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This year’s instalment of THQ’s phenomenally successful
WWE SmackDown! franchise, unsurprisingly, is uniformed by the
title WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2008. However, thinking the
title as being a mere yearly update would be missing the point
entirely. This years edition is arriving on almost every modern
format – PlayStation Portable, PlayStation2, PLAYSTATION3, Xbox360
and – for the first time – appearing on Nintendo consoles; both
NintendoDS and Wii. But this isn’t the only revision to the series
traditions.
Most of the gameplay options and set-up will be
extremely familiar to those having played last years'
WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2007, but may require a small amount
of practice from those still playing any release earlier than 2005’s
WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw
2006. All the usual match-ups are included
for Exhibition play, Character, Tournament and Belt Creation
options, and pre-set Tournaments as well as a semi-Management Mode.
Unlike it’s Wii cousin, the gameplay options and possible
match-types expand upon previous releases ten-fold, as opposed to
stripping back-to-basics.
While the roster is expanded, the entrances return and
the General Manager Mode has seen little revision since last years
outing, the biggest change to the formula comes in the form of the
Control Scheme and the actual gameplay mechanics. No longer are
Signature Moves controlled by a Meter and stored until the player
wishes to execute said move, nor are most moves dictated by
positioning and a string of complicated button presses. Instead,
WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2008 takes it’s influence from
 EA Sport’s
Total Touch Control system. All grappling moves and throws can be
executed on the Right Analogue Stick. Allowing for much more
open-ended play, the control is tight and refined and is more than a
mere welcome update for the series; it was essential to move the
gameplay forward and keep inline with the cream-of-the-crop from the
Current-Generation. The power of modern videogames consoles can be
used for many things, and while WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw
2007
utilised this power for a spit-polish, WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw
2008 uses the Xbox360’s raw grunt to aid the player’s immersion
within the game and break-down the barriers presented by converting
simple button presses into full-screen grapples.
General Manager Mode benefits from a new glossy coat,
but little has changed to the substance of the gameplay. Controlling
seemingly every aspect of a specified wrestler’s career – be it
whether they become a fan-favourite or a rule breaker, right down to
who your wrestler dates and which other wrestlers they will befriend
- can still be quite limited. As far as Career Modes in Sports
Simulation such as the WWE SmackDown! series go, WWE
SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2008’s does remain a top-league performer,
but this is more likely due to the lack-lustre performance of it’s
peers, as opposed to any golden eggs the title produces by itself.
The Multi-Player aspect, as ever, is a large draw for
the title. Being able to take your custom avatars and Tournaments
online is predictable, as are the common-place match-up features and
Lobbies. However, in actual play, the title’s online performance is
much improved on last years’ effort. Taking those customised options
online no longer results in an agonising display of Lag, and playing
with a default set-up ninety-percent of the time will be as
comfortable as playing offline.
WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2008 is a stride ahead of
its predecessor in terms of graphical fidelity. Last year’s title,
clearly a build-upon the PlayStation2 release, as opposed to
engineered using the Xbox360’s finer-points, was comfortable in it’s
Current-Generation skin, even if it may have soon after fallen
through-the-net against releases such as Lost Planet: Extreme
Condition, Gears Of
 War, Crackdown and Def Jam
Icon. WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2008 certainly exceeds this
performance, but it’s not hard to feel the same may ring true within
only months. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with the title –
the Character Models are pleasingly detailed and chunky, and the
animation is the most fluid ever witnessed in a Wrestling game – but
in the same regard, there’s nothing that significantly excels;
nothing that will entice gamers to argue it’s pedigree over even the
likes of
Halo 3 – a title released some two months earlier.
The sound quality is remarkably similar in nature to that of the
graphics – more than merely functional, yet destined to become
average amongst the post-Christmas crowd of early 2008.
WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2008, then, is a mixed
kettle-of-fish to say the least. Undoubtedly a title to please the
fans, built with enough panache to attract the GamerScore-hungry
Xbox360 hardcore, WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2008 will be
struggling to convert videogame newbies. Perhaps Wii’s sibling
offering may be better representing the series in this respect, and
given that WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2008 rarely argued it’s
case as to being anything other than a fan-pleaser, those likely to
be attracted enough to the title to be reading this will find
themselves with little other top-tier choice for their Wrestling
thrills. |
