WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011

The wwe smackdown vs raw games are always good fun to play and the latest wwe game has plenty to offer from characters to fighting enviornments ,this game has more packed into it than the 2010 game and will keep any wrestling fan hooked on it for hours ,the graphics are impressive as usual ,the wrestling moves are more realistic and the roster of wrestlers are massive ,like the 2010 game you start off in the training room practicing the wrestling moves and controls (you can press the start button anytime you like to skip it) and the road to wrestlemania mode now lets you explore backstage before fighting in a match ,this lets you choose the option if you want to fight anyone backstage before a match ,weapons are also fully interactive letting you slam your opponent into one on the mat ,2 tables can be stacked and can be slammed into by a suplex from the top rope and reversing moves from the cpu players are also easier in this game.

The game does have some bugs though as iv noticed unlock flaws and sound flaws. when unlocking paul bearer he can disappear next time the console is switched on even though he is still registered on the road to wrestlemania unlock list ,the music in the game's main menu can become scratchy after a while (it's not my hdmi cable as the rest of my games don't experience this problem ,this may just be the disc but i highly doubt it ,i just reset the console to solve the problem) ,the wwe universe mode may bore some people after a while because this mode basically repeat's the same actions when theres interference at the beginning of a match and after some matches a hand shake will come up but the opponent always hits the hand away so you know whats going to happen ,97% of the time a match can be won after just one finisher no matter how badly beaten up the cpu opponent is ,the cpu can be irritating by recovering in seconds no matter how beaten up it is (i hate this on ladder matches) ,the enviornments on the backstage in road to wrestlemania are always the same (only the wrestlers are different everytime) and the legend difficulty is like playing it on easy.

Despite these flaws this game is still great fun to play ,it's game modes and different kinds of match types make this a fantastic wrestling game for wrestling fans and people who like a game to muck around on to pass the time ,i have included all the unlockables i have unlocked in this game.

The game modes in this game are...

Play - play an exhibition game as...

1 - One on one - these matches are ,normal match ,inferno match ,first blood ,hell in a cell ,iron man ,ladder ,last man standing ,submission ,steel cage ,tables ,TLC ,backstage (GM office ,locker room A ,B ,large locker room ,interview area ,catering area and parking lot) ,extreme rules and the new match creator which lets you create your own match by customizing your rules ,win conditions and more).

2 - Two on two - these matches are ,tag team ,tornado tag ,mixed tag ,hell in a cell tornado tag ,ladder tornado tag ,steel cage tornado tag ,table tornado tag ,TLC tornado tag ,elimination tag ,backstage ,extreme rules and match creator.

3 - Triple threat - these matches are ,normal ,hell in a cell ,ladder ,steel cage ,table ,TLC ,extreme rules and match creator.

4 - Fatal- 4 -way - these matches are ,normal ,battle royal ,hell in a cell ,ladder ,steel cage ,table ,TLC ,extreme rules and match creator.

5 - 6 man - these matches are ,battle royal ,normal tag ,elimination tag ,elimination chamber ,armageddon hell in a cell ,ladder and match creator.

6 - Handicap - these matches are ,gauntlet ,one on two tornado ,one on two tag ,one on three tag ,one on three tornado ,two on three tag and match creator.

7 - Royal rumble - these matches are ,10 man ,20 man and 30 man royal rumble.

8 - Championship scramble - a 5 man 5 minute scramble for a championship belt.

Wwe universe - this career mode lets you play a full year of wwe wrestling ,it's your show so you can choose what matches and wrestlers you want in it throughout the year ,smackdown ,raw ,superstars and the pay per view events are all in this mode.

Road to wrestlemania - this mode has changed from the previous 2 games by letting you explore backstage and interacting with other wrestlers letting you choose what path you want for each of the wrestlers featured in this mode ,the wrestlers playable in this mode are...

Created wrestler vs undertaker ,kofi kingston vs undertaker ,john morrison vs undertaker ,dolph ziggler vs undertaker and r-truth vs undertaker (these are seperate stories for each wrestler against undertaker but they are all the same).

