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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Sport Developer: Yuke's Publisher: THQ |
For many years, wrestling games have been a staple to the sports genre of video games. Every year all of the games in this genre
seem to get better and better. “WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008” is a very good addition to the genre. This year the game showed up
with fifty superstars from Raw, Smackdown, ECW and the legends of the WWE. Along with the roster of superstars, the game also
includes the new ECW Extreme Rules Match, a new tournament mode and an updated control scheme.
The ECW Extreme Rules Match is probably one of the greatest additions to the game. The match has players drag their opponents
around the ring, floor and crowd in a no count out, no disqualification match where a pin fall or submission must happen in the ring.
The thing that separates this match from the hardcore matches from the past are the crowd interactions and the weapon wheel.
Players are able to take their superstar and smash them into the barricade and fans will hand out weapons to use on the opponents.
Players can also perform specialized taunts with the crowd this time around, where they lean back on the barrier and bask in the love of
the fans or take a sign and celebrate with it.
The weapon wheel is something that has been added to the game that puts the ECW Extreme Rules Match in it own league. Before
this point players would blindly reach under the ring and hope to find a weapon. This time around when players reach under the ring,
they will be able to select from a set of eight weapons. Players can choose four weapons before the match that will be placed in the
wheel. The weapon wheel is one example of how “WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008” has somewhat simplified the controls of the
game.
A great new element of the game is the idea of fighting styles. Each superstar has two fighting styles that provide him or her with
unique primary and secondary abilities they can use with a stored finisher. A Powerhouse wrestler, such as Bobby Lashley can use
Rampage which make him resistant to strike attacks and makes his grapples inescapable. A High Flyer like Rey Mysterio can fake an
injury and then pull his opponent into a Possum Pin. Finally, a Showman like Shawn Michaels can steal an opponent’s finisher. Yes,
players have been able to steal finishers for years, but these fighting styles are taking everything that players love, such as performing
an opponent’s taunt, removing a turnbuckle cover or diving over the top rope, and assigning them to certain superstars.
This year also features a new element known as Hall of Fame, a selection of 12 classic WWE moments that players relive, like beating
Bret Hart as Shawn Michaels in an iron man match or winning a King of the Ring in Tournament Mode. These achievements unlock
new superstars for purchase in the WWE Shop, which also includes moves, belts and ring attire.
“WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2008” is a good wrestling game and it features all of the standard matches that players would expect in a
game of this type: Hell in a Cell, TLC, First Blood, Ladder Match and more. Unfortunately it falls short of being great and it is because of
the 24/7 Mode that this happens. The GM Mode and Season Mode from last year’s game have been brought together into 24/7 Mode.
GM is almost exactly the same as last year. Players will choose a brand, ECW being one of the available brands. They will then draft
their roster, hire storyline writers, manage wrestler feuds and deal with injuries and superstar salaries. One downside to the 24/7 Mode
is the fact that not ever superstar on the roster is available to play.
The Create-A-Superstar option is available in this installment of the game, but it is the exact some that as last with, along with a few
drawbacks and great additions to go along with it. Sure, the number of hair styles has greatly increased from fifty to seventy-three, but
the number of face paints has gone from one hundred fifty-four to one hundred eighteen and most of those are recycled for lost year’s
version of the game.
The roster is also something that is very weak in the game. While a roster that isn’t up to date can be forgivable due to the ever
changing rosters in the WWE, but the sheer number is disappointing. Last year’s title had around seventy superstars to choose from,
but 2008 pulls back a little but with only fifty or so superstars that includes the lacking cruiserweight and tag team divisions.
There are quite a few glitches in the game that are seen in the entire franchise. The AI is not very smart or responsive, even when
playing on Legend difficulty. The collision detection is hit and miss and the commentary is lacking a lot in the game. There needs to be
more action behind the commentary instead of just filling in players on what they are already seeing, they don’t need to be told again
what they had just seen.
