Review of WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008

Well, it's basically the same Smackdown we have been playing for years with some minor improvements and additions, which is either good or bad depending on how you look at it.The graphics are much improved from the PS2 days, especially the wrestler faces.Practically every wrestler looks very close to their real-life counterpart.The gameplay is very smooth and more realistic than ever.The new fighting styles and improved "Ultimate Control" moves add much-needed depth to the classic Smackdown fighting engine.I love the fact that they included many ECW wrestlers and some good legends, such as Sandman, Sabu, CM Punk, Terry Funk, Rick Rude, and more.And finally Jeff Hardy is back in a WWE game (first appearance since Shut Your Mouth in 2002)!!!The only thing that sucks is that they copied and pasted Stone Cold and The Rock from SvR 2007...I swear the character models, animations, and attires are exactly the same.I never once saw The Rock wear those tights with the blue-green lettering.Plus their entrance animations are WAY off - I don't know who mo-capped these entrances, but they obviously weren't very big fans of the "Attitude" era.One cool thing Yukes DID add, though, is alternate DX attires for Triple H and HBK.Very nice!

The 24/7 mode is kinda boring...it's like they combined GM mode and Season, but it just doesn't work as well as it should.There is no continuity and the storylines make little to no sense at times...oh wait, that IS just like the real WWE.Way to represent the brand faithfully, Yukes!But seriously, am I the only fan who misses the old-school season mode from games like WrestleMania 2000?You fight you way up from the lower card to the mid card (winning, defending, and losing multiple titles along the way) and eventually reach the upper echelon and fight for the WWE title at WrestleMania.No stupid nonsense storylines, no space-consuming voiceovers, just lots of matches with the ultimate goal of winning (and successfully defending) the WWE title.I swear I miss the old days.On the bright side, Tournament mode is back!Or some refer to this as King of the Ring.I am very addicted to this mode, so it's such a welcome addition in my opinion.Now if they would only bring back the "I Quit" matches...

Online kinda sucks.They just can't seem to eliminate the lag.Oh well, I never play Smackdown online anyways because of the cheaters, so it's a dead issue for me.

The commentary is, well, pretty horrendous.JBL sounds like he's mentally handicapped or something.Just turn it off as soon as you get the chance.

Finally we can import our own tracks for the CAW entrance themes!!!And you can update themes for the existing wrestlers, too.Very cool!

Anyways, everything else is pretty good.The match types have not really been updated (just minor fixes), the A.I is still dumb, and there are lots of little glitches and other things that I could nitpick all day long, but that's the case with every new Smackdown game, so it was all expected.At the end of the day, this is still a very fun game - probably the most fun I've had since Here Comes the Pain in 2003.The little additions to the gameplay (especially the new hardcore weapon moves and high-flying moves) really do add a lot to make the game feel fresh, especially after last year's somewhat dull offering.If you're a fan of the WWE or past Smackdown games, you'll want to pick this up ASAP.Anyone else, rent it first, but I think everyone that plays this will find something to enjoy.




Click Here to see more reviews about: WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008