Christian
John cena
Rey mysterio
Chris jericho

Create modes - this mode has a story designer ,create a wrestler (male and female) ,create a finisher ,create an entrance ,wwe highlight reel and create a move set.

Online - online battling with an online royal rumble and more.

My wwe - manage the wrestlers in wwe universe mode by changing the rosters ,add new brand logos and adjusting the wrestlers attributes ,team management (alter the tag teams in the game or add new ones) ,practice arena (options for the practice mode at the start of the game).

Wwe shop - online shop for purchasing extra wrestler costumes not available through playing the game ,unlocking chris masters ,fan axxess ,all game unlockables and wwe superstar attribute customizer.

The wrestlers in this game at the start are...

Batista
Big show
Chavo guerrero
Chris jericho
Christian
CM punk
Cody rhodes
David hart smith
Dolph ziggler
Drew mcintyre
Edge
Evan bourne
Jack swagger
John cena
John morrison
JTG
Kane
Kofi kingston
Luke gallows
Mark henry
Matt hardy
The miz
MVP
Primo
Randy orton
Rey mysterio
R-truth
Santino marella
Shad gaspard
Shawn michaels
Sheamus
Ted dibiase
Triple H
Tyson kidd
Undertaker
Vance archer
Hornswoggle (manager only)

Divas...

Alicia fox
Beth phoenix
Eve
Kelly kelly
Maryse
Melina
Michelle mcCool
Natalya

The secret wrestlers are...

1 The druid and the druid arena - unlock by completing all the road to wrestlemania's

2 Ezekiel jackson - unlocked in wwe universe when vince mcmahon randomly comes out after you win a singles match ,ezekiel jackson will run out ,defeat him to unlock him.

3 Finlay - unlocked in wwe universe when vince mcmahon randomly comes out after you win a singles match ,finlay will run out ,defeat him to unlock him.

4 Goldust - unlocked in wwe universe when vince mcmahon randomly comes out after you win a singles match ,goldust will run out ,defeat him to unlock him.

5 Jake the snake roberts - unlock in the vs undertaker's road to wrestlemania ,when you fight him defeat him without taking a lot of damage to unlock him.

6 Jimmy snuka - unlock in the vs undertaker's road to wrestlemania ,when you fight him defeat him under the 3 minute time limit to unlock him.

7 Mike knox - unlocked in wwe universe when vince mcmahon randomly comes out after you win a singles match ,mike knox will run out ,defeat him to unlock him.

8 Mr mcmahon - unlock in john cena's road to wrestlemania ,complete all 5 of the hidden challenges then at wrestlemania go into the green room ,talk to mr mcmahon and beat him in the match (this is a 3 on 1 handicap and very difficult to win as mcmahon must be the one pinned ,if the other 2 in his team are pinned then you lose the match so try and go for countout with mcmahon outside the ring).

9 Ricky the dragon steamboat - unlock in chris jericho's road to wrestlemania ,complete all 5 of the hidden challenges then at wrestlemania go into the green room ,talk to ricky steamboat and beat thim in the match.

10 Rob van dam - unlock by finishing rey mysterios road to wrestlemania.

11 The rock - unlock in vs undertakers road to wrestlemania ,complete all 5 of the hidden challenges then at wrestlemania go into the green room ,talk to the rock and beat him in the match.

12 Shelton benjamin - unlocked in wwe universe ,on the first match of the smackdown show in may win the match.

13 Stone cold - unlock in christians road to wrestlemania ,complete all 5 of the hidden challenges then at wrestlemania go into the green room ,talk to stone cold and beat him in the match.

14 Terry funk - unlock in rey mysterio's road to wrestlemania ,complete all 5 of the hidden challenges then at wrestlemania go into the green room ,talk to terry funk and beat him in the match.

15 Vladimir kozlov - unlocked in wwe universe when vince mcmahon randomly comes out after winning a singles match ,vladimir kozlov will run out ,defeat him to unlock him.

16 William regal - unlocked in wwe universe when vince mcmahon randomly comes out after winning a singles match ,william regal will run out ,defeat him to unlock him.

