recording some new
d*MN ring announcing audio, or actually listening to the horrible music
they put into the game. I love the smackdown series but it pisses me off
that they seem not to care about the product they put on the market. I
think it might be time for the WWE to find a new company to make their
games; get a fresh start.
Nov 10, 2008 6:29 AM
Jay Davies :
I don't know if they would be able to do it or not. Originally I assumed it
would be far to big to be DLC, but other games have had way more complex
downloads so I'm not sure now. Not really up on the coding side of
games, but if it's just a code encorperating the stuff thats already on the
disc, plus a bit of extra text and maybe an unlockable or two, it might be
possible. Anyone who knows more on the programming side of things that
could answer this?
Nov 10, 2008 8:18 PM
Guest :
Well I'm not a programmer but the oblivion game added shrouded isles which
was one hell of a big download. Gm mode would be simple in my estimation. I
bet you the only downloadable content is gonna be Ted Debasie and Evan
Bourne... and that's if they get off their lazy butts and actually do it. I
mean last year they said for a while there'd be downloadable content but
one week in a xbox 360 update they took the 'cheat codes' option out as
well as any mention of downloadable content on their site. Which was there
a week before. (yeah I'm kinda bitter lol)
Nov 19, 2008 7:20 PM
Guest :
This Review makes good points but is still another pathetic Rant on how
these games should be as opposed to what they are
First Off They
did Really Well on the Game making it a Hell of a lot more interactive then
last years
The Gameplay is much faster and Even without
downloadable content the Game still outshines TNA Impact by a hundred
miles
THQ is still Creating the better Wrestling Game and to be
honest They Do improve one thing or another Year after Year
So
Hats off to THQ this is definately worth the Buy
If you ain't
gonna at least Rent it then your Opinion won't matter so unless you've
at least Rented it
Shaddap!
Nov 20, 2008 6:58 AM
Jay Davies :
Erm, to the last poster, I own the game, had it over a week before general
release and completed all the storylines and played through career mode
before most people had even put the disc in their console, so I think I
know what I'm talking about. Yes its 1000 times better than TNA's game, but
it would be hard not to be.
The fact is the game has little
shelf life and for £40/$60 it should have more to do. I don't buy games to
play exhibitions, I buy them to play through the storylines and to unlock
everything. 08 might have been poor as far as gameplay and season mode
went, but it had a lot of lastability as far as unlockables and GM mode
etc.
I'm not putting THQ down as far as progress, yes this game
has made a lot of progress over the ones in the past few years, but there
is nothing to do on it past RTW, maybe one persons Career mode and then
multiplayer. They need to work less on new stuff before they've ironed out
the kinks in the old stuff.
RTW is the showpiece, and it takes
all of 8 hours to complete it in full, for me that isn't value for money.
Imagine if GTA was released, and it had 8 missions, and that was it. Well
yeah you can still drive round and shoot people, but without the backbone
of the missions and the progression they bring, I (and Im sure a lot of
others) would lose interest pretty quickly, and I feel the same about
this.
I'll still play it on multiplayer, and probably download
additional content, but I think, and will always think, that there should
be more to do on it. I know its an example everyone uses, but look at No
Mercy for the N64. I've had that for years and I still don't think I've
seen every story branch it has to offer. THQ should take a look back at
their older titles and see just what they got right, and maybe try and
implement it.
Nov 23, 2008 9:56 PM
Guest :
Jay I agree with almost everything you mentioned in your review, I was so
excited to buy this game, but when I finally did let's just say
dissapointment is an understatement. First of all..why no GM Mode??
I see a lot of people bash this, but it was the best feature in any
wrestling game ever, you had to keep your talent happy, you could set up
PPV's and get the best ratings, best feuds, you could retire wrestlers
& promote mid carders, it was excellent, basically career mode &
RTW are boring & exhibition matches can only last so long.
I
will say the wrestlers look & move better all the more frustrating that
it lacks all the things that made previous games fun. I hope THQ listens to
all of us and puts the GM mode for download, however I am not holding my
breath on this one, as a previous comment pointed out, they will probably
only give us a couple more wrestlers and call it a year! Good review Jay.
Dec 12, 2008 10:22 AM
Guest :
every wer i gon i hear th DLC isnt available yet for tha ps3 version is it?
it dosent seem ta work for me
Dec 12, 2008 12:31 PM
Jay Davies :
To the above comment:
No I haven't seen any DLC for the PS3 yet
and I've been checking the PS Store and the in game online section every
few days.
I don't know the situation on the 360, but there have
been downloads for the PS3, but not for the general public it seems. When I
received the game early there was only a handful of 'Highlight reels'
uploaded, and when trying to watch some of them (a lot of the titles
mentioned Super Crazy, Evan Bourne, Ted Dibiase or DLC) it would display a
message along the lines of
'This download features content that
you do not currently have' which at first I assumed was unlockables, but
after unlocking everyone it still gave the same message. I can only assume
this was perhaps beta testers who had been given the DLC early.
Dec 21, 2008 2:33 AM
Guest :
Ok lets just look at the good points for a second this game is the best of
its series so far it looks amazing the wrestling is much faster and better
than last years title and u complain that CAF isnt good enough well think
about it its the first time its been tried and at that if u take long
enough you could make some pretty hardcore moves TNA was good but as u can
see Smackdown still raises the bar cant wait for Legends of WrestleMania
Dec 21, 2008 4:31 AM
Jay Davies :
I think your argument collapses when you say 'TNA was good', it really
wasn't, which is why it got incredibly mediocre reviews and can now be
bought for under £10 only a few months after it was released.
As
for the Create a finisher comment, to quote myself 'create-a-finisher mode
is a step in the right direction, it is still limited and a lot of the
moves end up looking jerky and awkward.' As you can see I have clearly said
I think it is a step in the right direction, but it isn't perfect, which is
basically what you have said, so I fail to see your argument.
The game looks good but as a fan of the smackdown series I've come to
expect a lot more than a polished looking game, and stand by my initial
comments that it lacks lastability.
The only DLC pack announced
so far is for 3 superstars and one attire, but without a decent open ended
mode like GM, there isn't much to do with them outside of exhibition
matches.
I also can't wait for Legends of Wrestlemania,
especially if they confirm that you can move superstars back and forth
between that and 09.
Mar 13, 2009 11:58 AM
Guest :
Carl Nehm: I love the game but one problem I found is if you download
the content, it creates alot of trouble with using CAW wrestlers in the
online network. Is there anyway to fix this so we can still use the
wrestlers that we create in their original form
Mar 13, 2009 12:09 PM
Jay Davies :
Hi Carl, I've also noticed a few problems when using downloaded content. I
don't go online much but I wasn't too happy about it pretty much re-setting
the roster, stables etc when you download the additional content.
That and the fact theres not really much to do with the downloaded
wrestlers once you've watched all their entrances and such.
If I
find any more info out I'll put it on my website (you can find the link on
my profile, just click my name and look for 'personal website'.)
