Smackdown vs. Raw
review by Bil Withonel

I love Pro-Wrestling. Ok, make fun of me all you want, I'm used to it. I've been watching WWF/WWE every week as far back as I can remember. I think my most emotionally charged memories of my early days as a wrestling fan are from the seemingly never ending fued beyween Rowdy Roddy Piper, and Jimmy Superfly Snuka. As an adult, watching Mick Foley fall off the top of the Hell in the Cell through a table, caused me to stand straight up out of my chair yelling HOLY SHIT and a few other obsenities that would make the casual observer think I have Tourettes or something. Inevitably someone will have to show me just how intelligent they are and bring to my attention that "It's fake" as if in my 35 years, this was something I happened not to notice. Anyway, I love Pro-Wrestling. It is classic good vs evil comicbook style storytelling. Oh, and the chicks are hot.

2004's offering to the WWE Wrestling gaming catalogue is SMACKDOWN Vs RAW. This is the 6th version of Smackdown and the 4th for the PS2. Is it the best one yet? Well, Yes and No. There are a lot of definate improvements, and real good ones at that, but the game has a let down or two as well.

On the upside. All the specialty matches are back, including the famous Bra and Panites matches, the Hell in the Cell, 1st Blood, TLC, The Elimination Chamber, my personal favorite, The Slobber Knocker, and many many more. There's a Create a PPV mode once again in this game, but this time around you can create and design your own title belt. In addition if a friend brings over his memory card, you can compete for the belt and if he should win the belt, it transfers to his memory card, and you are left crying for a rematch. Once he has the belt, he has to option of selling it within the game and trading the money in for some of the unlockables. Unlockables include some old school wrestlers like Brutis the cokehead, er umm Barber Beefcake, Kane with his make still on and the classic Undertaker. Also making a return to this game is the Announcer commentary. this was left out of the past few versions because it was REALLY lame the first time around. The commentary actually seems relevant to what is going on in the ring, instead of Tazz saying "I think this is good" every 3 minutes. The announcers aren't the only ones with voice overs, every major superstar has spoken dialogue within the storylines of Season mode. Biggest of all the new or updated features is online play. Now you can kick in the teeth of complete strangers from all over the country, or if you're like me, get humilated , embarrased and talked down to by 13 year olds from all over the midwest.The always popular Create-A-Wrestler is back, which is always the 1st thing I go for. Who wants to play as the Rock and beat up Roddy Piper, when you can make counterparts for you and your friends and watch them smack the shit out of one another? Pissed off at your girlfriend? Make a character out of her and toss her ass off the cage. The Wrestling engine itself has had major improvements, including Dirty and Clean styles of fighting, and the "Ric Flair chop, WHOOO!" . In the bra and panties matches, girls can spank each other on the bottom, which is entertaining in its own right, but get three in a row and you are rewarded with some HLA.

Downside goes like this. While I understand its the 1st WWE game with online play, the online play is very limited. You can choose from only a standards Singles match or the always popular Bra and Panties Match. That's it. When I heard about the online play, I had dreams about multiplayer games with 6 people from all different areas of the country playing in an elimination chamber match or possibly a tournament like the King of the Ring used to be, or even a Royal Rumble. Maybe next time, I hope. Another disappointment was the Roster. While impressive, there are so many superstars left out. I would have expected the see The Hurricane, Spike Dudley, Billy Kidman, Carlito, Dawn Marie, Orlando Jones, and a few others, all noticabley absent from the game. Sable, who hasn't been around for going on a year now, IS in the game however. (Her finishing move is the bullshit lawsuit) The superstar voiceovers while nice also have a few downsides. Firstly, is really shows off who the good actors are as well as who the bad ones are. Ranting in the ring in front of 20,000 people is one thing, but reading index cards in a soundbooth is something different. Undertaker sounds like he's holding down a burp at times. The other downside of having voiceovers is that is severly limits the storylines. In privious versions, I have played many different times with radically different storylines that can be twisted around simply by changing how you answer or respond. This time around, I have seen the exact same storyline 3 or 4 times, always with the same wrestlers, and the story doesn't get diverted in one direction or the other no matter how you respond.

All in all, it is a very solid wrestling game with a high addictive factor, and if the shortcomings are updated properly next time around, then we all have something to look forward to. The online play can be a lot of fun, and my brother and I will set up grudgematches with one another once in a while, rather than go over one another's place. He's also lucky he can't defend his title online. I have a character named and modeled after Danzig. Look for me online, and I'll kick your ass..... providing you're not 13 years old..