THE GOOD:Improved Legends
Graphics
Royal Rumble meter
Heel/Face meter
New submission system
Weapons in HIAC
Create mode slightly improved
New charisma stat
Entrances
Create-a-PPV/Title Belt
Pre-Match Mini-Games
Less clipping issues
PPV Movies in colour
THE BAD:
Music
Small roster
Online
Half the titles are missing
Crappy box art
Short, boring and repetitive season mode
Voiceovers
Not much to unlock
Only one backstage area
No end of match celebration
No feeling in voiceovers
Divas
Still some clipping issues and glitches
Commentary
Legends can't be used in season
Roster can't be adjusted
Not many attires
Most matches exactly the same as in HCTP
SUMMARY:
This is the 6th game in the Smackdown! Series, the 3rd one on the PS2, I'm just mentioning this to let you know that they (THQ and Yukes) have had plenty of time to listen to custom feedback and improve things, they made a good start with the first game, and went a little bit better on the seconds one, KYR, but they went to the stage of slop and shit with the 3rd, Just Bring it! They picked up their act with Shut Your Mouth! And things were booming, but 2003 they released the 5th game, WWE Smackdown!: Here Comes the Pain. This was no doubt one of the best wrestling games around at its time, way better than the Wrestlemania series which Game Cube was spitting out, and 10,000 times better than the RAW series that Xbox was attempting to call a game.
For many people, they spent hours and hours with the new and improved HCTP, and because of its success, there was a huge amount of hype surrounding the next instalment, SD! Vs. RAW. I followed the hype, I kept up with the latest articles, I downloaded the videos, I read the pro reviews, I did it all. Then the game came out, and everyone's jaws hit the floor, it hit rock bottom, with literally the same game play and only one new match. The roster has been cut, I could name nearly 50 superstars off the top of my head who deserved to be in the game, and many legends too. Don't expect to see the likes of Lita, Hurricane, Billy Kidman, La Resistance, Nunzio, Eugene, Luther Reigns, Funaki, Maven, Stone Cold, Hulk Hogan because somehow they aren't in the game.
I can say that the legends have been improved, HCTP was the first SD! Game to have legends in it, and they fudged that idea pretty bad, they came out in lame mini-ring with no music or entrance moves, the legends also sucked, and jobbers such as Hillbilly Jim managed to get the title "legend" under him, for some strange reason. But in SvR, there are good legends such as Mankind, Bret Hart, Legion of Doom, Andre the Giant, Roddy Piper etc. They have entrance moves and music, but no movies, which is okay because I tend to skip the entrances anyway. But there is no Stone Cold, no Hogan and no to a lot of other big names who did a lot in their time. Then they waste disk space with a masked Kane and Legends Undertaker, when they practically have the same moves and are all ready in the game.
Divas, while noone really wants to play as/against them, they only put 4 or 5 of them in, one which was fired before the game came out, and 2 which can't even wrestle. No Gail Kim, No Lita, no Jazz.
The graphics and visual presentation, is fantastic, I have to hand that to them. They did a good job on that, most of the characters look realistic and most of the arenas and menus are neat and flow well. The Royal Rumble meter is a nice addition, but can make the match go for an extremely long time, especially if you are entering at number 1 or 2.
The heel/face meters are good, however they can be a bit stupid at times, like the only dirty move is a low blow, there should be eye rakes, pins with feet on ropes, un-detected weapon attacks and much more. The face meter is okay but there aren't too many ways to increase it. They also clutter up the screen a bit and can become a pain in the but. The new submission system is good, the old submission system is still intact, so prepare for some blistered fingers and sore thumbs. The new system is good, but a bit confusing, and some moves still have absolutely no bar/meter at all.
Ah, finally, weapons..in HIAC matches. I must say it's about time. Every HIAC in real life has used weapons, but for so long weapons weren't used in SD! Games, but finally they've put them in. However, they've done it the lazy way, only a chair and a sledgehammer on the outside. They should have had the weapons from under the apron, so they you could get out ladders and tables, then have things like fire hydrants and rubbish bins on the outside. They still have the same animations for opening the cell door, it should take a hit with a chair or a running attack to break the chain, instead of a kick. There should also be more moves to throw people off the cell, and more spots to put them through the roof. Still the same old animations when between the ring and the cell, no drop toe holds into the wall, or dropkicks, or even an Irish whip.
Matches such as cage, table, EC and others have stayed exactly the same as in HCTP, which is a major letdown because some were really crap in HCTP and needed a lot of tweaking. Create mode in general has been slightly changed, but many good options have been taken out for no reason, making most CAWs seem the same. C-a-Belt sounded like a good idea, but in reality, the belts cost to much and they really suck, C-a-PPV is lame and not worth mentioning really.
