The 24/7 mode is kinda boring...it's like they combined GM mode and Season, but it just doesn't work as well as it should. There is no continuity and the storylines make little to no sense at times...oh wait, that IS just like the real WWE. Way to represent the brand faithfully, Yukes! But seriously, am I the only fan who misses the old-school season mode from games like WrestleMania 2000? You fight you way up from the lower card to the mid card (winning, defending, and losing multiple titles along the way) and eventually reach the upper echelon and fight for the WWE title at WrestleMania. No stupid nonsense storylines, no space-consuming voiceovers, just lots of matches with the ultimate goal of winning (and successfully defending) the WWE title. I swear I miss the old days. On the bright side, Tournament mode is back! Or some refer to this as King of the Ring. I am very addicted to this mode, so it's such a welcome addition in my opinion. Now if they would only bring back the "I Quit" matches...
Online kinda sucks. They just can't seem to eliminate the lag. Oh well, I never play Smackdown online anyways because of the cheaters, so it's a dead issue for me.
The commentary is, well, pretty horrendous. JBL sounds like he's mentally handicapped or something. Just turn it off as soon as you get the chance.
Finally we can import our own tracks for the CAW entrance themes!!! And you can update themes for the existing wrestlers, too. Very cool!
Anyways, everything else is pretty good. The match types have not really been updated (just minor fixes), the A.I is still dumb, and there are lots of little glitches and other things that I could nitpick all day long, but that's the case with every new Smackdown game, so it was all expected. At the end of the day, this is still a very fun game probably the most fun I've had since Here Comes the Pain in 2003. The little additions to the gameplay (especially the new hardcore weapon moves and high-flying moves) really do add a lot to make the game feel fresh, especially after last year's somewhat dull offering. If you're a fan of the WWE or past Smackdown games, you'll want to pick this up ASAP. Anyone else, rent it first, but I think everyone that plays this will find something to enjoy.
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Another year, another WWE licensed video game. Some will go down as bona fide classics (No Mercy 64, WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2006) and some will not (this game). 2008 had every opportunity to be one of the best around, especially with the potential of the PS3. I've been playing these games since WCW vs. NWO: World Tour for the N64 and even WCW vs. The World for the original Playstation and each year the game has its high peaks and its transitional games, and this would fall into the latter. This game just doesn't seem finished, the new ideas like Wrestler Styles (brawler, submission, hardcore, etc.) are a step in the right direction, but limit your wrestler too much. I understand giving a 400lb guy an enziguiri or shooting star press is a bit unrealistic, but weren't we the ones who paid $60 for the game? Also, different move sets are assigned to different styles, so there's little chance of giving a dirty wrestler any elaborate power or technical move. My powerhouse won't have any decent submission holds or technical moves; by now you're starting to get the point. Some moves are even missing from earlier editions of the game. The ultimate control grapple from last time is a good enough idea, but good luck trying to get them to work half of the time. It's a 50/50 shot whether or not I'm slamming my opponent's head into the ground or getting my head slammed into the ground. Also, the moveset controls aren't explained extremely well. I actually didn't figure out until a week or so of owning the game that both styles' movesets can be accessed in the same match (strong grapple + up or + down on the left stick access the other sets). Some other minor control features aren't explained very well or don't appear in the manual at all.Roster-wise, this game also disappoints in more ways than one. I can honestly tell you that I haven't watched pro wrestling since I was in my freshman year in high school so I'm not as familiar with all of these wrestlers as most fans are, but come on, at least give us more legend options. The familiar faces are all there, such as The Undertaker, Triple H, John Cena, Rey Mysterio Jr, Edge and so-on, but where are legends like Hogan, Ted DiBiase (my old favorite), The Iron Shiek, Jake Roberts, Tazz (this game has ECW guys in it and he'd be perfect) and I could go on for ten minutes. Also, every guy on the roster is rated extremely high, completely removing the sense of balance from the game. Matt Hardy is a 90 but Triple H is only a 94? That eliminates possible mismatches, but it also makes half of the roster too good. In the old games, if the guy was a jobber (like say Rico or Hurricane Helms) he'd be a 70-something, and if a guy was a winner, he'd be a 90-something. On the bright side, the ECW additions are extremely fun to play as (I dare you not to absolutely love being Sabu or Sandman) and the ECW weapons system is a lot of fun. I do miss the backstage areas a lot, but a Money-in-the-Bank match has kept my friends and I occupied.
Career mode is arduous at best. It feels like a lot of work, and not a lot of fun to move through a year in the 24/7 mode. Storylines make little to no sense and cutscenes often repeat themselves. Wrestlers will turn on you or befriend you with no rhyme nor reason (which I guess is like real WWE) and as usual, the McMahon family is pure evil. I honestly just simulate through 24/7 mode to build up my guys and make money.
The create-a-player hasn't changed too much but still seems off, as for every addition or a new hairstyle or outfit, there's a subtraction of another one. The Xbox 360 version DOES allow for re-writable soundtracks and entrance music, as well as twice as many layers for our create-a-wrestlers. I actually sold my PS3 version online and bought the Xbox 360 version just for those two differences. I love finally being able to give my wrestlers whatever entrance music I want. The PS3 version's graphics seem slightly less colorful and bright and maybe a tad more realistic, but the gameplay moves much less smoothly than the 360 version. I was surprised how noticeably different the Xbox 360 version felt than the PS3's. I'll take slightly diminished graphics over smoother gameplay nine out of ten times, and there isn't even a huge, noticeable difference. The load times seemed a lot longer for the PS3 as well, especially with a create-a-wrestler match.
