Post by Board Admin on Oct 10, 2010 11:23:52 GMT
In the annules of History, legends go down in the books and are remebered forever, when we talked about long reviews one always seems to pop up this was the Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 review that I had written for Karl and the group. So for the safe keeping ladies and gentlemen underneath this little paragraph you will see the actual review I sent to Karl back in 2008 regarding Smackdown Vs Raw 2009. Enjoy!
What can you say to a company that has been making WWE games for almost 10 years now, you would think that after a while THQ would settle down and just keep with what they have done but every year they always find a way to change the game sometimes its for the best like the arcade style of Smackdown! Here comes the pain all the way to the atrocious Smackdown vs Raw. (The original one) THQ this year in my opinion have been listening to gamer’s people and they seem to have listened to WWE,
Smackdown vs Raw 2009 while in places it doesn’t come across as anything different from the 2008 edition there are little bits in the game where I was thinking. “That’s New” and “That’s very different”. The overview of this game is very limited in what people were saying. How they were Critising that it wouldn’t sell due to the poor TNA Impact game but I think it will sell quite well and for people who are not wrestling fans. This is a game that you would actually enjoy.
Okay I will start by telling you I brought the Xbox 360 version so don’t start complaining if I get bits wrong or talk about stuff that the Xbox version has its just because I have one I look more into that version.
Okay here is a brief description of the game. They have taken out 24/7 mode and replaced it with a career that is somewhat okay but ill explain about that later on. They have added a MY WWE section so you can create your own tag teams and they have added the Highlight reel which is were you can save clips of around 10 seconds of match footage and make a music style video and then upload it onto the Xbox live area. One of the big features was the inclusion of the Inferno Match and if you want a really cheesy match look at it right there because I will say this right now. The inferno match is off the way atrocious but again that’s for later on. Road to Wrestlemania I guess is THQ’s new answer to the hall of fame option that was in last years game. But apart from those main points they have not touched anything at all now what they should is instead of giving us these crazy matches keep the matches they have an improve them but I don’t see the inferno match coming back to next years edition because that’s what pumped the game up to be a 15 over here because you are “burning” someone and that’s bad. And yet games like GTA are not any worse. Well that’s the video game industry for you.
Anyway let’s start with the basic concept of the control scheme. There is no real change in the controls this year. Left stick to move around, Left Button to run, A to get out of the ring from what i've seen it’s the same controls as last years edition and I have no problem with that. Like the old saying goes “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it”. So the fact that it’s the same made me feel right at home and ready to start playing this game although I did wish that they could make something better of some of the controls especially when your trying to do certain moves and you end up going outside by accident (never try and do steel chair attacking sequences near the ropes they have always annoyed me).
So now that I have mastered the controls although I did that last year we come to the variety of matches that I have to choose from. You have the basic one on one matches to the very nice name of falls count anywhere (I guess the word Hardcore was too Hardcore for some parent in the world). All of the regular matches are here this year with the inclusion of the Gauntlet match, Inferno Match, A revamped version of the backstage brawl and this year the inclusion of the Locker Room Brawl which under first impressions sounds bad and well IT IS!!!
Okay so its time to play a match so its time to watch an entrance or six. And well ill say this now whoever done there got there head out there ass and actually looked at WWE entrances and tried to copy them as best as they can. For example the inclusion of the fireballs in undertakers entrance to the simple but effective Chris Jericho entrance that must have been revamped because the cut of point was around one night stand because this year’s edition features the One Night Stand 2007 PPV. Although miz and Morrison on wwe TV were going on about HHH large nose well I think edges may be bigger. That is one of the only gripes I can see out of this game is just little graphical features that are a bit weird in my opinion. Edges nose in the game is so big you could stick an aeroplane in it. But overall the graphics on this game look absolutely amazing although they blood thing annoys me. There blood really on remains on there head and then when it falls onto the matt it disappears in around 15 seconds and I know people will complain saying that the console can’t cope with it.