17 Yoshi tatsu - unlocked in wwe universe when vince mcmahon randomly comes out after winning a singles match ,yoshi tatsu will run out ,defeat him to unlock him.

18 Zack ryder - unlocked in wwe universe when vince mcmahon randomly comes out after winning a singles match ,zack ryder will run out ,defeat him to unlock him.

19 Paul bearer (manager only) - unlocked in vs undertaker's road to wrestlemania ,defeat him in under the 90 seconds time limit then defeat undertaker at wrestlemania to unlock him. Read more ›

I've brought each game in the SvR series and this one is the best yet. Only slight improvements, more moves, more characters, better graphics, more to do ect. But it all makes a difference.

There are tons of matches to use, a new function called "wwe universe" which is like the old season mode. I quite like it as you can build up personalised rivarlies and allies, and teams form and disband and your best friend can turn on you - like the wwe.

The Road the Wrestlemania storylines are better than they have been in my opinion, with some funny bits, and good twists, just like the real WWE stories. Yes, it does get a bit repetitive "roaming" backstage to talk to people but it's one way to unlock all the characters and bonuses. Unless you pay for them, which is why i guess some people say it isn't fun. They've bought themselves all the unlocks so have nothing to play for.

Online has been fun for me, and worked smoothly.

All in all it's stil the best wrestling game out there. but still room to get rid of niggly glitches, but that only comes in time with any game as big as this.

So after last years excellent but slightly flawed smackdown we now have the 2011 edition, which while not ground breaking is a feature packed edition.
Over 70 wrestlers tons of modes and beautiful graphically first impressions are good, The new universe mode which mixes exhibition and career together and also the new free roam road to wrestlemania this really sounds like the wreslling game to end them all, but sadly after you have played for a few hours it isn't as great as you think plus this game has a serious balance issue which i'll touch on in a bit, Before i do however there are some other things that i'll point out first.
The grapple system has changed a bit this year, you don't have all your moves at your disposal from the start of matches now and only after your opponent has been weakned to a certain point do you then get access to these,so you cannot hit powerbombs and hefty ddt's from the word go anymore, aside from that it's pretty much the same although be warned as a huge number of moves have been removed, plus you cannot even do a finisher through the announcers table anymore which is frankly ridiculous!
And although it's only a small detail but why has transparency been removed from caw?
Much was made of the return of free roam but sadly it isn't all that and you are very limited to where and how far you can go, so don't expect to be able to take a fight from the ring because you cannot, Also on top of that it gets rather boring and monotonous after a while because you do the same each week, i.e. talk to someone, start a fight, get points for it, level up your wrestler etc etc....... you get the idea!
But for me the icing on the cake is the absolutely appalling a.i.
I completed the undertakers road to wrestlemania story with my created wrestler but at times things were just not right regarding the gameplay but i stuck with it thinking well it must be my created wrestler's stats.
However by the time i reached the final match against taker with my wrestler pretty much maxed the flaws in the a.i became so frustrating and downright pathetic i nearly gave up there and then, hey i don't mind a challenge but at least play fair.
My moves were constantly reversed to the point where you could see it coming and when i tried the same my controller seemed to seize and not respond at all (Although it was fine in other matches) and after 3 or 4 moves i was pinned and lost the match, 3 more times i tried with the same end result and as a seasoned smackdown player playing on top difficulty my patience began to wear thin so i decided to cheat as well.
The great thing about smackdown is you can set the games a.i however you like so i set it entirely in my favour because i'd had enough and guess what....yep it still continued to blatantly cheat and by this time i decided enough was enough so i knocked the ref out, hit the taker with a few chairs and managed to finally get the win but by this time my heart was no longer in it and i then packed it away ready to trade.
Last years version while having some screen tear problems is much more enjoyable and has tough but fair a.i so if you really don't need to have an updated roster then stick with that one, However if you do want to give it a try then i suggest you buy a second pad because the cheap and frankly poor a.i will get on your nerves after a while and make you throw your controller across the room, and to be honest life's too short to put yourself through it.
Summing up, Great sounding on paper but after a few hours it's just not good and with so many missing moves it's terrible, stick with last years version.