WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 (Xbox 360) Review
Brutal Gamer laces it’s boots and gets ready for some wrasslin’.
Japanese developer Yukes is getting to be an old hand at these wrestling games now. SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 is the 10th game in their annual SmackDown series. After a lull a couple of years ago, the 2009 iteration saw the series getting back in it’s stride a bit, but does the momentum carry on to this year’s instalment? Read on to find out.
Graphically speaking, little has changed. The wrestlers themselves look realistic as usual, but at this stage, it’s more a case of tweaks. The pyrotechnics are much better, looking far more realistic this time. One of the big areas of improvement with the look of the game is the use of new motion capturing, and also improved collision detection, with your characters limbs a lot less likely to go straight through your opponents body. It still does happen sometimes, but there had definitely been a step forward in this regard. There is also the odd weird glitch, such as you going for a grapple on an opponent and grappling an invisible man who is apparently stood right next to them.
The sound department continues to make the game seem very TV like. All the wrestler’s entrance themes are present and correct. The commentary teams are different for this game, and Yukes have for the most part recorded new lines for existing commentators who’ve been moved to different shows. However, some solo lines have once again been re-used from past games, and it’s getting a bit grating hearing those lines again and again for the 3rd or 4th game in succession. Also, having recorded the commentary quite early on in the game’s development, the commentary teams are very out of date now.
The same could be said for the roster as well. THQ tend not to reveal the full game roster until a few weeks before the release, and they must have finalised the roster very early on, as some wrestlers aren’t employed by WWE at the moment and haven’t been for quite some time. There are also unlockable characters who range from the fantastic (Million Dollar Man and The Rock) to the decidedly ‘meh’ (Ezekiel Jackson and Eve, anyone?) to the ‘huh?’ (The red and green training dummies from the ‘Create-A-Moveset’ menu? Really?)
The big tag line in the advertising campaign for this game has been ‘It’s Your World Now’, with references to the ability to create your own storylines, entrance videos, top-rope finishing moves and a complete overhaul of the ‘Create A Wrestler’ section. So what of this overhaul to the Create-A-Wrestler section? Well, there really isn’t one. All the options and settings are as they were last year. The only difference is that there is a lot more detail into the look of the CAWs, so your creations look more realistic. Of course, you can soon offset that realism by creating some massive freak in a yellow jumpsuit with a neon green mohawk and a bandana, should that take your fancy.
The Storyline Creator is a nice addition to the game, and gives you all the storyline ideas you’d expect from a WWE show, such as scenes involving someone getting run over by a car, one wrestler stealing the championship belt from the shoulder of another, interview segments, backstage brawls and so-on. It takes a lot of work to put a long running storyline together, and you can then upload it to Xbox Live and share it with the world. And as some of the storylines available for download have proven, you can come up with something very interesting if you’re creative enough and put in the effort.
The main gameplay mechanics have seen a few changes from last year. Changes that have been made include rear grapples being added to one of your strong grapple options, so if your wrestler of choice has a finisher which requires you to behind your opponent, it’s now much easier to pull the move off. Also, all struggle submission moves are now assigned to clicking the right stick, so every wrestler now has a selection of at least 4 struggle submissions, regardless of move set. There is also a new set of ground situation moves for when you do a ground grapple near you opponent’s arms, rather than just having head or leg grapple moves.
As well as the brand new Championship Scramble mode, there has been a change to the way Royal Rumble matches work. The ‘ring out’ elmination bar has been replaced with a button bashing mini game, in which you have to hammer whichever button is currently highlighted on the screen until it changes to another button. In a nice additional touch, when you eliminate someone from the ring, instead of vanishing once they hit the floor as in the past, the wrestler will get back up, look pissed about being eliminated and then walk back to the locker room.
Yukes have decided to leave the single player modes untouched for this year. The career mode is identical to last year, even down to the screens after each match. The difference if that your created wrestlers can gain XP from exhibition matches as well as career matches this time, so the only reason to play career mode all the way through is for achievements. The excellent Road to Wrestlemania mode also makes a return with some new stories and even a Diva and a Created Wrestler storyline.
While the single player modes are all well and good, as ever these games shine in local multiplayer. The new Championship Scramble is particularly good with a mate or 3 as you all run around manically trying to stop each other getting pins. The online multiplayer is unchanged from last year, although is noticeably more laggy for some reason, meaning you do have to think a few seconds in advance for the most part.
FINAL THOUGHTS
What Yukes have crafted here is the best game in the series for a few years. The tweaks to the controls make the game flow better and the new creation options mean you can create a wealth of new content for yourself and others. If you haven’t played a WWE game for a few years and have considered dipping your toe back into the spandex laden waters, then this is an excellent game to do it. Obviously, this won’t convert anyone who isn’t a fan of the series, but this washes away the horrible memories of Legends of Wrestlemania quite effortlessly.
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22 Nov 2009, 5:31 am
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