Developer Yuke’s Media Creations faces a pretty tough challenge each year. While other developers get 18 months or even longer to complete their titles, THQ’s Yuke’s has 12 months to crank out a new edition to the Smackdown vs. Raw franchise. Does Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 stand up to scrutiny, given this narrow development window? Being new to the series myself, I didn’t have 2007 or 2008 to compare against this year’s Smackdown vs. Raw 2009. A quick look through last year’s reviews though seemed to indicate that the series was on a downhill slide. Despite having attended several media events that gave MSXBOX-WORLD a taste of this year’s edition, I really wasn’t sure what to expect of the full retail product.

I shouldn’t have worried.

Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 provides WWE fans with a true to life WWE experience, and does so in a manner that is inclusive to both old and new players alike. The full game not only exceeded my expectations of what a wrestling game should be about but it also shows that the franchise itself is resting in very capable hands over at Yuke’s.

Gameplay:

Controls in Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 are probably one of the game's greatest strengths. Following a design philosophy of being “easy to learn” but “hard to master”, Yukes has created a title that will allow new players to feel useful from the get go. Accessibility will go a long way towards making Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 the type of game that gets pulled out at friendly "get togethers", and it’s that same accessibility that will gain the franchise new converts as folks are pulled into the fun.

This is not to say that the game doesn’t offer something for the hardcore enthusiast. Like any good title, the more I played the game the better I got at measuring out strategic options within a match. Options such as when to use a Finisher or store for a Signature Move, judging when to go for the pin or attempt to do more damage, the timing of counters, when to tag a partner...all of these options that will give serious gamers a lot to like about the game.

The control scheme is fairly straightforward. Left stick controls your Superstar around the ring while running is handled by pressing left button while moving. There are different types of grapples, all which are controlled by the right stick. Combining Right Stick with Right Button allows for a strong or ultimate control grapple. Right trigger allows players to reverse grapples while left trigger reverses strikes. A button executes a strike while Y controls your Superstars finishing move. A finishing move can only be executed when the player’s finishing move bar is filled up. Players can instead choose to store a “Signature Move” by pressing Left Trigger and Left Button when the finisher move bar is filled.



While these controls may seem simple they allow for complicated maneuvers based on where the player’s Superstar is currently standing in the ring. How close the opponent is to your Superstar, how close you are to the ropes, combined with a combination of button presses can result in drastically different moves. While it will take awhile to learn the nuances of the control scheme, it is simple enough that new players won’t feel stupid when they first pick up the controller.

Not content with a great control scheme, Smackdown vs. Raw also offers a ton of different modes to explore. There are 5 main modes consisting of Exhibition, Road to Wrestlemania, Career, Tournament and Xbox Live. Each of these modes provides a completely different gameplay experience while also ensuring the longevity of the title.

Road to Wrestlemania was my favorite mode and I felt really captured the spirit of WWE drama. In Road to Wrestlemania the player picks from a roster of 7 different Superstars each with their own unique multi branching storyline. Playable Superstars in this mode includes Triple H, CM Punk, John Cena, The Undertaker, and Chris Jericho. Rey Mysterio and Batista are also available in this mode as tag team partners, allowing two players to cooperatively run through the storyline – nice touch Yuke’s.

Starting off many weeks before Wrestlemania, the player(s) guides their Superstar(s) through multiple matches, making choices along the way that will effect how the storyline unfolds. I won’t spoil anything but suffice to say it the actual storylines themselves are WWE worthy providing the ridiculous over the top drama that WWE is famous for. The storylines themselves would make this mode worth playing however Yuke’s has incorporated unlockable content scattered throughout each storyline. Completing bonus objectives opens up locked up content ranging from new Superstars, to new entrances, and more. With each storyline containing different branches, players will find themselves playing through each of the 7 storylines multiple times in order to unlock even more secrets. Speaking for myself, I found myself wanting to do a Superstar’s storyline over again just so I could see how different choices changed the story itself.

I understand that this is a new game mode, and in my opinion it’s a very welcome addition to the franchise.

