WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 (Xbox 360) Review
Posted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 by mike regan
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Is it really your world now? Check out the official GamingRing review of WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 Review I have spent the better part of the past week and a half playing through THQ’s WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 and I am left with an interesting dilemma. You see last year when I reviewed last years WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 I thought it was a great title and despite its design quirks was a great wrestling game. WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 is a great wrestling game and yes it did correct those design quirks but during the process it created a whole new batch of design decisions that ultimately undermine the main premise of what this years game was based upon.
Before I get into that lets talk about what WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 gets right this year. Graphically this year game much like last year is a graphical powerhouse. The character models in particular are really well done. Randy Ortons new tattoos are a particular highlight and the game manages to capture every small detail on his intricate inkwork. The lone splash of color in the rose on his left arm for example. The redone HUD during the match removes all of the different meters that cluttered the screen in years past which drags you into the experience as if you are watching a real WWE TV broadcast. The WWE Superstars character models look improved overlast year. In previous years long haired Superstars had some clipping issues. And it appears that this year that issue has been addressed. However the games superstars still walk robotically.
The roster is pretty extensive and really only lacks a few names from capturing the entire roster. Which as everyone knows, is a yearly battle that THQ faces with making the most up to date roster with a near 8 month lead time. I would also like to point out that THQ and Yukes have finally given the divas equal billing as their male WWE Superstar counterparts. For the first time in the series history the divas represented in the game are actually worthwhile playing. I know thats a pretty bold statement but some of my most exciting moments were experienced while playing as the divas. The divas have some very cool moves this year and you will only see those moves if you play as the divas. They have also opened up and made available most of the match types that were previously only available to the male WWE Superstars. While you wont be able to set Melina on fire in a inferno match or compete with Beth Phoenix in a Hell in a Cell matchup you will be able to take the divas to the extreme in the extreme rules match or settle a diva blood feud in a 16 foot high steel cage match. Plus if you add the fact that last year for the first time in the series history, WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 featured DLC. While THQ would not confirm if DLC is indeed coming or not but it really isnt not much of a stretch to assume that WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 would have some DLC content as well. Speaking of match types, new this year is the intergender tag team match where a diva and a male partner compete against another male/female tag team. Since THQ removed the option to have male WWE Superstars face off wtih female WWE Superstars the intergender tag match ends in a DQ when a male/female puts their hands on their opposing counterpart. Also new this year is the championship scramble match where 5 superstars compete in a set time limit to who ever has the last pin or submission is declared the champion. The match starts with 2 men with an additional man being added at set intervals. Also getting a fresh coat of paint is the Royal Rumble match. Previous versions of this match type failed to capture the magic or excitement of the real life WWE event. This year, the entire mode has gotten a overhaul and is one of this years game true highlights. From presentation of the rules at the beginning of the match by the ring announcer to the cutscene when the final 3 individuals are in the ring. Also New this year is Rumble finishers which can be used to eliminate your opponent in grand fashion. The new Royal Rumble match should be one of your first stops when you first buy the game on the 20th of October. Gameplay has really seen a significant overhaul this year. With the removal of the LT reversal button and with them mapping all of the reversals to just the RT it now becomes a matter of timing and skill to hit the reversals not just a guessing game. Speaking of reversals I found that for the most part a majority of them actually make sense in the context they’re being used in the match. For example, HBK tries to hit the sweet chin music, and the opponent nails the reversal by grabbing HBK’s foot before the move connects. Also new this year is apron moves which has been a requested improvement to the series ever since the old N64 AKI games. THQ/Yukes also added new grappling positions which you can cycle through to get to the better position. So for example, you grab a side headlock you can then move into a front grapple or a behind grapple or even a arm grapple. With the new reversals and grappling positions it makes the gameplay even more exciting. WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 provides solid wrestling that eliminates some of the issues that has plagued the series in previous years. This year they have added new depth to the game play while removing everything that prevented the player from enjoying the game in previous years. Last year the Road to Wrestlemania mode was one of the most popular new features. Well in 2010 RTWM makes its return in a very big way. This year you have 6 stories to choose from. The Mickie James storyline for those of you who love your divas. The Create a superstar storyline which will star your CAW in a storyline specifically designed and written for them. The brand warfare storyline where you have a choice to play as either Triple H or John Cena as they fight it out to decide the most dominant brand in the WWE. The Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels has a storyline this year which in my opinion stands out among the rest as some very compelling story telling. And finally Edge and Randy Orton each have their own storyline which are also very well done. Of course along the way you have the opportunity to unlock some new characters, attires, backstage areas, and some other surprises that I wont spoil for you here. This years RTWM has been refined and improved over last years game, featuring over 20 hours worth of gameplay in total. The voice acting, is hit and miss in some parts but for the most part its very well done. Presentation as well as the storylines are very true to life of a real WWE broadcast. One of this years biggest new additions would have to be the superstar threads. I have lost count on the amount of time I have spent in this mode. There is something very addicting about editing the rosters superstars to their current attire. One of the issues I did have with this particular mode was that in some characters choices you really can’t edit the colors the way you would like or would expect. For example, in the Undertaker model you unfortunately can not edit the color of his logo on his tights which is really the only color that the Undertaker changes on his ring gear. Another issue is that you do not have the ability to edit the characters entrance gear which becomes a issue because it doesn’t match the color scheme of their ring gear. Speaking of entrance gear why does some WWE Superstars and divas have their proper entrance gear and while some others do not? In particular The Brian Kendrick who does play a big role in this years Road to Wrestlemania mode and the Artist currently known as Goldust