WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009

Now, this is my first review so don't expect too much...

Smackdown 2009 introduces some very good features into the series, which looked like it was going to start its downhill slide with 2008 in my opinion. 2009 keeps some enjoyable features of older games such as the 'create' stuff, which allows you to create a wrestler, entrance, stable and move set and assign them to created OR existing wrestlers, the smooth but (reversal based) gameplay, the ultimate control moves and the season mode (if that's what you want to call it).

The problem though is that the game also lets a lot of good features go, and the new arrivals don't really make up for that. On the gained side, you've got create a finisher, which works...pretty well, road to wrestlemania mode, which is a very good feature, the ability to change wrestler's shows, fan reaction and titles, quality abilities that are made available to only the superstars that would fit them (this is good because you dont see Undertaker stealing a taunt very often, or Carlito doing one of those 'Hardcore ressurection' things), and the ability to create highlight reels of a match.

The lost stuff is a GM mode (a shame, that was one of my favourites), a decent basic season mode for a created wrestler or someone who isnt on the select list of superstars that you can do RTW with), the ability to change wrestlers attributes freely, and, one of the worst losses of all, legends. Kinda the series' original mascot, The Rock, isn't in the game. Nope, not unlockable or nuthin, just nowhere.

The game has a career mode where you can put a wrestler or a created wrestler on a journey to gain all the championships there are in the WWE, and that way you can up the superstars' atrributes by performing well in matches. Your CAW also gains abilities this way. It's quite a good way to go about he atrribute gainin', cuz if you're a good technical wrestler your technical stat will go up, or if you bash your opponent with a steel chair a lot, your hardcore stat goes up.

However, this means that you can no longer get the unlimited experience points unlockable that was in 2007, create all the old stars or whoever you want to bring back with CAW, like, uh, i dunno, Brock Lesnar, or the Rock, or Kurt Angle, or Stone Cold, and give them appropriate stats. Instead, you'd have to take each and every one of them on the Career Mode, on a long and boring journey that shouldn't be necassery.

Still, if you just wanna have good wrestling matches, maybe with the Road To Wrestlemania mode, maybe making a highlight reel with them, maybe online, it's a very good game for doing just that. Road To Wrestlemania's cool, very cheesy, but can only be played with a select few superstars. It's a really good season mode, but only from the Royal Rumble to Wrestlemania.

One last thing, this just might justify everything bad about the game, when a wrestler is taking a move, YOU SHOULD LOOK AT THEIR FACES!!! You'd think they're babies who just stunk the room up. The sad faces on them are cheesier than CheeseFest '98.

Oh yeah, and at least we're getting Legends of Wrestlmania...
If ya smell what The Rock is cookin'.

With the yearly churn of Video games it sometimes feel like successive titles are 'put out there' rather than actually developed as a break through in both enjoyment and playability.

This one is very enjoyable but not quite the break through that it could have been.

The central story threads are very compelling and completing them often lead to sleepless nights. The Chris Jericho storyline probably was the best one featured in the game and could have been an excellent story used in WWE.

The mix of matches is good, though the ECW match does feel like a bit of a step backwards as you can no longer fight in the crowd. Sometimes reducing the options in this way detracts from the gameplay.

The tag team element is interesting though perhaps it is not quite the finished item yet.

Having said that it is certainly, for me, an improvement on 2008 and retains it's playability weeks on.

really good game might be a bit old but really enjoy the carrear mode and road to wrestlemania
very easy to play
recommend to any one who wants a cheap wrestling game