WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007 (Xbox 360) Review
Posted by Chris McCarver on 11.24.2006
Does the latest WWE game live up to the massive hype?
Platform: Xbox 360 (also available for Playstation 2 and PSP)
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Yuke's Media Creations
ESRB: T (blood, language, suggestive themes, violence)
Release Date: Nov. 14, 2006
Review by CHRIS McCARVER
Long has WWE SmackDown! been the gold standard of professional-wrestling games. Ever since THQ scooped up the game license from Acclaim close to seven years ago, developer Yuke's has consistently made the franchise the undefeatable goliath of the genre, even up against other THQ titles branded with the WWE license. Though Yuke's has won the battle with each of their offerings for the Playstation and PS2, THQ has handed the keys to the other consoles to other developers with much less than stellar results. 'Twould appear THQ has finally learned how to dominate the market: by making their latest WWE SmackDown! release multi-platform. We now focus our attention on the only next-gen iteration of THQ's latest squared-circle slugfest, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007.
"Taker. Please go back to wearing the pants. Seriously. You can't pull off the head-to-toe spandex, man."
Graphics
The 360 version of SDvR '07 boasts the singly most lifelike CG renditions of the WWE roster to date. The character models' muscle structure looks very realistic and not simply skin texture spraypainted onto obvious jaggy wireframes. Taking what is one of many pages the game takes from Fight Night Round 3's playbook, the models display a very realistic layer of sweat that increases from the time they walk into the ring till the moment their hand's raised for a win. What's even more notable is the lighting effects and how they differ depending on the type of fabric illuminated. Wrestlers with "shinier" ring attire, such as Rey Mysterio's pants, actually have dynamic and varying reflection rather than just airbrushed highlighting. The crowd models are actually fairly well-done as well, even though their animations are fairly limited.
Unfortunately, as good as the characters look, how they move is a minor downfall for this title. The characters do move very fluidly with minimal framerate lag, but this series is notorious for its atrocious collision detection and SDvR '07 almost seems a further step down, if that was even possible. Wrestlers performing moves on characters much smaller or larger in size than them don't adjust the positioning of the bodies to accommodate the height variance. Gamers may also notice body parts passing through ring ropes or sinking into the ground while walking or performing ground moves. And speaking of the ring ropes, they are rife with jagged pixels that stick out as the game's most annoying graphics glitch.
And, on a personal note, one thing that Yuke's still has yet to get right, and that has always bugged me, is that second spit-take Triple H shoots to the crowd before entering the ring. The facial animation always looked like he was having a B.M. instead and this year's version is no exception.
Triple H intimidates Kane with his belly button lint.
Gameplay
If you've played WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006, not much about the 2007 release will surprise you. All the favorite features are here: match types ranged from standard singles and tag-team to ladder, table, and casket matches, a season mode in which the player works through the daily grind of touring with one of the WWE rosters for one or more years, robust create-a-wrestler/title belt/pay-per-view features, tons of unlockables, and a General Manager mode that lets you do all the armchair booking your heart desires. So what's different?
Probably the most notable addition to the gameplay of this year's digital wrestle-fest is the analog grapple system. Rather than using a face button, grapple moves are used by flicking the right analog stick into one of the four polar directions. The right stick alone does quick attacks while using it in conjunction with the right bumper places the opponent in a grapple, after which another stick-flick will perform a grapple. On top of that, clicking the right stick enacts what's called an "ultimate control" move, wherein the attacking wrestler hefts the opponent and the game gives the attacker a choice of two or three attacks to hit from that position. The game also makes use of "environmental hotspots" where ultimate control moves can be used in conjunction with the security walls, the turnbuckles, the ring steps, and what have you. Players will even be able to use certain hotspots to take their fight into the crowd. If you remember the stamina meter from last year's game, it makes a return here and is doubly reduced if you use ultimate control moves, so they should be utilized sparingly. The new grapple system is something to get used to and may take SmackDown! veterans a while to accustom themselves, but it is definitely an improvement over the previous game and a shoe-in for inclusion in next year's.
The game's season mode has been overhauled a bit inasmuch as how storyline choices are offered and made. You start each week in your locker room, wherein you get news from the WWE website on your desktop computer and text and voice mail from your general manager or other wrestlers on your roster. In addition to locker room interaction, you of course have fully rendered and voiced CG cutscenes (that unfortunately suffer from shakier camera work than "NYPD Blue"'s first three seasons) during which your feuds come to life. The season mode is heavily lengthened this year with dozens of branching storylines both original and familiar, and all of them are a hoot to play through. Also, there's no calendar or apparent limit to season mode this time which makes it not feel as short and finite as last year's.
The General Manager mode is back with a bit of refinement that make this mini-game a booking sim par excellence. New features this year include hiring writers to craft better angles and the option to shunt wrestlers to either Heat or Velocity (not exactly current, are we?) in order to improve their overness with the fans. You can also access a "Power 25" ranking of the WWE's heaviest hitters so as to better utilize more popular wrestlers more efficiently. If a player so chooses, he can actually wrestle a match he books just to break the monotony. Yes, I said "monotony." How much the player enjoys playing through GM mode will largely depend on how much the player enjoys doing the armchair booking thing. Some may just want to jump in and actually wrestle matches rather than sit in authority over the WWE's fictional universe, so whether you'll enjoy GM mode will largely depend on personal preference.
