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review :: wwe smackdown vs raw 2007
I’m not a man who is familiar with the sport of groping other men.
In fact the closest I have ever come to wrestling anyone was the time I drank four cans of RedBull mixed with green cordial before going shopping at the mall. Somehow in my Cottees and Redbull fuelled frenzy I believed I was Oscar Schindler and attempted to emancipate sixteen puppies from the local pet store before being taken down hard by the work experience girl behind the counter.
I give you this inside look into my criminal record as a disclaimer that I may not be the best person to review Smackdown Vs Raw 2007. I write this review as a individual not particularly interested in the Sport-tainment world of professional wrestling and as such, wrestling fans may well get more mileage out of this title than I do. With that said, lets go wax our chests, oil up our pecs, take some horse medicine and explore the world of Smackdown 2007.
Looking at the moves list as a Smackdown newbie was intimidating. I understand that there are many variations when it comes to picking up your opponent, rubbing your pickle in his face and dropping him on his head, and Smackdown seems to have a button combination for all this plus an added combo should you wish to stand on the turnbuckle and do what looks to me like the birdie dance whilst handing out the pain. Fortunately upon first loading Smackdown you are given the option of watching some tutorial videos before playing and they do come in handy.
My prime learning method (and life motto) is “monkey see, monkey do”, so whilst the videos are nice, some interactivity would have helped enormously. By the time I’d reached the last video (combo for singing “I’m a little tea-pot” whilst smacking opponent with a chair outside the ring in designated hot zone) I’d forgotten the first videos move list (walk around ring and basic grapple).
Despite the slow learning process I hoped that this sort of complexity would be a strength of Smackdown and that I would be able to make some progression in the game and learn the more complex moves over a period of time. I watched the videos one more time and started the game.
Load times at the menu screens (and throughout the game) are just on the acceptable side of quite long. There is serious disc access at all times and I was constantly aware of the disc churning in the PS2. I experienced the occasional music drop out on the menu screens, which after some research online looks to be an issue with the game for other people as well and not just my PS2. It’s a shame because I enjoy a good nu-metal-rap song about kicking someone in the head as much as the next man.
Having used up my only exhibition joke on the Virtua Football review, I decided to jump right into the career mode which begins by you selecting a wrestler. All your favourites are there, or in my case, a collection of men either dressed in underpants or strange costumes that I have never seen before. I chose Mick Foley as he was dressed in a flannelette check shirt and tight jeans. Later research told me that previous story lines for Mick Foley involved him going crazy, becoming institutionalised and then developing amnesia and thus getting a new persona. Perhaps I had more in common with Mick than just bad 1990’s bogan grunge fashion?
The hub of Career Mode is your locker room which you can decorate first by using free items and later using items or money you win. It’s a strange feature considering the subject matter of the game but I appreciated the chance to create a locker room made entirely of pink laminex and plywood. News is fed to the player through the computer, mobile phone and magazines on the work desk as to what scenario or wrestling match you might have next. There’s a fair amount of variation in fight scenarios, even the chance to be a referee which appealed to my power hungry ego.
Taking Mad Mick out to the canvas was a better game play experience than I’d imagined. The move list is extensive but after some trial and error I had more moves than a bowl of jelly.
JELLY JOKE, BEAT THAT IGN!!!
The wrestlers are modelled well and the backgrounds are passable. The crowd hold up signs that appeal to my sense of humour such as “My Sign is Upside Down” or “John 3:16”. I can only hope that my blasphemy doesn’t rule me out of eternal life.
Game play is helped by context sensitive help on screen for reversals and some lifting moves. Animations are locked in from the time the reversal is failed so it’s a case of grinning and bearing it when your man starts getting snotted and handing out high fives when your in control. Standard punching and getting punched sounds are in place and there’s some commentary that gets old just as quickly as the voice overs in any other sports game.
The game goes on regardless of winning or losing which helps build on the sense that you are in a career. Soap opera quality stories are acted out in between fights depending on what happened in the ring and the whole career mode comes together in a surprisingly interesting fashion.