WELL IF THEY CAN ADD A FUCKING INFERNO MATCH AND THE FRAME RATING FOR THAT IS CRAZY THEN BLOOD CAN STAY ON THE FUCKING MAT!!!
Okay that rant is over but we now move onto the create a wrestler feature involved in the game and has been involved in most of the games. In this feature you have the ability of creating your own wrestler all the way from the colour of there eyes all the way to the type of shoes that they wear. The early view of this mode is something that was impressive but there is not really anything added in this year’s creative area. There is still the basic aspect of just trial and error and that’s fine just that if you put logos on your persons trousers you can’t send it online that was a very annoying move done by THQ but I guess you can’t have everything.
Now we get onto entrances all I will say is that they have been vastly improved and they all really look the part but I do have a few problems with some of the entrances on the game
1) Edge – his pyrotechnics look way too similar to Rey Mysterio its just longer and more wide spread apart and also when was the last time edge climbed the ropes in the middle of the ring and done the corona taunt??
2) The Undertaker- the entrance is actually pretty damn impressive just the only problem is the fact that his arms are to high when he brings the lights on and when he takes his hat off he only rolls his eyes for about 1-2 which is quite weird. One more thing DRUIDS!!!! Why the hell is there only druids I believe on the Wrestlemania 24 arena that was really random he uses them like once a year.
3) Kane – in my opinion what they should of done is kept Kane’s old theme tune and then when there is the downloadable content that comes out in a few months include his new theme the same can be said with Brian Kendrick.
4) Rey Mysterio – what annoys me so much is that on Rey’s entrance there is a bit that when he goes to the side of the ramp there is pyrotechnics that come out from the side now I think only Rey has used the once maybe twice it really made no sense then again I am not a Rey fan so maybe I am just venting some frustration.
There are many more but those are the ones I consider the more serious offenders at the moment if I find more ill tell you about them in next weeks final part of the review.
The create a finisher mode is something that must of come from Vince Russo head and well doesn’t that speak a lot about TNA right now. The actual fact that there is a finisher mode is good for fans that like to make there own finishers but they have even started to nick TNA style finishers for example A.J Styles – Styles Clash you can have or the Scorpion Death Drop so really it is for people that want to add TNA finishers in there game. You can make the Canadian destroyer as well but it looks like it has randomly gone weird so Canadian destroyer more like random finisher destroyer. The Create A Finisher Mode I have been reading about and listening to says that there are over 5000 choices of making a finisher. I can only make about 500. The problem is that there is only standing finishers and some are so out of sync it makes it look like your finisher is about as good as Hogan’s leg drop!!!! In my opinion they should of kept the create a title mode because it just felt better when playing with your titles online. All I know is that if we are talking online I will quickly say that they have announced a Smackdown Vs Raw Online which will only be released for Windows so expect that to be as good as an episode of WCW in 1999.
Okay now we get onto the world of Season Mode. FUN! Now most of the season modes in the game have been very generic with you doing storyline and only really fighting to become the world champion but this year road to wrestlemania handles the storylines so the season mode did actually get revamped so that you now only fight for titles but there is no storyline behind them its just the case of you choose your person you want to be and you can instantly choose a title path you start with the U.S title path (doesn’t that speak volume about the US Title) and as your progress and win titles you unlock more titles for you to challenge for. The format is very basic you have to face 4 superstars in any match that you want in the list and you have to accumulate the number of starts required which are 13 or 15 and then you can fight in a Number 1 Contenders match against one of the same 4 people you have faced. But this time you actually unlock a match which you play. It can be from a Hell in a Cell to Tables Ladders and Chairs match. So you have the variety of playing different matches which is good.
Now the gripes of the season mode and the first thing is that there is no weight tier for example I played season mode with undertaker and he is eligible for the cruiserweight championship even though he weights about 300 pounds, so that annoyed me because being the great khali and watching him become cruiserweight champion is something I will never forget in my life. Much like Triple H getting burned in an inferno match Xbox live you will be receiving a video of that very soon just repeated burnings and killings of superstars like hornswoggle and hell even a diva it is a fun video. Anyway back to the topic at hand while the season mode has been completely revamped and it does look very nice the problem being is that there are some parts which make you feel as if there should be a storyline to it. And one thing since when does JBL and Big Daddy V are people you have to beat to get the number 1 contenders spot for the hardcore title?? JBL has never really been a hardcore person except when he had that quick hardcore title stint in 2000/2001 and big daddy v well the less said about the man the better in my opinion!!