are 2 big examples of that. Neither of them have their entrance gear. On a more positive note, THQ and Yukes have added a ton of new moves this year including over twenty brand new double team moves. Pretty much everyone who is returning from last year has a few brand new moves. In some cases THQ and Yukes did a huge overhaul on some of the rosters movesets and the improvement is much appreciated. The Create a finisher mode makes a return this year and there has been a increase of new moves added to the mode. They have also added the ability to make a diving off the top rope finisher. Much like the front grapple finishers you have the ability to either speed up or slow down the moves adding extra impact to the moves. You also have the ability to add height to the finishers which as you can see adds the possibility of creating some crazy gravity defying moves. The highlight reel makes a return this year with the actual implementation of it seeing a nice improvement. After the match the game breaks down the action with different highlight clips. Which you then have the option to save those highlights to your hard drive. You still have the opportunity to pause the match at anytime to capture the highlight but with the way the game captures the highlights and presents them to you after the match is a nice addition. Also new this year is the ability to make your own titantron entrance video. That was one of the most requested features last year when the highlight reel made its debut and it has been included in 2010. 2010 also introduces the paint tool where you can design and edit your own logos and tattoos for your create a superstar. The paint tool itself is very intuitive and if you ever used photoshop or MS Paint you will find yourself right at home. Unfortunately you do not have the ability to take these creations and put them on a sign in the crowd, which you would think that would be a natural use of the paint tools. Online play did not really receive a huge overhaul this year, a neat addition this year is a text chat room in the pre-match lobby. Online play itself seems better overall with very little lag but then again, this was on a pre-release review build on a development server so your results may vary. The big focus this year is the sharing of created of user-content. Including create a superstars, new storylines, screenshots, create a finishers, and highlight reels. The interface to get all of this content is very intuitive to surf and find the content you want. You are given the option to preview the content as well as rank the content on a 1 to 5 star scale. Which brings me to one of my biggest issues with this years game. While I appreciate the fact that we will finally be able to share our creations with the world the limitations placed on the content ultimately undermines its usefulness. Essentially you only have the ability to use the downloaded content, so you are unable to edit any aspect of the create a superstars. So if you just happen to download a Zack Ryder CAS from online you will not be able to edit in his music, fix his moveset as you see fit, or any other aspect of the character. Which at the end of the day is a huge disappointment. While I understand the logic based on the decision, I question why THQ/Yukes couldn’t have given the creator of the Superstar the option to choose if his CAS could be edited or not, that would have solved the problem. While the brand new 3D parts in this years create a superstar mode look great, THQ did remove some of the older parts forcing you to change up your CAS differently than what you have done in previous years. Which is unfortunate considering that creation is such a huge focus this year. One of last years big problems was the lack of the ability to edit your attributes as well your abilities for your create a superstars. Thankfully this year, THQ has learned from that lesson and made it a lot simpler to do so. Basically you earn your abilities as you play the game in either single player or multiplayer matches throughout the game. They still have the career mode but it’s really not necessary to use to earn your attributes. Also THQ has increased the CAS limit from 30 to 50 that you can store on your hard drive. Which brings us to the create a story mode. Brand new this year, this mode gives you the opportunity to make your own storylines and share them with the world. For next generation consoles you have the option to have up to 500 events in your storyline. The way it breaks down is like this. You can have up to 450 matches and up to 50 moments. Also unfortunately your Create a superstars can only be used 10 times throughout the story. If you have more than one CAS in your story that number decreases. Which from what I gathered after talking with THQ about this limitation is that the decision was based on the fact that when people download the actual storyline the CAS is part of the package. By limiting it to 10 CAS per storyline it makes the file size much more manageable with the downloading and uploading. Which I agree with to some degree but perhaps THQ could have set it where if you are creating a offline story that you would have a option to use more cas in your story than you would if you decide to share that story with the world. Other than that issue the new create a story mode is pretty intuitive considering the amount of options you have to tweak your story to your liking. This mode features a ton of moments which you can change pretty much everything to tailor to your story. But what really will make or break this mode is what participation this mode will generate from the community. Everyone at some point and time has played the game of armchair promoter and this mode full fills those fantasies quite nicely. If the community supports this mode I can see myself spending countless hours just watching the created content. Overall WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 is a great wrestling game. It has improved in pretty much all of the core areas that a wrestling game is judged upon. The roster is probably the best representation of the current WWE product in years. The graphics are incredibly detailed and look phenomenal on both standard and high def tvs. With the amount of depth that this game offers to a wrestling fan this is truly a no brainer when it comes to purchasing this title. The only issues that hold this title from truly realizing its potential is the lack of ability to fine tune downloaded created-superstars as well as some of the limitations placed on the create a story with your create a superstars. While it may not be your world that this game claims it to be the world that you live in while playing this game is a pretty cool place to be. Gameplay 5 stars Graphics 5 Stars Sound: 4.5 Stars Value: 4.5 Stars Tilt: 4.0 Stars
You could assume that with us posting a full review of WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 that our coverage would be over. Well you would be wrong because we are going to rip your face off with the amount of SVR 2010 coverage we will be providing to you in the next few days leading to the games release on October 20th. Be sure if you have not already done so to preorder your game at Game Stop so you will be able to play as Stone Cold Steve Austin. Remember that is the only way to play as the Texas Rattlesnake in Smackdown vs Raw 2010. GamingRing.com is your number one source for WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010. Here is all of our extensive coverage at the tip of your fingers. Feel free to discuss WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 in our forums with other wrestling game fans just as yourself. To register it’s absolutely free to join and participate in one of the largest wrestling game communities on the internet. Click here for the GamingRing Smackdown vs Raw 2010 Forums Video Interviews
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Tags: Review, smackdown vs raw, thq, WWE, Yukes
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