WWE SMACKDOWN VS. RAW 2007 (PS2)
So, who occasionally likes enjoying a bit of half-naked muscled men and women pretending to beat the living shades of poo out of each other in an adapted boxing ring? Yes, me too. Put this into a video game so you get to control said athletic performers and it’s even better. Well, sometimes. The early wrestling games were very much hit and miss; from the cartoon-rendered delights of the 1991 arcade hit WWF Wrestlefest to the Super Nintendo’s yawn-some dirge of Super Wrestlemania in 1992, wrestling games took a big leap off the top rope in 2000 with the hit release WWF Smackdown! on the PS, spawning a long-running series of WWE games on the Sony platforms. Several years on after many sequels and a slight name-change, the familiar control interface was altered significantly for Smackdown! Vs Raw 2007, the eighth title in the franchise. I revisit to discover if this was a good move, and if things had progressed in the way I had hoped after immensely enjoying the previous games in the series.
From the first ding of the ring-bell, things are all pretty much what you would expect from the franchise. Starting with the Raw title sequence, we are given clean, functional and smartly-presented menus and loading screens. Selection of your match type, wrestler, mode and create options etc, are as easy as The Rock’s pie, so lets get between those ropes and layeth the Smackdown. A significant change from the previous games lies in the player interface system. Face buttons are no longer used to perform grapple techniques; the right analogue stick is now the most called upon control of choice, with each position providing an individual action. It’s a system that takes a whole lot getting used to if you have been acquainted with series already, and proves a source of immense frustration whilst familiarising yourself with it. There’s always the option to switch back to the old style if find it’s not to your liking.
However, it does offer grappling moves a greater sense of control, providing more interactivity. When used with other commands such as the counter attack, Irish whip or finishing move, the results can be spectacular. The drawbacks are that it feels a little clunky now and then, not quite as responsive as the former control set up and more easy to lose what you are trying to do. It works well for the most, but can be bewildering in some of the specialist match types, often performing moves you wish not to. General control and execution of non-contact manoeuvres of your superstar is high standard and largely the same as it was since Shut Your Mouth, with only a slight niggle with the targeting. Sometimes, your chosen wrestler will not face where you want, or take too much time to adjust position. On the higher difficulty settings this can be a major issue. This problem also includes the referee, who appears to have the A.I. capability of Babbage’s Difference Engine. He just seems to be always in the way in heated encounters, and likely to receive an accidental pummelling at your hands. Thankfully, and oddly, you don’t get disqualified for this, unless you continue to attack the dumb official. More often than not, he stays well out of the way during bouts so you can usually ignore him. Be warned though; his counting skills are also rather random. Sometimes taking up to six seconds for a pinned 3 count, or counting you or an opponent out of the ring in less than ten seconds. Weird.
From the first ding of the ring-bell, things are all pretty much what you would expect from the franchise. Starting with the Raw title sequence, we are given clean, functional and smartly-presented menus and loading screens. Selection of your match type, wrestler, mode and create options etc, are as easy as The Rock’s pie, so lets get between those ropes and layeth the Smackdown. A significant change from the previous games lies in the player interface system. Face buttons are no longer used to perform grapple techniques; the right analogue stick is now the most called upon control of choice, with each position providing an individual action. It’s a system that takes a whole lot getting used to if you have been acquainted with series already, and proves a source of immense frustration whilst familiarising yourself with it. There’s always the option to switch back to the old style if find it’s not to your liking.
However, it does offer grappling moves a greater sense of control, providing more interactivity. When used with other commands such as the counter attack, Irish whip or finishing move, the results can be spectacular. The drawbacks are that it feels a little clunky now and then, not quite as responsive as the former control set up and more easy to lose what you are trying to do. It works well for the most, but can be bewildering in some of the specialist match types, often performing moves you wish not to. General control and execution of non-contact manoeuvres of your superstar is high standard and largely the same as it was since Shut Your Mouth, with only a slight niggle with the targeting. Sometimes, your chosen wrestler will not face where you want, or take too much time to adjust position. On the higher difficulty settings this can be a major issue. This problem also includes the referee, who appears to have the A.I. capability of Babbage’s Difference Engine. He just seems to be always in the way in heated encounters, and likely to receive an accidental pummelling at your hands. Thankfully, and oddly, you don’t get disqualified for this, unless you continue to attack the dumb official. More often than not, he stays well out of the way during bouts so you can usually ignore him. Be warned though; his counting skills are also rather random. Sometimes taking up to six seconds for a pinned 3 count, or counting you or an opponent out of the ring in less than ten seconds. Weird.
Extended and tarted-up from previous titles, there’s a wide selection of well-presented match types, and the season mode has been updated nicely. Many pre-set storylines are programmed and are authentic and amusing. It does take time to run through all the cut-scenes, match previews and intros, but this should be expected. Unfortunately, it is all quite linear with the only variable being whether you win or lose; some RPG-style conversation/decision options wouldn’t have gone amiss either. Again improved is the create-a-wrestler option. One of my favourite aspects of the series, this is rather excellent and easy to use with many choices at your disposal. The personalised entrance section is particularly fun with the ability to add your own pyrotechnics and camera angles, and a nice facility to build up your superstar’s attributes like in Hear Comes The Pain. Of course, if you want to play as your favourite character, the roster on offer is impressive; a veritable cornucopia of grapplers all with their special moves and signature styles. As SDvR07 was developed in 2006, the roster is not current with the time it is set, so favourites like CM Punk and Chris Jericho are missing, while wrestlers like Kurt Angle, who left the WWE in 2006 remain. On a sombre note due to the unfortunate development timing, Chris Benoit is heavily included in the game; in real life he murdered his family and committed suicide in June 2007. Considering the November release date, some staunch WWE fans may find this upsetting that his inclusion was not removed. I consider this as a genuine mistake, and doesn’t detract from the rest of the game’s selections and options.
