Smackdown vs Raw 2010 Review
Fifteen pounds was all that was required to make me happy back in the 90s, you see for my birthday my mum bought me two tickets to watch the WWE. You cannot comprehend the excitement that a 10 year old has at the prospect of seeing his childhood heroes battle it out in the flesh, yet somehow things didn’t run smooth. Not only did my dad get stopped for speeding on the way making us late, but when we eventually got there those fifteen pound tickets where nose bleed seats. We were so high Sherpa’s offered us safe passage to the top of the dizzy heights of our seats, were we watched ants battle it out for two hours.
What has this to do with the Smackdown series? Well quite a lot as rather than see a true reflection of the sport on that fateful day I was instead given a bland experience. I felt detached from the enjoyment I got watching the likes of Hulk on the TV, and in truth recent versions of Smackdown series have left me cold, rather than being enjoyable they have been a hassle to play, 2009 saw an upturn in fortunes resurrecting the series and returning to the basics which made the game great. With the release of Smackdown Versus Raw 2010 hopes of wrestling fans are high and without doubt this years iteration of the franchise is a brilliant step forward.
The first thing that hits you is the way the overall layout of the menu screens and start page have been revamped. Rather than a static image of a superstaer you are instead presented with the in game ring and John Cena and Randy Orton. Typically your first match was were you learned the nuances of the controls, which at times could be costly; however the instant that Samckdown versus Raw 2010 starts you are able to practice moves as well as going through the tutorial. It works in a very similar way to many of EA sports titles such as FIFA with a central hub area and other menu options such as career being offshoots from this central area.
It’s a great way to familiarise yourself with controls, and shows how the developers have really considered the accessibility of the overall game.
With regards to the actual gameplay very little is changed dramatically and instead it builds on the strengths of Smackdown 2009. The one aspect that does strike you when you play is the huge level of gameplay modes, Exhibition, Career, not to mention regulars such as the Royal Rumble.
The Rumble itself has become far more user friends and rather than the lottery of elimination that gamers where faced with in previous versions, this has been remedied with specific environmental areas to eliminate your opponent. When in this area, grappling with your opponent triggers a quick time event whereby pressing the buttons quicker than your opponent ensures their exit from the ring.
In addition to this is the excellent Road To Wrestlemania which premiered in last years game. These differ greatly from the traditional Career mode with the gamer choosing from a selection of wrestlers such as Cena, Michaels, or Triple H. once chosen you play through their own individual storyline, which albeit a short game mode does offer a significant difference from the long Career mode, and so offers a wrestling game to those to might only have a passing interest while at the same time offering dedicated fans a wealth of gameplay options to ensure the titles longevity. To further enhance the Road To Wrestlemania mode is also the ability to include your own Create A Wrestler.
Speaking of create options, it’s clear that Smackdown 2010 has had this at the heart of its design as there are a wealth of create option, with the traditional CAW (Create A Wrester) being overhauled, ditching the 2D clothing in preference for 3D models. There is also the ability to design your own logo or face paint, meaning that creators are sure to be able to bring back the likes of Demolition and Kamala.
Yukes are obviously aware that the main use of Create A Wrestler is used to make classic matchups and bring back stars of yesteryear or rival wrestling organisations such as TNA and ROH. With this in mind several items are available straight away such as Legion of Doom shoulder pads, Kamala’s African mask.
Another nice option is the ability to download CAWS straight from the game, using the search engine you can quickly amass a range of superstars straight away. Fear not those of you thinking it might be a dud version when you get it, as there is also the ability to preview the wrestler and in addition leave a review ensuring that most of the time you can get a quality version of the wrestler you wanted.
The slight niggle with this at the moment is that the CAWS you download are not yet editable, you can understand why this was implemented to avoid plagiarism, but surely there should be an option to edit their moves and intro music if you only intend to use them on your home machine. There are rumours that this may be patched, however the more cynical are casting an eye to 2011 version to see this mode developed.
By far the most creative mode is the Create A Storyline option, hovering between an opportunity to make epic storylines or one off car crash episodes, it really is a fantastic option simply select scenes or match types and your away! From this you can edit text, emotions of the characters, as well as Camera angles. Again at the moment you are unable to use downloadable caws in this mode which is a disappointment, but hopefully this will soon be remedied.
One area also that seems a little narrow was the range of scenes you could use to segway between matches. 2009 released some extremely popular downloadable content last year, so hopefully 2010 will follow suit and release packs to bolster the initial story options.
Smackdown 2010 is by far the greatest wrestling game, currently available, which has made bold steps forward in the game modes and options, while evolving the successful controls and gameplay of 2009. The beauty of this title is that the available downloadable content will increase in both quality and variety as gamers get more sophisticated at using the Create options, and while we wait expectantly there a gem of a game to discover.
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