The road to wrestlemania storylines are actually quite decent in what they achieve and how the portray the character you play. I cant say much about this mode without giving away some of the storylines but I am very surprised with it and I hope THQ can realise that they have actually made something really good and the is nowhere to get except up for the mode so well done THQ something that sounded quite random and bad has really turned me around. And I will say that the Batista and Rey Mysterio storyline to me is as boring as hell because well ill just say the word Generic and if you have played the storyline you will know what I mean.
Now to get onto some of the actual game modes and ill will only talk about the Inferno Match and Hell In a Cell Match and the new Gauntlet Match. So let’s start with Hell In a Cell. One again this year there are no weapons In the HIAC match except the ring bell but that doesn’t qualify as a weapon because when was the last time that was used as a legitimate weapon?? But it’s the same hell in a cell we have seen in the last 5/6 years all you can do throw them into the cell do some grapples its just a extended cage match does get boring after a while I hope they release a patch that allows weapon use.
The Gauntlet match now this is a one on three match but the way it works is that you and your opponent face off and once you beat them the next person comes into the ring and then you beat them then the last person comes in and you beat them the match is over. I did actually quiet enjoy doing this because it gives you that ability to face against 3 people in a regular match all in one go and it does feel as if it has come straight from the TV show into the game and they have not actually touched it, except there is no entrance for the 2nd or 3rd man that comes in that really doesn’t matter I really do enjoy this mode and I am very happy that they decided to add it in I hope it remains a main part for the game in years to come.
The last match I shall talk about is the Inferno Match again I mentioned earlier about the blood should be able to stain the mat if they could add an inferno match. This match is very generic and I was not too impressed with the result it is a just a generic match but you get to set someone of fire. I think the problem is that with this match it just looks really good but the actually feel of it isn’t that good. And the ending of the match is just so of the wall atrocious it made me feel as if I was living a nightmare. Let me explain to win the match what happens is your guy throws your opponent over the top rope and you can see him miss the fire but yet he somehow manages to set himself on fire so he starts to crawl away and as they are extinguishing the fire they randomly go unconscious. This annoyed me to no end because in a way the ending was like the Kane Vs MVP inferno match and well it just left a bitter taste in my mouth I think they should have improved this because there was a lot of hype for this and in my opinion it really doesn’t deliver.
Well I have been playing on the Xbox 360 online capability knows as Xbox Live and well I found it very easy and very useful to use. There is still the same look of just joining a quick session or creating a session of even choosing a custom session with the settings you want to that was nice to see that they didn’t tamper with that. Also I really did enjoy that it doesn’t lag as much this year because a lot of the past game there has been pockets of lag all the way during the matches but this years it runs very smooth and very efficient. Even when you play the inferno match with I think is a better match to play with friends then on your own it still performs so very well and I was really pleased by it. The Online Mode has not be touched which is good because THQ have done a hell of a job with it and they didn’t need to change it so I am happy for what they have accomplished with the improved online modes.
now my overall thoughts of this game are that it is a well done and well made game with a few problems but then again there Is no perfect game. I did enjoy some of the new modes and they were quire refreshing to see how they have kept to the similar layout of Smackdown Vs Raw 2008 but they have added some nice little touches that I did quite enjoy. Overall the game I think is the best one that they have churned out and this is a game I would recommended for someone who is a wrestling fan or someone who is not because there is great multiplayer ability factor and that has always been synonymous with WWE Games. If I have to give it a rating out of 10 I would say it deserves an 8.5 because the graphics look amazing and it plays well its very easy to pick up and I did enjoy it from start to finish I believe this is a game that you wont get tired of very quickly. The only problem I have is little bits like some of the create a finishers moves and just little bit but hopefully when they release another smackdown vs raw game for the console it will look absolutely amazing and they will have improved on anything they can. Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 is a game I really enjoyed and it really nice to see that other agree as well.