So with all this praise, what's wrong with this game? Well, let's run down the list. Tag-team matches (the bane of my existence as a fan of this franchise) are still a pain to score a pinfall in since your opponent's partner will run in to break the pin every bloody time. The game has frequent and laboriously long loading times, and while many of the unlockables are worth obtaining, such as wrestlers and movesets for created grapplers, many of them are just window dressing and largely useless gameplay-wise, such as alternate costumes for non-created wrestlers and locker room decor. And, speaking of the locker room, gone is the side-scrolling through options in favor of a free-roam first-person walkthrough approach that sadly has very twitchy and overly speedy movement in terms of movement and camera aim. Also of note is the very dated interpretation of the WWE at large; the roster therein is several months old, excluding many current performers and including many others that have since left the promotion (new TNA recruit Kurt Angle sticks out like a sore thumb here). And, for good or ill, the recently-established ECW brand is nowhere to be seen, save for the One Night Stand PPV, which means JBL is still wrestling and Tazz is still doing color commentary for the SmackDown! telecasts.
What stands out as probably the biggest detriment to SDvR '07 is the overwhelming sense of been-there-done-that. While we've got new gameplay features and options, the game fundamentally the same gameplay that fans of the franchise have seen before in this title's previous seven iterations. The variety of wrestling moves has only been marginally and cosmetically updated over the years, usually just to include the finishing and signature moves of the promotion's new roster additions. Though SmackDown! is storied for its trouncing of competing wrestling games, until the guys at Midway finally get that TNA game going and Capcom realizes that Rumble Roses needs to be more than threadbare jiggle-mania, SmackDown! has become to pro wrestling what Madden is to pro football: literally the only game in town. The gameplay in this title is top-notch, don't misunderstand, but one can't help but wonder if the needle on THQ and Yukes' innovation tank is inching towards the "E."
"Dude, that is the worst Blair Witch stick-man I have ever seen."
Sound
SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007's audio package is something of a mixed bag. The sound effects are virtually unchanged from the previous title's audio engine, but the FX is still serviceable and effective. Sadly, it would seem that THQ did little to update the audio barks in the ringside commentary by the Raw team of Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler and the SmackDown! pairing of Michael Cole and Tazz (another example of the age of the game's roster). The commentary barks are basically the same assortment of repetitive and useless chatter that made gamers' ears bleed in the last game. THQ did update the entrance commentary to coincide with season mode storylines, but did so with nothing else. Thankfully, the wrestlers' cutscene VO is amply performed by each member of the included roster and none of it sounds phoned in.
One further auditory annoyance is the wind-whoosh that accompanies the quadruple-take that accompanies every application of a character's finishing move. We don't need to see four rapid-fire takes of the same guy being pounded into the canvas every single time in the first place, and the sound effect just adds to the groan factor.
Nearly all of the WWE entrance themes have made their return, though some tracks have been replaced with rough remixes and some wrestlers (mainly from the Legends roster) have none at all. The game also features an additional tracklist of licensed music that can be utilized as entrance themes for created wrestlers, including alterna-rock from the likes of Rise Against and Three Days Grace and a scant selection of hip-hop (I'm talking two songs total). The licensed tracklist consists of only twelve songs that also play during every non-match and non-cutscene screen, so if you weren't already sick of hearing "Animal I Have Become" on local radio, you will be. You will be.
To this day, Kane still wonders why the chiropractic clinic had a studio audience and the doctor only wore boots and a Speedo.
Lasting Appeal
My complaints aside, fans of the franchise and of the WWE in general will have a lot to love about this title, especially in terms of longevity. With as many match options (including the inclusion of the Money in the Bank match) storylines available to players and the now-infinite format of season mode, this title truly is something players can play for hours on end. The game is also a completion-gamer's dream, as the game contains a number of unlockables to be obtained through season mode and challenge mode, or by purchase with "WWE cash" earned through winning matches in season mode. Longtime SmackDown! players who, like myself, just get this game to make a custom jobber and push him through the ranks of the WWE while gradually building onto his abilities will find a wealth of enjoyment with this game as well. The game also features Xbox Live support, with the notable addition of the inclusion of voice chat during online matches.
An Excedrin headache in the making.
Fun Factor
This is one title I would point to gamers who are afraid to try wrestling games since, at its core, SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007 is a fairly deep fighting game that (yes, I'm saying it) rivals such mainstays as Mortal Kombat and Dead or Alive. The gameplay, while largely unchanged from the previous iteration, is fun and satisfying, and the storylines make arguably a lot more sense that the recent Japanese SNK-wannabe button-masher to cross the Pacific into American consoles. And with the new grapple system, gamers will have even more options to consider when faced with the dilemma of how best to pummel a sweaty 250-pound spandex-clad gymrat into early retirement. The complaints I have for this game lean largely towards the cosmetic, and said flaws don't detract too much from the sheer joy this game provides.
The 411
Is SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007 a bit derivative and in danger of eating its own creative tail. Probably. Is it fun? In the words of my favorite, beer-chugging Texan, oh hell yeah. While the presentation problems are something Yuke's is definitely going to have to address now that next-gen is no longer the sweaty dream of those glued to G4's E3 '06 coverage, the gameplay is fundamentally challenging, addictive, and very enjoyable. While the SmackDown! franchise may be the only game in town, at least it's a good game. And that's the bottom line 'cause... well, you know the rest.
Graphics
7.5
Incredibly lifelike and fluid character models, otherwise a bit unpolished for a next-gen game, lousy collision detection
Gameplay
9.0
Tons of gameplay options, infinite season mode with dozens of branching storylines, innovative new grappling system, badly outdated roster, minimal improvement from the previous game, GM mode may not be for everyone
Sound
5.0
Very nice cutscene VO, next to no updating of ringside commentary, licensed music tracks get old very fast
Lasting Appeal
8.5
Many match options, no end to season mode, lots of unlockables, ample online capability
Fun Factor
8.5
Robust gameplay, enough new options to attract fans of the franchise, not perfect but flaws are largely superficial