The charisma stat is good because it gives you a better idea of someone's overall ability, but no matter what way you look at it, the stats don't seems to add up. Some superstars are highly over-rated, and other deserve way way higher stats than what they have. The pre-match mini-games are a nice touch but seems rather pointless and they all have the same animation. The spanking meter, another P.O.S idea of THQs part, does anyone really want to see to polygonated divas slap each others ass? The chop battle thingy is a nice touch, but vague and difficult to understand.
There are less clipping issues, but some are still present. Some glitches from way back pop their heads in, such as if you try and put someone in HHH's deathlocks outside, near the crowd barrier, they will float up into the air and rest in the crowd.
The challenges, while a nice addition which adds a bit of replay value, are mainly pointless and easy. Stealing someone's finisher? Performing two finishers in a match? What kind of crap is that? The only half decent ones are the legends ones, and they are easy two. Then the rewards, wassupwitdat? HEAT and Velocity arenas zOMG!!11 that'll keep us amused for ages..NOT! They should have made more, like 30 for each level, then have make-a-challenge or make-a-move type thing to supplement it. And after you beat them all, guess what you unlock
Stone Cold? A Buried Alive match? More Divas? Money? Old premade titles? Give up?
.an alternate attire for the ROCK! What a great reward eh? Yep, the same attire which THQ said would get us all excited.
Online mode. They "surprise" that has never been seen in a WWE game before, many people bought online adapters and got a broadband internet connection, just for this game. Way back in around August '04, I was so hyped about this game, I was even starting an online clan with a few friends, but then the game came out and the idea was thrown out the window for good reasons. For starters, there are only two match types which can be played, and one is the bra and panties match *rolls eyes.* No Royal Rumble, no EC, no TLC and no HIAC or even tag matches. They could of at least put some CAW parts to download or something.
Commentary. Want to hear everything that the commentators will ever say? Play two matches and you're done. I'm dead serious, in my first match, my FIRST match, halfway through the match they were all ready repeating things they said earlier, the commentary blows, both shows are as bad as each other. And you can't even beat them up during match, I was looking forward to messing up J.R's facial features and hitting King with a sledgehammer where the sun doesn't shine. But none of that is possible. They say general comments such as "Both these men have a lot of intestinal fortitude." or "This match is so unpredictable, it could go for another 30 seconds, or 30 minutes!" and crap like that. Other examples of pathetic commentary are when you put in a submission, I was playing as Bret Hart, I locked in the sharp shooter, I button mashed for a while, but my opponent didn't tap, I them Irish whipped them and did a few punches, about 5 seconds later King said "OH MY GOD! He's got the submission locked in!!!" or when I was playing as Rhyno, I went for the gore, but they moved, then a few seconds later, low and behold "GORE! He must be broken in half!" So to some up the commentary in a word
. "Shithouse."
Now you've probably read all this and you are thinking, "What has this guy got against THQ and Yukes, when will he stop complaining?" But this isn't even half of it, I saved the worst 'till last. The biggest let down in the game
SEASON MODE.
Season is what makes or breaks a game, a good season will keep you amused for ages and provide plenty of replay value. A bad season will make you trade in your game after 2 weeks of playing it. To call the season mode in SD! Vs. RAW pathetic, repetitive, shit, boring, and a waste of time..would be an understatement. Play one season on RAW and one on SD! And you have seen every storyline in the game. The storylines suck, random people challenge you to matches at random times, your character doesn't talk, other characters voiceovers suck, Tajiri's voiceovers are in Japanese and there mouth will start moving before they speak, then keep moving after they have finished speaking. You can't go anywhere in season, there is only one backstage area, 2 if you include the PLB match. Which totally sucks I may add, it's a hardcore match in a car park, with a fancy name. Sound like fun? Well it isn't. You can't even put someone through the windshield, jam their head in the door or even break a hubcap over their head. No tag or cruiserweight titles in season make the season mode even worse, the small roster means there aren't many people to challenge and the stupid storylines will make you wonder why you are even bothering. You can change people's disposition or show like in HCTP, I wanted to play as a face Y2J on Smackdown! But I couldn't. There are many more negative things I could say about season, but I won't even waste my breath.
So in closing, this game is scraping the bottom of the barrel, every good thing has a bad point and every bad point has another bad point, it's HCTP with a depleted roster and a few fancy meters, rent, don't buy. I meant to write this review ages ago but couldn't be bothered so I'm doing it now, I hope it helped you in deciding whether to wait 'till SD! V RAW 2 or not, until then, I'm HBK619 good morning, good evening and good night
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