Interspersed between all these modes and matches is my biggest gripe about SDvR07 as a playing experience; the loading times are ridiculous! Almost every screen change needs to pause for loading, most prominently before bouts. I can accept a little loading time during these transitions, but sometimes it will load, pause, and load again, then finally starting your match. On occasion, it can take up to 40 seconds to load the next sequence, or over three minutes to start a basic match, and for me this is not acceptable. This slows the game up massively, and becomes irritating quickly. Honestly, I have played multi-level loads off CPC discs that have been quicker, and when you look at other resource-heavy titles on both PS and PS2, this delay just does not occur as frequently. Also, this was not as noticeably in previous WWE games, so surely could have been avoided.
Back with the serious business of pretend-but-painful fighting, the in-the-ring action is enjoyable but not as fluid or as polished as it could and should have been. Despite the new additions, there isn’t much progress with the range of moves, tactics, A.I., graphics or audio to set it apart from the other PS2 WWE releases. In fact, in some parts its quality has declined. The collision detection has always been slightly dubious on occasions, and appears to have gotten slightly worse. The attacking strikes are great and look top-drawer, but some slams and submissions just appear stupid and comical, often with a yawning gap between the wrestlers. Taking your eye off this detail, the wrestlers themselves are excellently rendered, accurately depicted and, for the most part, animated realistically and slickly. This cannot be said about the background crowd, who are adorned with creepy, ghoulish faces that would not look out of place in Resident Evil. Forgivable, because it’s actually very funny.
Interspersed between all these modes and matches is my biggest gripe about SDvR07 as a playing experience; the loading times are ridiculous! Almost every screen change needs to pause for loading, most prominently before bouts. I can accept a little loading time during these transitions, but sometimes it will load, pause, and load again, then finally starting your match. On occasion, it can take up to 40 seconds to load the next sequence, or over three minutes to start a basic match, and for me this is not acceptable. This slows the game up massively, and becomes irritating quickly. Honestly, I have played multi-level loads off CPC discs that have been quicker, and when you look at other resource-heavy titles on both PS and PS2, this delay just does not occur as frequently. Also, this was not as noticeably in previous WWE games, so surely could have been avoided.
Back with the serious business of pretend-but-painful fighting, the in-the-ring action is enjoyable but not as fluid or as polished as it could and should have been. Despite the new additions, there isn’t much progress with the range of moves, tactics, A.I., graphics or audio to set it apart from the other PS2 WWE releases. In fact, in some parts its quality has declined. The collision detection has always been slightly dubious on occasions, and appears to have gotten slightly worse. The attacking strikes are great and look top-drawer, but some slams and submissions just appear stupid and comical, often with a yawning gap between the wrestlers. Taking your eye off this detail, the wrestlers themselves are excellently rendered, accurately depicted and, for the most part, animated realistically and slickly. This cannot be said about the background crowd, who are adorned with creepy, ghoulish faces that would not look out of place in Resident Evil. Forgivable, because it’s actually very funny.
The final grumble I have about SDvR07 is the soundtrack. Yes, all the wrestler theme music is included as I would have expected, but the original music playlist is far too short, and coupled with the amount of loading times you are subjected to, becomes repetitive in the extreme. I liked Three Days Grace as a band, but I am pretty sick of them now. The accompanying effects are good, especially in the arena matches, but there seems to be a lot of silence during bouts away from the ring, almost like something is missing. This makes the atmosphere unexciting and dull at times, which is a pity as the general interactivity of the environment outside the ring can be great.
Ultimately, Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 is an admirable effort at improving the series, with some potentially innovative features, but falls short of hitting the highs already scaled by its predecessors. Solid graphics and sound, with a questionable control system, I really wanted to heap praise on this, hoping it would be a perfected version of Shut Your Mouth. Alas, I am left disappointed by a succession of annoying and avoidable discrepancies contained within. Like the WWE itself, it seems the heydays have passed, as reports suggest the more recent sequels are equally as predictable. Good fun to play in parts and not a terrible game in the slightest, wrestling fanboys will love it no matter what I say, but you cannot avoid or ignore the collection of irritations that make it a decidedly average addition to the WWE repertoire.
Ultimately, Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 is an admirable effort at improving the series, with some potentially innovative features, but falls short of hitting the highs already scaled by its predecessors. Solid graphics and sound, with a questionable control system, I really wanted to heap praise on this, hoping it would be a perfected version of Shut Your Mouth. Alas, I am left disappointed by a succession of annoying and avoidable discrepancies contained within. Like the WWE itself, it seems the heydays have passed, as reports suggest the more recent sequels are equally as predictable. Good fun to play in parts and not a terrible game in the slightest, wrestling fanboys will love it no matter what I say, but you cannot avoid or ignore the collection of irritations that make it a decidedly average addition to the WWE repertoire.
VERDICT
Visual: 8/10
Audio: 7/10 Gameplay: 6/10 Longevity: 6/10 OVERALL: 6/10 |