Career is the second major single player mode. In Career mode the player can choose to create their own Superstar or use any one of over 60 existing Superstars. There are over multiple WWE Championship belts to be won ranging from Heavyweight Cruiser, to Hardcore, to Diva belt and many more.

Some aspects of Career Mode that plays out almost like an RPG. As players win various matches their Superstar’s statistics will increase with nine attributes directly affected by what happened in the last match and custom characters will also unlock new special abilities as they progress through Career Mode. Custom Character clothing can be picked out from an absolutely massive amount of options, with dozens of different clothing items to choose from meaning each custom character will end up looking fairly unique. While personally I preferred Road to Wrestlemania over Career Mode, I suspect that wrestling enthusiasts will be all over Career Mode and it’s endless replayability in terms of custom character design.

Casual players on the other hand will probably use Exhibition Mode the most as it allows folks to quickly jump into a match (of which there are over 70 different types!) without having to worry about the statistics of Career Mode or the storylines of Road to Wrestlemania.

Graphics:

Graphically speaking the game not only looks great, at some points it looks so close to the real thing it’s kind of scary. My wife and I were watching Smackdown on television last night and at one point she said, “Hey isn’t that one of the moves from the game?” The fact that she easily recognized a grapple hold on television from a grapple hold she used in Road to Wrestlemania really drove home the point to me of how realistic this game can seem. It also shows how much effort Yuke’s has put into motion capturing these moves and ensuring that they are accurately portrayed in game.

Superstar entrances are also extremely well done and look so good that when unlocking new entrances I found myself jumping up and down with glee.

While there were some graphical hiccups here and there, I found these instances to be minor, and rarely did this take away from the overall immersion factor of the title in general.

Sound:

Like any other spectator sport, wrestling is enhanced by good commentary. Thankfully Yuke’s has really captured the feeling of watching a WWE telecast. In Road to Wrestlemania the commentators will comment both on storyline choices you have made, while still reacting to various moves you throw out in game. This helps to keep the immersion factor going, and it makes the player feel like they are actually watching an interactive episode of Raw or Smackdown.

Commentary aside, the audience reacts realistically with boos, cheers and groans depending on what moves are currently being used, and the audio effects of bodies smacking on the mat are very convincing.

Longevity:

Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 boasts over 60 playable WWE Superstars and a ton of unlockable content. There are over 70 different match types with multiple customizable options. Road to Wrestlemania Story Mode provides 7 different storylines each with multiple branches to be followed and explored in a second run through. Custom created characters in Career Mode will take hours to max out stats wise and hardcore fans will no doubt create more than one.

As if this weren’t enough Yuke’s has set up various editors that will keep players busy for a very long time. Create a Finisher allows players to string together multiple combinations of moves to create their own custom finisher which can be applied to a regular or customer made Superstar. With up to 10 different segments per move available, players have thousands of Finishers to choose from. I spent at least an hour in this editor alone playing around with multiple options.

If single player isn’t enough, Xbox Live supports both ranked and unranked matches and will no doubt support a rabid community.

The bottom line is that there is a ton of content in Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 when compared with other sports titles and fighter games. Casual players will only skim the surface of what the game has to offer, while enthusiasts will spend hour up on hour making new characters, creating their own custom finishers and move sets, and playing against their friends both offline and over Xbox Live.

Overall:

Having not played a wrestling game in years I believe that makes my viewpoint somewhat unique. I was able to approach Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 with a clean slate, my opinions uncluttered by what has happened in previous years.

While I do not have the benefit of having played previous editions, I do know when I’m having “fun” and I can say in no uncertain terms that playing Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 is most definitely “fun”. It’s accessible to new players while still allowing for complex strategic options within a match. Younger kids will have a blast pounding away at the controller in Exhibition Mode while the older hardcore crowd will spend hours carefully crafting the perfect custom Superstar forged by the fire of Career Mode. Road to Wrestlemania on the other hand will provide a happy medium for the more time constrained, allowing players young and old alike to enjoy WWE story drama that until now has only been available on TV.

Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 may not be perfect, but in terms of the fighting genre it’s about as good as it gets in terms of fun, value, longevity and content.