What can you say to a company that has been making WWE games for almost 10 years now, you would think that after a while THQ would settle down and just keep with what they have done but every year they always find a way to change the game sometimes its for the best like the arcade style of Smackdown! Here comes the pain all the way to the atrocious Smackdown vs Raw. (The original one) THQ this year in my opinion have been listening to gamer’s people and they seem to have listened to WWE,
Smackdown vs Raw 2009 while in places it doesn’t come across as anything different from the 2008 edition there are little bits in the game where I was thinking. “That’s New” and “That’s very different”. The overview of this game is very limited in what people were saying. How they were Critising that it wouldn’t sell due to the poor TNA Impact game but I think it will sell quite well and for people who are not wrestling fans. This is a game that you would actually enjoy.
Okay I will start by telling you I brought the Xbox 360 version so don’t start complaining if I get bits wrong or talk about stuff that the Xbox version has its just because I have one I look more into that version.
Okay here is a brief description of the game. They have taken out 24/7 mode and replaced it with a career that is somewhat okay but ill explain about that later on. They have added a MY WWE section so you can create your own tag teams and they have added the Highlight reel which is were you can save clips of around 10 seconds of match footage and make a music style video and then upload it onto the Xbox live area. One of the big features was the inclusion of the Inferno Match and if you want a really cheesy match look at it right there because I will say this right now. The inferno match is off the way atrocious but again that’s for later on. Road to Wrestlemania I guess is THQ’s new answer to the hall of fame option that was in last years game. But apart from those main points they have not touched anything at all now what they should is instead of giving us these crazy matches keep the matches they have an improve them but I don’t see the inferno match coming back to next years edition because that’s what pumped the game up to be a 15 over here because you are “burning” someone and that’s bad. And yet games like GTA are not any worse. Well that’s the video game industry for you.
Anyway let’s start with the basic concept of the control scheme. There is no real change in the controls this year. Left stick to move around, Left Button to run, A to get out of the ring from what i've seen it’s the same controls as last years edition and I have no problem with that. Like the old saying goes “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it”. So the fact that it’s the same made me feel right at home and ready to start playing this game although I did wish that they could make something better of some of the controls especially when your trying to do certain moves and you end up going outside by accident (never try and do steel chair attacking sequences near the ropes they have always annoyed me).
So now that I have mastered the controls although I did that last year we come to the variety of matches that I have to choose from. You have the basic one on one matches to the very nice name of falls count anywhere (I guess the word Hardcore was too Hardcore for some parent in the world). All of the regular matches are here this year with the inclusion of the Gauntlet match, Inferno Match, A revamped version of the backstage brawl and this year the inclusion of the Locker Room Brawl which under first impressions sounds bad and well IT IS!!!
Okay so its time to play a match so its time to watch an entrance or six. And well ill say this now whoever done there got there head out there ass and actually looked at WWE entrances and tried to copy them as best as they can. For example the inclusion of the fireballs in undertakers entrance to the simple but effective Chris Jericho entrance that must have been revamped because the cut of point was around one night stand because this year’s edition features the One Night Stand 2007 PPV. Although miz and Morrison on wwe TV were going on about HHH large nose well I think edges may be bigger. That is one of the only gripes I can see out of this game is just little graphical features that are a bit weird in my opinion. Edges nose in the game is so big you could stick an aeroplane in it. But overall the graphics on this game look absolutely amazing although they blood thing annoys me. There blood really on remains on there head and then when it falls onto the matt it disappears in around 15 seconds and I know people will complain saying that the console can’t cope with it.
WELL IF THEY CAN ADD A FUCKING INFERNO MATCH AND THE FRAME RATING FOR THAT IS CRAZY THEN BLOOD CAN STAY ON THE FUCKING MAT!!!
