- Play a new set of WWE Legends — classic characters like Andre the Giant
- Incredible graphics update make all the action more amazing — and make the bra & panties match more realistic
- Match Tactics lets players choose to fight dirty or play to the crowd
- Season Mode with new storylines, bigger double-crosses and over-the-top surprises
- Create your own Championship and then put it on the line against your friends in a fully customizable PPV event
Product Description
SMACK DOWN VS RAW TWO WORLDS COLLIDE!
ALL NEW
SUPER VOICE OVER
ONLINE, COAST TO COAST… More >>
I’m back again with all of the latest info for the upcoming wrestling game, WWE Smackdown! v Raw.
This is the FINAL CONFIRMED roster. All of the legends have been added, and the roster has been confirmed by THQ themselves.
Roster
A-Train
Big Show
Batista
Booker T
Bubba Ray Dudley
Charlie Haas
Chavo Guerrero
Chris Benoit
Chris Jericho
Christian
Chuck Palumbo
D-Von Dudley
Eddie Guerrero
Edge
Garrison Cade
Hardcore Holly
J.B. Layfield
John Cena
Kane
Kurt Angle
Mark Jindrak
Matt Hardy
Molly Holly
Randy Orton
Rene Dupree
Rey Mysterio
Rhyno
Ric Flair
Rico
Rob Van Dam
Sable
Scotty 2 Hotty
Shawn Michaels
Shelton Benjamin
Stacy Kiebler
Tajiri
Torrie Wilson
Triple H
Trish Stratus
Undertaker
Victoria
Legends
Animal
Bret Hart
Brutus Beefcake
Hawk
Jimmy Snuka
Legend Kane
Legend Undertaker
Mankind
Roddy Piper
The Rock
Yes, that is the final, complete roster. I can confirm that Eugene, Billy Kidman, Paul London and La Resistance will NOT be in. You will just have to settle with CAW.
When you look at the roster, it does seem quite impressive. Rikishi was removed due to his firing, though Sable has remained. We have much better legends this year, including Bret Hart and Andre the Giant, despite Brutus Beefcake being in. I think they make up for the losses.
~Online HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. So far, only single mode, and a couple of exhibition matches have been confirmed for the feature. It is almost certain that there will be no online season mode, let alone a two-player season.
Other confirmed features
~Chopping mode. Exchange chops with your opponent-Strength determined by a ‘golf swing system’
~The infamous legend mini-rings have been taken out. Thank god.
~Licensed music will be playing in the background during matches and choosing a match type.
~Every single wwe superstar on the roster has their complete, official entrance music.
~Dirty, Clean and Neutral options now available. You can also pit two of the same against eachother. Low blows galore!
~Mini games at the start of a match. Shove battle, stare down and power.
~Much more popular legends
~Charisma has now been added to the attributes
~In caw mode, you actually take a picture of your caw, so it will show that at the character select screen, not some plain blue silhouette.
~The Parking Lot Brawl new match type
~Create-a-belt
~Create-a-PPV
~Choice for commentators, JR and King, Tazz and Cole
~Full voiceovers for wwe wrestlers in season mode.
~Many more moves have been added
~More polygons, wrestlers look even more realistic
~You can now break up submission holds, or break out of them and apply your own!
~New pinning animations as well as being able to put your foot on the ropes while being pinned
~ New, improved weight detection
~New ring angle, some like it some don’t. Its still the normal fr the royal rumble
~More improved royal rumble, not as easy to win.
~Managers interract with referee and the crowd
~Realistic sounds
~Better graphics
~More caw slots
~Better and more realistic referee. You can argue, he waves his hands around and basically is like a real ref.
That’s pretty much all i have to say. It is all completely confirmed. Anything else you hear from sites apart from the larger, trustworthy sites and lies.
Hope i helped.
Rating: 5 / 5
— The good…
The graphics are amazing. THQ continues to raise the bar on PS2 game graphics. The mapping of the faces is superb.
The create modes – wrestler, PPV, and belt – are all great. Though there could be a better option for facial features for the wrestlers.
The sound is great. Most wrestlers come out to their themes and gestures. There are a few themes that they just didn’t have the rights to. Ah well.
The season mode is once again a great way to play the game with some continuity.
The specialty matches are well done.
The “clean” and “dirty” meters and the resulting power bump.
The greater endurance of the wrestlers. No more knocking someone out with an elbow. No more jumping back up immediately after being hit with a chair.
Many, many options for game play, etc…
Legends! The return of the Hitman and Andre.
— The not so good…
The storylines are redundant. Once you’ve played a season, you’ve pretty much seen the stories. Plus, the initial stories don’t portray the WWE Divas in the best light. Making different choices only means a slight alteration in the story.
Talk about redundant. The announce teams have about ten phrases that they rotate through several times per match.
The superstar voiceovers are a bit annoying. Only Vince McMahon sounds like he’s putting anything behind them. The rest sound as though they were half asleep in the studio while recording.
— Overall…
A very good game by THQ that seems to be limited by all of the cool things they tried to pack into it.
Rating: 4 / 5
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW is one of the most anticipated sports games of the season. Many new and re-done modes are in this game, such as the new Parking Lot Brawl or updated legends. This review with let you know about all of these and more.
First off, the new modes: One of the most wanted features that have been included this time around is online play! If you have an online adapter with a DSL or Cable connection, you can play your friends across North America. All of the matches from the previous game, Here Comes the Pain, are intact, but a new match has been added: Parking Lot Brawl. Yes, like the one Eddie Guerrero and John Cena were in in October 2003. It comes complete with interactive weapons, such as the cars you are encircled in. Also, in this games season mode comes with complete voiceovers for every, yes you read right, EVERY character in the game. The season mode is anticipated to be the same quality, if not better, as last years. At the beginning of the match, you can choose whether you are a “clean” or “dirty” fighter, which can give you special rewards in the match. Also, at the beginning of the match is a clever “test of strength” mini-game.
