Smackdown vs Raw 2008

Finally, "Smackdown vs Raw" has comeback to fulfill our needs as wrestling addicts and gamers. I bet I'll be spending most of my playing time on this game alone. But I have searched the net, read some reviews and comments, the result was not the one that I expect. Some liked it, some don't We have different opinions I believe and I respect them. Maybe for true wrestling fans, they'll like it no matter how bad the game is. Enough of the opinions and reviews of others, here's what I think.

Let's start with the wrestlers. The roster of this year's game included the addition of ECW wrestlers which we know that Vince owns. But the sad thing is, they only added few stars like CM Punk & Tommy Dreamer and other ECW stars who are not working for the company anymore. Although we can't blame THQ, the creator of SVR, because WWE is an on going coming that changes unexpectedly. Just an example is Jeff Hardy, who is scheduled to be in Wrestlemania this March was suspended for violating their wellness program. But enough about whining on few roster this year because they still have the Create-A-Wrestler (CAW) mode which really ables you to create a realistic wrestler. I give credit to this game for allowing us to explore our creativity. You can create an existing wrestler, a legend, or even create a fictional character. An example is shown below on this video.





Now let's go and take a look at the graphics and sound. I have played this game on PS2 and PSP. Graphicwise, I'll rate PS2 an 8/10 and PSP 7/10. It's not bad to play SVR on your PSP. The downfall on PSP is the commentary. They removed it from the game since it might occupy lots of space. On the gameplay, the controls are easy, you can set the difficulties and by adjusting the slides. The bad thing is that when you're against two wrestlers or more, there's no button for you to choose on who to attack. This reduces your fighting strategy for me.

Overall, if you are a die hard wrestling fan, chances are you will be playing this game until the next title comes out. But if you're just an ordinary gamer, maybe after finishing and unlocking all the wrestlers, belts, etc, you'll be playing it once in a while. Overall , I'll rate it 8 out of 10. Well, that's only my opinion. I've seen the trailer of the new game of TNA. I'm just wondering, can this game be the big switch?