Okay that rant is over but we now move onto the create a wrestler feature involved in the game and has been involved in most of the games. In this feature you have the ability of creating your own wrestler all the way from the colour of there eyes all the way to the type of shoes that they wear. The early view of this mode is something that was impressive but there is not really anything added in this year’s creative area. There is still the basic aspect of just trial and error and that’s fine just that if you put logos on your persons trousers you can’t send it online that was a very annoying move done by THQ but I guess you can’t have everything.
Now we get onto entrances all I will say is that they have been vastly improved and they all really look the part but I do have a few problems with some of the entrances on the game
1) Edge – his pyrotechnics look way too similar to Rey Mysterio its just longer and more wide spread apart and also when was the last time edge climbed the ropes in the middle of the ring and done the corona taunt??
2) The Undertaker- the entrance is actually pretty damn impressive just the only problem is the fact that his arms are to high when he brings the lights on and when he takes his hat off he only rolls his eyes for about 1-2 which is quite weird. One more thing DRUIDS!!!! Why the hell is there only druids I believe on the Wrestlemania 24 arena that was really random he uses them like once a year.
3) Kane – in my opinion what they should of done is kept Kane’s old theme tune and then when there is the downloadable content that comes out in a few months include his new theme the same can be said with Brian Kendrick.
4) Rey Mysterio – what annoys me so much is that on Rey’s entrance there is a bit that when he goes to the side of the ramp there is pyrotechnics that come out from the side now I think only Rey has used the once maybe twice it really made no sense then again I am not a Rey fan so maybe I am just venting some frustration.
There are many more but those are the ones I consider the more serious offenders at the moment if I find more ill tell you about them in next weeks final part of the review.
The create a finisher mode is something that must of come from Vince Russo head and well doesn’t that speak a lot about TNA right now. The actual fact that there is a finisher mode is good for fans that like to make there own finishers but they have even started to nick TNA style finishers for example A.J Styles – Styles Clash you can have or the Scorpion Death Drop so really it is for people that want to add TNA finishers in there game. You can make the Canadian destroyer as well but it looks like it has randomly gone weird so Canadian destroyer more like random finisher destroyer. The Create A Finisher Mode I have been reading about and listening to says that there are over 5000 choices of making a finisher. I can only make about 500. The problem is that there is only standing finishers and some are so out of sync it makes it look like your finisher is about as good as Hogan’s leg drop!!!! In my opinion they should of kept the create a title mode because it just felt better when playing with your titles online. All I know is that if we are talking online I will quickly say that they have announced a Smackdown Vs Raw Online which will only be released for Windows so expect that to be as good as an episode of WCW in 1999.
Okay now we get onto the world of Season Mode. FUN! Now most of the season modes in the game have been very generic with you doing storyline and only really fighting to become the world champion but this year road to wrestlemania handles the storylines so the season mode did actually get revamped so that you now only fight for titles but there is no storyline behind them its just the case of you choose your person you want to be and you can instantly choose a title path you start with the U.S title path (doesn’t that speak volume about the US Title) and as your progress and win titles you unlock more titles for you to challenge for. The format is very basic you have to face 4 superstars in any match that you want in the list and you have to accumulate the number of starts required which are 13 or 15 and then you can fight in a Number 1 Contenders match against one of the same 4 people you have faced. But this time you actually unlock a match which you play. It can be from a Hell in a Cell to Tables Ladders and Chairs match. So you have the variety of playing different matches which is good.
Now the gripes of the season mode and the first thing is that there is no weight tier for example I played season mode with undertaker and he is eligible for the cruiserweight championship even though he weights about 300 pounds, so that annoyed me because being the great khali and watching him become cruiserweight champion is something I will never forget in my life. Much like Triple H getting burned in an inferno match Xbox live you will be receiving a video of that very soon just repeated burnings and killings of superstars like hornswoggle and hell even a diva it is a fun video. Anyway back to the topic at hand while the season mode has been completely revamped and it does look very nice the problem being is that there are some parts which make you feel as if there should be a storyline to it. And one thing since when does JBL and Big Daddy V are people you have to beat to get the number 1 contenders spot for the hardcore title?? JBL has never really been a hardcore person except when he had that quick hardcore title stint in 2000/2001 and big daddy v well the less said about the man the better in my opinion!!
