WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009

The Good
Since I gave away my PS2, the PSP is my only medium now to access the WWE games. Being extremely disappointed with the prior release 2008 and it's awful WWE 24/7 mode, I decided to pick up RVS 2009 to quench my thirst for wrestling with an updated roster and hopefully a proper story and general manager mode.

The gameplay and controls are pretty much of the prior release which isn't a bad thing at all. The movement is controlled on the D-pad while the analog takes on taunting and adding strength to a submission. Not to mention the analog still plays an important role in Ultimate grapple. For those unaware as to what Ultimate grapple is, basically you start of with a base move and can perform variations of the move. Here's an example: I pull the opponent as if I'm going for a DDT and as I hold the opponent i can either perform a DDT or a neck-breaker. You can do variations of a Samoan drop or even a power bomb. It was a good feature introduced in RVS 2007 and stayed on.

A new addition is Abilities. In the previous game we had fighting styles in which each fighting style had a unique set of abilities. But having 2 wrestlers with the same fighting style means that both will have the same set of abilities. Now each wrestler has 6 different abilities for example Shawn Micheal has Kip Up which makes him spring up from the ground if hes knocked down and will have full momentum and that's just like what happens on the actual TV show. Other abilities include Object Grapple, Push Referee, Dirty Pin, Fan Favorite etc. What makes this different to the 2008's fighting style is that each superstar will have a unique combination of these abilities and not a fixed set. This is easily one of the best gameplay improvements.

Finishing moves are performed by filling your momentum meter to full. When it's full you can either perform your finishing move or store a signature moves. Signature moves are moves wrestlers are famous for using and are not really used in a match as a finisher or regular moves often associated with a wrestler. If you watch WWE on television then John Cena's 5-Knuckle-Shuffle and Batista's Spear are perfect examples. Momentum is filled by performing actions relevant to your personality i.e. Good Guy(Face/Clean) or Bad (Heel/Dirty). A Heel will usually use illegal objects or perform illegal moves like biting the forehead etc. while a clean superstar will try to win over the crowd. I really love this about the WWE games as this is what WWE story lines revolve around and lets you play both sides of the coin.

Speaking of storylines, season has been scraped and instead they have brought in “Road to WrestleMania”. This is probably the best story mode I've seen in the RVS Series. Yes it is limited to only 7 superstars but that's what makes it so focused. Imagine playing all 60+ wrestlers in a single story mode, the wrestlers individual personality and uniqueness wouldn't be exploited, same old chase for the world title 60 times with few rivalries on the way. And what if the developers made a storyline for all 60 superstars in the game? Well 90% of those would surely end up being uninspired, boring and rushed. Development would surely take around 1.5 to 2 years too.

RTWM features some of the top “face” (wrestling term for good guys) superstars such as Undertaker, John Cena, Chris Jericho (he was a face during the development of this game), CM Punk, Triple H and a Co-op of Batista and Mysterio. All of them take place during the Road to Wrestlemania which is 4 weeks before the Royal Rumble Pay-per-view. Some of the storylines can be a bit cheesy for example Undertakers but the execution is so good it works, thanks to original voice overs by the superstars themselves and spectacular presentation. There's none of that bullshit of building stats and popularity like there was in 24/7 last year, just 100% focus on story and that's why this mode is a success.

Season and GM mode are scraped and Yukes decided to replace it with Career mode. Basically you chase after all the title belts and while doing so you gain abilities and can increase the stats of your character. The mode is simple, you have a fixed number of stars to earn which is usually 15. Perform in a match and based on how well the match went you will earn stars on a scale of 5.

No matter who you choose for the career mode you will start with 30 overall stats and your abilities will reset to nothing. So its dead obvious that this mode is actually intended for your Created Superstar as this is the ONLY way to level up the stats for your created superstar. Stats are decided based on how you perform in a match, you run a lot during the match your speed will increase, you reverse a lot your technical will increase, you get the point.

Also you can earn abilities as you progress depending on your actions, once earned cannot be removed and can hold a maximum of 6. For e.g. to earn the Rope Dive ability you have to win the Cruiserweight title.

Also Included is a Roster editor which allows you to change many aspects of the roster such as Brand, Clean/Dirty and even strip and hand titles to whom you want to be Champion. Create-A-Wrestler/Moveset/Entrance are pretty much the same as last year and still good too. Create-a-Belt, the very underdeveloped part of the game has finally been removed and Create-a-Finisher which is like a dream come true for many wrestling fans has finally made it. For a debut it's works pretty decent.