Overall, this game doesn't feel like a total disappointment. It's still just as fun to play with a group of buddies as any of the old games, it's just no fun to play by yourself. I usually make about twenty create-a-wrestlers anyway, so the roster issue isn't as big of a problem for me as it is for a real fan of WWE wrestling; I'll just make my own roster. This game shows serious potential but just isn't a classic. If anything, I really look forward to next year's game so that THQ can fine tune the gamplay.
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I really had a hard time deciding whether or not to buy this game on the 360 or Wii. After seeing the lack of match types and repetitiveness on the Wii, I went and got the 360 version. At first, I wasn't very happy with my decision. I wanted to take it back and get the Wii version. Boy, am I happy I didn't. It takes a couple matches to get used to the new controls and superstar fighting styles, but once you get in the groove, it's full throttle fun! There are so many match types, it's insane. Of course, the create a wrestler mode is incredible and it's cool you can put in your own entrance music. This makes it a lot cooler to create the likes of Chris Jericho, who recently came back to the WWE. From the top down, this game rocks. The only reason I don't give this game five stars is that the 24/7 mode has a lot of moments that don't make any sense or go along with the storyline. Also, I think the roster is pretty weak compared to the other games in the Smackdown series. With a better roster and a fixed 24/7 mode, the 2009 version has a chance to be even better.Honest reviews on WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 - Xbox 360
Ok so I like wrestling games, I mostly like the ones for nintendo (No Mercy, Day of Reckoning 1+2, Wrestlemania 19). However this time I decided to give the xbox wrestling game a chance. There is a certain learning curve when switching from the nintendo wrestling games to xbox wrestling games. One problem that is a total beach is the fact that reversing is switched around for some reason. It used to be on the games I'm used to R reversed strikes and L reversed grapples, but now its the other way around, which is really dumb and just makes the transition harder.The best story mode in a wrestling game was probably No Mercy's. The story actually changed depending on the if you won or lost. In this story mode (24/7 mode) the computer has already decided if you won or lost you just play the match and afterwards it tells you if you won or lost despite what you did.
The good parts of the game are things like the new fighting style feature. It adds another element of strategy and originality to the game. There are also plenty of matches that are all pretty fun once you get the hang of the game, especially the ECW extreme rules match where you can choose your weapon from under the ring which is pretty B.A.
Overall I think the game is in the same league as Wreslemania 19 for Gamecube. The game is fun but the story mode is trash in both, also both are rather skimpy on the rosters. Anyways it is still a good pickup.
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Smackdown vs Raw 2008 is one of my least favorites even if I do find myself playing it a lot on PSP. I'll start by mentioning the bad:1: Anyone, can toss the big guys around, like the Great Khali. I mean guys like Rey Mysterio, Flair and HBK can lift anyone up for the Razor's Edge. Meanwhile I don't even remember when any of them have even done that move. They got things right in the 2007 game with how it was hard to move the Great Kahli around. So they should have kept things that way. It was a lot more of a challengle to not even be able to lift the Great Khali as John Cena for even his finisher in Smackdown vs Raw 2007.
2: The submission moves: Yes it's awesome that you can control how much pressure you can put on some submission moves. However with some submission moves such as the ankle lock you don't get that option. Hell, you can't even make people submit with the hold on the game! There's a few holds that you can't make people submit with infact.
3: The Legends: Yes it's cool to have Rick Rude finally. However, it barely looks like him. While it would have worked more to have him if someone he actually feuded with was also on the game like Ultimate Warrior or Ricky Steamboat. He had a small feud with Flair once but that's it. It's also lame to keep having Piper on each game. I do admit though that he's better in this one since you can control how much pressure you put on his sleeper hold at least. I still would have liked if they just brought Mr. Perfect back instead though or even Hogan. I'm a little tired of Mick Foley on each game as well. While the late great Eddie Guerrero can just be used on the PSP version.
4. Some wrestlers you don't even get the option of giving them such holds as the figure 4 in create a wrestler mode. They have less of a variety of moves in this game as well.
5. Come on, if you can create a wrestler, you should be able to give them good music to walk out to. Here Comes the Pain got that right. You had a good list of original music choices. Instead with the newer games, you get a lame list of music choices. Who wants their created wrestler to walk out to the annoying background music that already irritates us as we play the game. There should also be a better list of entrances for created stables. I also don't like how some legends you can't even use in GM mode, like Vince and Shane McMahon. They also need to finally add 8 man tags. They also should have kept in PPV mode.
What I do like: I already mentioned that I like how you can put pressure on...some submission moves. I also like how they brought title mode back. I like how it's easier to build up your wrestlers popularity in GM mode by simply having them sign autographs or interfere at the other shows. I also like how they added beat the clock matches in Tourament Mode.
Legends I'd like to see in the 2009 game: Hogan, Bret Hart, Stone Cold, 80's Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, The Rock, Arn Anderson, The Demolition, Randy Savage, Yokozuna " and he should be very very hard to move", RVD, Eddie Guerrero, 1-2-3 Kid "to beat up lol", Sid, Vader, Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Mr. Perfect, Honkey Tonk Man
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