The create-a features have been expanded this year. Obviously, create-a-wrestler is still in, but two more create-a’s have been instated. From SmackDown! Know Your Role, the Create-a-Pay-Per-View mode has been resurrected, and a new Create-a-Belt feature has been included. These two modes are going to be one of the ones that makes this game great. Don’t expect the high-quality entrance creater that was in Day of Reckoning, however. It appears to still be GameCube exclusive. Other than that, SvR looks to bring a lot to the table in it’s Create-a-Wrestler mode, like it does every year.
Now, we go to the elements of the Superstars in the game: Except for Stacy Keibler and Garrison Cade (and a few of the legends), all of the Superstars have their current theme songs. Even Randy Orton, with his brand new song performed by Mercy Drive. The majority of the models in this game are like their real-life counterparts, which is a plus. The Divas in this game, Molly, Sable, Stacy, Torrie, Trish and Victoria, look incredibly awesome, especially in the Bra-and-Panties. Unfortunately, highly requested Superstars like Eugene and La Résistance are not included, though former member Rene Dupree is in the game. The Legends roster is quite nice as well, with Andre the Giant, Bret Hart, Brutus Beefcake, Old School Kane and Mankind appearing as new legends, in addition to Animal, Hawk, Jimmy Snuka, Old School Undertaker, and Roddy Piper. Strangely enough, The Rock is a Legend in this game as well. Unfortunately, these men cannot be used in season mode.
The game really expands on the SmackDown! vs. RAW concept, with options of choosing referee Mike Chioda or Earl Hebner and using the announce team (yes, there is commentary!) of either Tazz and Michael Cole or Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross. Overall, the game looks to be wonderfully crafted. With competitors like Showdown: Legends of Wrestling and Rumble Roses (the upcoming females-only game, which oddly enough, uses a similar engine to the previous game, Here Comes the Pain), WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW certainly shines through.
EDIT: THIS GAME WILL STILL COME OUT, REGARDLESS OF THE JAKKS/THQ/WWE SUIT.
Rating: 5 / 5
This new game from THQ and YUKES is full of improvements. The only new match is “Parking Lot Brawl.”
There are also two new modes, Create a Belt, and Create a PPV.
The graphics are better, and all superstars now have voices recorded by their real-life counterparts. Plus, commentary makes a return in this game with Cole/Tazz and King/JR!
The roster is sadly missing current tag champs: La Resistance, Kidman and London, and also Spike Dudley, the Cruiser champ, Eugene, William Regal, Lita, and Hurricane. Despite this, the roster is still fairly decent. Unfortunately, Garrison Cade, Mark Jindrak, Sable, A-Train, and Chuck are in, even though the wrestlers above who are more important are not! This is the worst part of the whole game!
The legends have been greatly improved, however, with Old School Kane, Undertaker and Rock. Also, Bret Hart, Brutus Beefcake, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, Andre the Giant, Mankind and Legion of Doom.
All mechanics, and controls have been cleaned up. There are many new minigames and exciting changes to overall spice this up.
The Create a Wrestler mode is slightly better, and various little requested fixed have been implemented to other modes.
Finally, the game WILL be online playable! BUY THIS GAME! Also, please send comments to Yukes, to help them improve NEXT years game!
Rating: 5 / 5
Wow.
I am so depressed.
I own and run an e-fed called xwf99.com, and I have always enjoyed creating my top 30-odd guys with CAW and then filling up a show with just them. Going through a full season as one of my guys, then coming back for a new season with the old champs all in place was a wonderful feature that I guess I took for granted, because SEASON MODE is now an absolute insult.
You can’t let the old season attributes (champs, etc.) roll over to the next season without also controlling the same character you did last time you played. And can the CAW’s you aren’t using even get involved as computer-controlled characters? I don’t know, because I walked away in sheer disillusionment after trying in vain to do some of the simple things that HCTP offered, like CHANGING THE ROSTERS for each show (CAN’T DO IT HERE) What’s the point of having so many CAW slots if they can’t interact with your season? Creating a character has gotten worse in places as well, and why the heck aren’t there more generic movies for the entrances? Why do we have to look at the WWE logo if we’re an original character? What about a movie of an explosion, or fire, or a car crash, or old war footage, or a puppet show, or a kitten playing with a ball of string, or a nice juicy steak.. ANYTHING!!
The voiceovers are ill-concieved and sound amateurish and poorly acted. It sounds like the wrestlers are in a studio reading lines. The only voice that seems to get it is Mr. McMahon himself, but his over-the-top reading just makes everyone else sound just that much more plastic. There’s a reason they dumped this feature way back; it’s a whole lot of work for very little payoff. And the repetitiveness is frustrating, as mentioned in an earlier review.
The biggest let down for me is Season Mode, which has gone from a free-form, play-as-you-go, let’s-see-what-happens, twists & turns type of affair, to a THIS IS HOW IT IS, cookie cutter, scripted bore. And what’s with all the Divas acting so desperate to get it on with the Story character? I created an overweight, angry, less-than-attractive guy, and Stacy Keibler was still hugging on him like he was Brad Freakin’ Pitt!
Overall, it’s really a big letdown, and I’m glad HCTP exists. I’m sure I’ll throw Smackdown vs. Raw into my PS2 again, but it will only be to convince myself once and for all that there’s no valid reason to play it.
Rating: 1 / 5