Many of the match types still remain. Some which were missing are brought back and 2 new additions, the Inferno match and Gauntlet match. The tag team match has some massive improvements. Now the illegal opponent can actually pull down the ropes, distract referee, force a tag and build a hot tag. If you watch wrestling especially WWE shows you'll know what a hot tag is. Basically when the legal man is down normally getting overpowered by the bad guy, the Illegal team mate starts clapping and banging the turnbuckle followed by the audience getting into his rhythm. The legal team mate struggles and finally makes a jump and gets the tag. The fresh team mate then heads in and clears the ring. These are nice additions and makes the Tag matches incredibly fun.

The Bad
While this game might look like it's heading to the hall of fame for being the best in the series it's cut short by many factors. First off after finishing Road To WM I felt I had pretty much finished the game & that Career mode and Tournament Mode are just bonus content.

Even though it seemed to be in it's prototype stage, General Manager mode was one of the best additions to this series. It let many wrestling fans live their dreams of being a match booker. It let our imaginations go wild with creating dream rivalries, cleverly planning out each event so we could win over the fans. Keep pushing a unpopular superstar into stardom. There was so much to do. Although 2008's 24-7 mode took things a little too far it was still fun to play as a General Manager.

The developers decided to remove GM mode and replace it with Career mode. Career mode is fun for a while but it's pretty unrealistic and repetitive which can be a turn off.

No one in the WWE chases after every title. A Heavyweight superstar cannot compete the Cruiserweight title. I ACTUALLY found Mark Henry a 400+ pounder in the cruiserweight tier. As a Diva you chase after every title and battle male superstars, but can only participate in 2-3 types of matches and I really wish they got rid of this no divas in extreme matches.

Now if you're a person who creates many superstars you're gonna have a hard time leveling him/her up. Career mode is the only way to do so and the ways to earn abilities are only disclosed after you've unlocked them. Ridiculous if you ask me. You will normally end up accidentally earning abilities you don't want by mistake. Or filling that slot you were saving for Rope Dive with Object Maneuver because you accidentally used too many objects in the last match. Oh and as I mentioned before once earned you can't get rid of them.

I unlocked the WCW Brand, well it was a major competition brought out by the WWE just like ECW. I was so excited I went into the roster editor and assigned my Created wrestlers and various superstars to that brand. 5 minutes later I realized, what can I do with it? Besides compete for the WCW title in exhibition mode with WCW assigned wrestlers having a WCW background image. Yes that's all it does. The Tournament mode is boring when you got something similar like Career mode. And playing exhibition can also get stale since it's just for killing time. GM mode played an important part by adding and more importantly letting you add more into your Single Player experience.

Getting to the technical and other aspects of the game. The graphics are good on PSP standards, but they really need to work on the audience. There is a stupid breaking glass effect on your finishers impact which doesn't have an option to turn off.

Sound can be very unrealistic. Punches and kicks sound like rubber hitting wood. Music can get annoying since it's not oriented for the purpose of background like the old Smackdown games. So it gets annoying when you've heard that idiot from Disturbed attempting to scat for the 100th time in a single playing session because the soundtrack is limited. Commentary is missing during matches in the PSP version but so are the announcer tables. I guess it's technical limitations?

Speaking of which your Created wrestler can have a maximum of 16 layers only. You'll end up compromising on knee pads just so your bad boy can have some badass makeup. Even ear rings and tattoos count as layers, so there's a limitation in the PSP version.

Yes the A.I has seen some improvements but still not good enough. Surely now they wont keep picking and dropping weapons but to appear as difficult all they do is reverse most of your moves but I would prefer if they would be so aggressive that they won't give you any breathing room.

As mentioned before, Divas cannot compete in extreme matches. What I also find weird is that there is no realism in strength. So divas and weaker strengthen superstars like Rey Mysterio and Paul London can be seen manhandling the Big Show or Great Khali. Previous versions had a limitation on this which brought superb realism, I find it funny it's not present here. I'm unaware if the major console versions have this.

The Bottom Line
This edition definably peaks in the superb story mode “Road To Wrestlemania” and the new tag team gameplay. But with all the focus there they forgot about replay-ability or some purpose for your fine tuned created superstar or that team management/roster editor. Hmmm maybe implement those so they can complement the general manager mode. But the GM mode is taken out so there is no point discussing that. Honestly this game is like having a room full of ammunition but nothing to shoot at and that can lead to extreme frustration. Conclusion: Disappointing.