Overall, this is probably one of the best games in the franchise and players will still look forward to playing the game a few months after
buying it. The controls have been simplified, making it more user friendly to those looking to finally getting involved with the wrestling
game genre. Is “WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2008” a fun game? Yes, but it's the same fun players have been having for the better part
of the last decade.
seem to get better and better. “WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008” is a very good addition to the genre. This year the game showed up
with fifty superstars from Raw, Smackdown, ECW and the legends of the WWE. Along with the roster of superstars, the game also
includes the new ECW Extreme Rules Match, a new tournament mode and an updated control scheme.
The ECW Extreme Rules Match is probably one of the greatest additions to the game. The match has players drag their opponents
around the ring, floor and crowd in a no count out, no disqualification match where a pin fall or submission must happen in the ring.
The thing that separates this match from the hardcore matches from the past are the crowd interactions and the weapon wheel.
Players are able to take their superstar and smash them into the barricade and fans will hand out weapons to use on the opponents.
Players can also perform specialized taunts with the crowd this time around, where they lean back on the barrier and bask in the love of
the fans or take a sign and celebrate with it.
The weapon wheel is something that has been added to the game that puts the ECW Extreme Rules Match in it own league. Before
this point players would blindly reach under the ring and hope to find a weapon. This time around when players reach under the ring,
they will be able to select from a set of eight weapons. Players can choose four weapons before the match that will be placed in the
wheel. The weapon wheel is one example of how “WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008” has somewhat simplified the controls of the
game.
A great new element of the game is the idea of fighting styles. Each superstar has two fighting styles that provide him or her with
unique primary and secondary abilities they can use with a stored finisher. A Powerhouse wrestler, such as Bobby Lashley can use
Rampage which make him resistant to strike attacks and makes his grapples inescapable. A High Flyer like Rey Mysterio can fake an
injury and then pull his opponent into a Possum Pin. Finally, a Showman like Shawn Michaels can steal an opponent’s finisher. Yes,
players have been able to steal finishers for years, but these fighting styles are taking everything that players love, such as performing
an opponent’s taunt, removing a turnbuckle cover or diving over the top rope, and assigning them to certain superstars.
This year also features a new element known as Hall of Fame, a selection of 12 classic WWE moments that players relive, like beating
Bret Hart as Shawn Michaels in an iron man match or winning a King of the Ring in Tournament Mode. These achievements unlock
new superstars for purchase in the WWE Shop, which also includes moves, belts and ring attire.
“WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2008” is a good wrestling game and it features all of the standard matches that players would expect in a
game of this type: Hell in a Cell, TLC, First Blood, Ladder Match and more. Unfortunately it falls short of being great and it is because of
the 24/7 Mode that this happens. The GM Mode and Season Mode from last year’s game have been brought together into 24/7 Mode.
GM is almost exactly the same as last year. Players will choose a brand, ECW being one of the available brands. They will then draft
their roster, hire storyline writers, manage wrestler feuds and deal with injuries and superstar salaries. One downside to the 24/7 Mode
is the fact that not ever superstar on the roster is available to play.
The Create-A-Superstar option is available in this installment of the game, but it is the exact some that as last with, along with a few
drawbacks and great additions to go along with it. Sure, the number of hair styles has greatly increased from fifty to seventy-three, but
the number of face paints has gone from one hundred fifty-four to one hundred eighteen and most of those are recycled for lost year’s
version of the game.
The roster is also something that is very weak in the game. While a roster that isn’t up to date can be forgivable due to the ever
changing rosters in the WWE, but the sheer number is disappointing. Last year’s title had around seventy superstars to choose from,
but 2008 pulls back a little but with only fifty or so superstars that includes the lacking cruiserweight and tag team divisions.
There are quite a few glitches in the game that are seen in the entire franchise. The AI is not very smart or responsive, even when
playing on Legend difficulty. The collision detection is hit and miss and the commentary is lacking a lot in the game. There needs to be
more action behind the commentary instead of just filling in players on what they are already seeing, they don’t need to be told again
what they had just seen.
Overall, this is probably one of the best games in the franchise and players will still look forward to playing the game a few months after
buying it. The controls have been simplified, making it more user friendly to those looking to finally getting involved with the wrestling
game genre. Is “WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2008” a fun game? Yes, but it's the same fun players have been having for the better part
of the last decade.
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