WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2007
Thursday, 27 December 2007 00:00
Being the 2007 edition of what previously was a great game, I was expecting some improvements, additions, new features and the same great gameplay...The roar of the crowd as you walk down to the ring was still as ambient as ever, it just didn't seem right though, something looked .. a bit off. Got into the ring and got down to business with a bit of grappling and slapping, but something still didn't seem right and that was when I noticed it, the graphics weren't quite up to the same standard as in 2006.
I'm sure I mentioned in the '2006' review (which unfortunately got lost in a server problem) that the graphics were of a next-gen style, that doesn't seem to be the case and it doesn't look as smooth as before. The lack of Diva's is another thing with the Diva pillow fight event also missing, in fact, there doesn't seem to be as many events as before either. The main emphasis of the game is based around the new 'controls', which are basically the same, but used a bit differently.
Animation of the characters while fighting isn't too bad as it's quite smooth ... until it comes to using ladders, then it becomes ridiculously jerky. The character doesn't walk around to the side of the ladder to open or close it, nor does he walk around to the bottom of the ladder to climb up, he magically 'transports' somehow and the whole thing becomes a bit of a farce. For example, in the event where the wrestlers are required to use a ladder to reach a briefcase of money and pull it down is probably the most annoying event of them all. The amount of times the ladders are set up and taken down, knocked over or pushed along as you're trying to climb up gets on your nerves after the 20th attempt.
I personally find things like that irritating and usually give up due to getting fed up of climbing the ladder only to have it pushed along and away from under the briefcase and especially since the match can last up to and over forty minutes. If you're willing to spend that long playing one match, then that's fine and I guess is one of the good features of the game, but some matches can tend to drag on for a while and if you're of the sort of gamer that prefers to have such marathon gaming sessions, you'll enjoy the lengthy matches.
Now I've had a moan and pointed out what I thought the worst parts were, let's just say that this version is really for the hardcore fan. There really isn't much different in the way of wrestlers and not a lot that's new and what spoilt the experience for me was how it appeared to be a step down from the last version, instead of a step up. The wrestler intro sequences are still well done and the crowd looks a bit more random, if only the main difference wasn't just new moves and how to do them via the new 'new Analog Control System' and updated rosters for both RAW and SmackDown.
There's a bit more crowd interactivity in the way of being able to take things from them to use as a weapon with more outside of the ring activity in general, an enhanced Season Mode that doesn't just have two stories and possibly why other features had to suffer. Also enhanced is an expanded General Manager Mode and if that wasn't enough, you can go online to grapple with real-life opponants, so there's plenty to do.
Although I thought it wasn't as feature-tastic as the 2006 version, it's still a decent wrestling game for all WWE fans out there, there are parts of the game (like as mentioned above) that can be quite irritating, but it's really not too bad.
7.8
