Xbox

WWE Raw 2

Raw 2 is a ton of fun when you play it with friends and damn solid if you're buddyless and still want to have some grappling fun. The new moves you get with the cage, cell, tables, ladders and chairs does take things a step beyond what the all-powerful No Mercy showed us. The gameplay and create-a-wrestler elements of the game are outstanding and make Raw 2 worth the price of admission for wrestling fans.

Raw2 gives us a lot compared to last years showing. They have improved every aspect of the game, and more. The story mode in Raw2 is innovate and fresh. The gameplay is quicker and deeper. The ‘create a wrestler’ is huge and impressive. The reply value is untouchable and the roster is a dream. Every wrestling fan needs to give Raw2 a chance. Raw2 is not flawless and maybe a month under the microscope and Anchor could have fixed all the minor and down right stupid mistakes that where left in. Besides the glitches, Raw2 holds it own and deserves to be ranked as one of the greatest wrestling games of the next generation of videogames.

Those small gripes I have mentioned in this review can't even dent the excellent quality of this game. THQ and their development studios knew what they had to do, and then did it! It's that simple. This is such an improvement over WWE Raw it's not funny. And now Xbox owners have their game. Now more sitting on the Wrestling video game sidelines as PS2 gamers flock to Smackdown: Bring the Pain, and GameCube players rumble through the bloody Wrestlemania XIX. No more jealousy, you have a game of similar quality.

WWE Raw 2 breaths new life into the franchise and makes for a pretty entertaining wrestling game on the Xbox. This game brings us all the juicy extras we all love in our wrestling games and has plenty of game modes to sink our teeth into but it still has a long way to go if it wants to be the ultimate pro wrestling title. Still the improvements do work here and this is, by far, one of the most solid WWE wrestling games on the Xbox so far. Give this one a chance, wrestling fans.

Let me put your mind at ease right off: This is nothing like the first Raw Xbox game. We’re talking going back to the drawing board on nearly all accounts. Does this make it better than the first? It’s true; it’s true. Does it make Raw 2 the best wrestling game out there? Oh, hell no.

WWE Raw 2 just doesn't feel like much of a step forward in the series. Instead it feels more like a big step sideways. Truth be told, Anchor has done a great job packing the game full of fringe benefits, like an excellent create-a-wrestler mode, a gaggle of different match types, and the new season mode. However, these benefits are somewhat negated if you can't back them up with a solid gameplay experience, and Raw 2 simply can't. If you were a big proponent of WWF Raw, you may find Raw 2 to be more to your liking.

"Raw 2" is a great-looking game that takes "WWE Raw," and adds some impressive new features without correcting some of the control and AI issues from the first game. If you can deal with that, then you may have loads of fun with the game's better play modes. But this is one trip inside the squared circle best left to the fans.

In fact, the Season mode is pretty much the only thing keeping this lump of disappointment afloat. There are much better wrestling games out there than this, and the WWE shows are on several times each week if you need to get your manly soap-opera fix.

Avec THQ c'est tout ou rien. Soit ils nous livrent un Smackdown, soit on doit se contenter de WWE Raw. Si le jeu a fait des progrès, la majeure partie de ces derniers est accessoire. Au lieu de développer une belle enveloppe, les gars de Anchor auraient mieux fait de bosser sur leur gameplay.

If the only console you have is an Xbox, either get MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch, or a GameCube and play WrestleMania XIX. Chances are, you have a PS2 and will be getting Smackdown anyway. You know, if this game were taken online, virtually everything would have been overlooked by millions of wrestling fans…

After WWE Raw, Anchor had nowhere to go but up. WWE Raw 2 is deeper, by far, but it comes with many new inconsistencies and oddities. Sadly, this is becoming par for the course from THQ's titles. I applaud the obvious attempt to bring the Raw series up-to-snuff, but as with WrestleMania XIX on the 'Cube, you'll need to bring a friend to smell what this game is cookin'.

My initial reaction playing a match in Raw 2 was negative. As a fan of the genre, I have played many a stinker in hopes of finding that perfect gem: a wrestling game that is deep enough to appreciate as someone who's followed the "sport" and fun enough to play with friends late into the night. Raw's gameplay, presentation, and feeling of authenticity all leave a lot to be desired - I could see that from almost the opening bell. And the more I played, the more flaws revealed themselves.