Sports come in all shapes and sizes from the roaring engines of motorized sports to the team aspects of games like football or basketball. To fans of any of these sports the word entertainment is paramount. Wrestling is one of the oldest sports known to man as two men get down to it using many of the skills seen today in Olympic wrestling. However the USA has adopted the sport and turned it into a pure adrenaline filled form of solid entertainment for the masses. Most people would agree that this form of wrestling is anything but a sport. For those of you who have no clue what I am talking about then this form of wrestling involves men and women facing each other in a ring (and often out of it) to see who is the strongest in a fight where the winner usually has to pin their opponent to the floor for a count of 3 (yes these matches are refereed). That is pretty much the basic premise of this so called sport. However with all the flamboyancy of theatre and movies this premise has evolved into epic clashes spread over many matches. Rivalries, allegiances are formed and broken. Weapons are used on opponents backstage and while the referee has been distracted in the ring itself plus many more antics that would make an amusing soap opera. The bottom line is that whether you believe what you see is real or carefully choreographed crazy-ness then there is no denying that its all entertainment.

Raw was released a year ago exclusive on the mighty Xbox and received a mixed response from gamers and fans of the genre. Lacking in many ways but still a solid title the game was not without its flaws. THQ has had time to reflect on this and once again has published Raw2.

Having enjoyed (partially) the original Raw my hopes were pretty high for this version. Having noticed that Wrestle mania on the Gamecube had been released weeks earlier was dying to get into the whole wrestling theme again. On boot up you are presented with the typical movie footage that flashes before your eyes complete with the typical heavy rock music playing. Once done you are presented with a list of various game play modes and options which includes, Exhibition (your standard play mode that is an one off bout). Here you can select various match types which include normal, street fight (weapons allowed in ring), ladder which involves climbing a ladder to reach a belt suspended from the ceiling, table (KO your opponent through a table), TLC (tables ladders and chairs) a weapon based version of ladder, battle royal where up to 6 combatants face each other at the same time, cage, as the name suggests a fight inside a cage where the winner is he/ she who can escape the cage by climbing out first and finally Hell in a Cell a variation of the cage match which involves your wrestler throwing your opponent off the top of the cage for a victorious KO. Each of these events can be played with up to four human players allowing other tweaks that can be made such as 1 vs 2, 2 vs 2 etc. Other modes on the main menu includes King of the Ring, a bracket type of tournament, Royal Rumble where four wrestlers fight in a ring with the aim of throwing each other out of the ring so they become eliminated. Up to 64 participants can enter this mode as once a wrestler is eliminated another takes his or her place and so on. There is also a tournament mode which allows the player to create a King of the ring set up with your own preferences. Finally there is Season which can be played with four human controlled wrestlers alongside a number of cpu controlled combatants. Season mode follows your selected wrestlers on the road to stardom as your wrestlers rise from hopefuls to world champs. This mode is very extensive and features a whole host of different tactics to employ. Once the players have selected the wrestlers you are then presented with a list of matches for a month. It is here that the player chooses an action that will be performed during these matches while you are not participating in your own. There are a wide range of choices to be made here which often will have a negative or positive outcome. This is represented by a short cut scene, sadly missing any speech or even subtitles. Although it is pretty clear as to what is going on this is a blatant oversight by the developers not to include this. Will your wrestler opt to attack an opponent in the dressing room or even manipulate another wrestler to attack an enemy. These choices do add some tactics to the whole proceedings, simulating the rivalries and allegiances that are found in the real wrestling circuit. The Xbox hard drive stores all of the data regarding what choices the player has made and makes for some interesting teams and situations. Although it is here that a major bug in the game play rears its ugly head. The problem stems from the fact that your enemies seem programmed to attack your opponents when your wrestler is fighting. This happens often, especially after your wrestler has enough enemies. Sometimes four of your enemies will rush the arena and attack your opponent often resulting in an easy victory. This really does hamper the season mode and takes away an edge that was present in the original Raw. Those enemies are supposed to attack your superstar, making it harder for the player to win. A big disappointment, which for me ruins this mode. Only hardcore fans will dismiss this bug.

The arenas remain pretty much the same as in the original, however there is limited interaction here for example you cant run up the ramp or fight in the crowds. This is a shame as these antics often happen in the actual shows.

The player is able to fight in the dressing room for a limited time and with a small number of moves available. Although adding some variety is very poorly executed compared to some of the other wrestling games out there.

Raw2 features a comprehensive create a wrestler mode, a standard for pretty much all wrestling games where the player is given the choice in making their very own superstar. All manner of tweaks and options can be made here in this often lengthy process as the player decides on their creations look, moves, personality, entrance music and a lot more to boot. Worth noting is that Raw2 utilises the custom soundtrack feature which means should the player wish their created warrior to enter the arena with the sounds of opera then this is entirely possible.

The choice of current wrestlers such as Triple H, Goldberg, The Rock, Trish, Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar etc is vast with over 60 of the superstars that grace TV week in week out (more so in the US). More women fighters are available this time round which is great. This lends itself to more variety if you choose to play as a female wrestler, as in Raw you ended up fighting the same few female opponents time and time again. Each of these characters come complete with accurate depictions of their signature moves such as the infamous peoples elbow from The Rock. All the different organizations are represented which will please fans even more. The roster is pretty well up to date as well as their entrance music and themes. Again using the custom soundtracks and the create a wrestler mode the player can update the entrance music as they change in reality.

The game play remains pretty much the same as the original title except for a few changes such as the removal of the block button and some of the on screen meters. The reversal and counter attacks remain a big feature as these replace the block move. Grapple attacks are performed as before whereby depending on whether your wrestler is facing or behind an opponent will perform different moves, this also applies to striking attacks and floor/ rope moves. Another standard in all wrestling titles. The voltage meter also makes a return as your wrestler is able to perform those special moves once this meter is at maximum level. Again this is built up by working the crowd and mixing up moves a little. Some of you may complain about the overall speed of the game which at times feels sluggish. Also at times there is a drop in frame rate when the screen gets busy.

Graphically the character models are more realistic than in the original game whereby they look and move more like their real life counterparts. A big bonus for fans and a thumbs up to the developers for realising these characters well. At times due to the lighting effects there is almost a cel shading feel to the characters, whether you like this effect or not is purely down to personal preference.

Although custom soundtracks are supported for the entrance themes there is no option other than to turn off the in game rock music. This is almost criminal not to have included custom soundtracks here.

Overall I have enjoyed playing Raw2 with its solid game play, a definite improvement in every way over the original game. The sheer number of things to do here is great and will keep you busy for quite a long time. The create a wrestler is one of the most comprehensive Ive seen to date and the season mode is good rather than excellent. The bug I mentioned really lets this package down and is inexcusable. The lack of speech , commentary is a poor move and would have added a lot more atmosphere to the game. If the reasoning behind not including this is an issue of repetitiveness then at least include it with the option to turn it off rather than not including it at all. I would have scored this game higher had these issues been addressed. A solid title let down by a few flaws.