The road to wrestlemania storylines are actually quite decent in what they achieve and how the portray the character you play. I cant say much about this mode without giving away some of the storylines but I am very surprised with it and I hope THQ can realise that they have actually made something really good and the is nowhere to get except up for the mode so well done THQ something that sounded quite random and bad has really turned me around. And I will say that the Batista and Rey Mysterio storyline to me is as boring as hell because well ill just say the word Generic and if you have played the storyline you will know what I mean.
Now to get onto some of the actual game modes and ill will only talk about the Inferno Match and Hell In a Cell Match and the new Gauntlet Match. So let’s start with Hell In a Cell. One again this year there are no weapons In the HIAC match except the ring bell but that doesn’t qualify as a weapon because when was the last time that was used as a legitimate weapon?? But it’s the same hell in a cell we have seen in the last 5/6 years all you can do throw them into the cell do some grapples its just a extended cage match does get boring after a while I hope they release a patch that allows weapon use.
The Gauntlet match now this is a one on three match but the way it works is that you and your opponent face off and once you beat them the next person comes into the ring and then you beat them then the last person comes in and you beat them the match is over. I did actually quiet enjoy doing this because it gives you that ability to face against 3 people in a regular match all in one go and it does feel as if it has come straight from the TV show into the game and they have not actually touched it, except there is no entrance for the 2nd or 3rd man that comes in that really doesn’t matter I really do enjoy this mode and I am very happy that they decided to add it in I hope it remains a main part for the game in years to come.
The last match I shall talk about is the Inferno Match again I mentioned earlier about the blood should be able to stain the mat if they could add an inferno match. This match is very generic and I was not too impressed with the result it is a just a generic match but you get to set someone of fire. I think the problem is that with this match it just looks really good but the actually feel of it isn’t that good. And the ending of the match is just so of the wall atrocious it made me feel as if I was living a nightmare. Let me explain to win the match what happens is your guy throws your opponent over the top rope and you can see him miss the fire but yet he somehow manages to set himself on fire so he starts to crawl away and as they are extinguishing the fire they randomly go unconscious. This annoyed me to no end because in a way the ending was like the Kane Vs MVP inferno match and well it just left a bitter taste in my mouth I think they should have improved this because there was a lot of hype for this and in my opinion it really doesn’t deliver.
Well I have been playing on the Xbox 360 online capability knows as Xbox Live and well I found it very easy and very useful to use. There is still the same look of just joining a quick session or creating a session of even choosing a custom session with the settings you want to that was nice to see that they didn’t tamper with that. Also I really did enjoy that it doesn’t lag as much this year because a lot of the past game there has been pockets of lag all the way during the matches but this years it runs very smooth and very efficient. Even when you play the inferno match with I think is a better match to play with friends then on your own it still performs so very well and I was really pleased by it. The Online Mode has not be touched which is good because THQ have done a hell of a job with it and they didn’t need to change it so I am happy for what they have accomplished with the improved online modes.
now my overall thoughts of this game are that it is a well done and well made game with a few problems but then again there Is no perfect game. I did enjoy some of the new modes and they were quire refreshing to see how they have kept to the similar layout of Smackdown Vs Raw 2008 but they have added some nice little touches that I did quite enjoy. Overall the game I think is the best one that they have churned out and this is a game I would recommended for someone who is a wrestling fan or someone who is not because there is great multiplayer ability factor and that has always been synonymous with WWE Games. If I have to give it a rating out of 10 I would say it deserves an 8.5 because the graphics look amazing and it plays well its very easy to pick up and I did enjoy it from start to finish I believe this is a game that you wont get tired of very quickly. The only problem I have is little bits like some of the create a finishers moves and just little bit but hopefully when they release another smackdown vs raw game for the console it will look absolutely amazing and they will have improved on anything they can. Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 is a game I really enjoyed and it really nice to see that other agree as well.