Eventually however the scenarios are going to repeat and the game is going to become worn out. The wrestling part of the game isn’t enough to hold interest for non wrestling fans, but when coupled with the cheesy soap opera I found Smackdown Vs Raw 2007 to be an entertaining experience. I’m not sure if I will become a wrestler when I grow up , but Smackdown has taught me that perhaps life’s problems can be solved through the use of violence , and that sort of feel good message is enough for me to give Smackdown 2007 a “Better than Frog in a Pond Green Jelly Recommended Rating”.
In fact the closest I have ever come to wrestling anyone was the time I drank four cans of RedBull mixed with green cordial before going shopping at the mall. Somehow in my Cottees and Redbull fuelled frenzy I believed I was Oscar Schindler and attempted to emancipate sixteen puppies from the local pet store before being taken down hard by the work experience girl behind the counter.
I give you this inside look into my criminal record as a disclaimer that I may not be the best person to review Smackdown Vs Raw 2007. I write this review as a individual not particularly interested in the Sport-tainment world of professional wrestling and as such, wrestling fans may well get more mileage out of this title than I do. With that said, lets go wax our chests, oil up our pecs, take some horse medicine and explore the world of Smackdown 2007.
Looking at the moves list as a Smackdown newbie was intimidating. I understand that there are many variations when it comes to picking up your opponent, rubbing your pickle in his face and dropping him on his head, and Smackdown seems to have a button combination for all this plus an added combo should you wish to stand on the turnbuckle and do what looks to me like the birdie dance whilst handing out the pain. Fortunately upon first loading Smackdown you are given the option of watching some tutorial videos before playing and they do come in handy.
My prime learning method (and life motto) is “monkey see, monkey do”, so whilst the videos are nice, some interactivity would have helped enormously. By the time I’d reached the last video (combo for singing “I’m a little tea-pot” whilst smacking opponent with a chair outside the ring in designated hot zone) I’d forgotten the first videos move list (walk around ring and basic grapple).
Despite the slow learning process I hoped that this sort of complexity would be a strength of Smackdown and that I would be able to make some progression in the game and learn the more complex moves over a period of time. I watched the videos one more time and started the game.
Load times at the menu screens (and throughout the game) are just on the acceptable side of quite long. There is serious disc access at all times and I was constantly aware of the disc churning in the PS2. I experienced the occasional music drop out on the menu screens, which after some research online looks to be an issue with the game for other people as well and not just my PS2. It’s a shame because I enjoy a good nu-metal-rap song about kicking someone in the head as much as the next man.
Having used up my only exhibition joke on the Virtua Football review, I decided to jump right into the career mode which begins by you selecting a wrestler. All your favourites are there, or in my case, a collection of men either dressed in underpants or strange costumes that I have never seen before. I chose Mick Foley as he was dressed in a flannelette check shirt and tight jeans. Later research told me that previous story lines for Mick Foley involved him going crazy, becoming institutionalised and then developing amnesia and thus getting a new persona. Perhaps I had more in common with Mick than just bad 1990’s bogan grunge fashion?
The hub of Career Mode is your locker room which you can decorate first by using free items and later using items or money you win. It’s a strange feature considering the subject matter of the game but I appreciated the chance to create a locker room made entirely of pink laminex and plywood. News is fed to the player through the computer, mobile phone and magazines on the work desk as to what scenario or wrestling match you might have next. There’s a fair amount of variation in fight scenarios, even the chance to be a referee which appealed to my power hungry ego.
Taking Mad Mick out to the canvas was a better game play experience than I’d imagined. The move list is extensive but after some trial and error I had more moves than a bowl of jelly.
JELLY JOKE, BEAT THAT IGN!!!
The wrestlers are modelled well and the backgrounds are passable. The crowd hold up signs that appeal to my sense of humour such as “My Sign is Upside Down” or “John 3:16”. I can only hope that my blasphemy doesn’t rule me out of eternal life.
Game play is helped by context sensitive help on screen for reversals and some lifting moves. Animations are locked in from the time the reversal is failed so it’s a case of grinning and bearing it when your man starts getting snotted and handing out high fives when your in control. Standard punching and getting punched sounds are in place and there’s some commentary that gets old just as quickly as the voice overs in any other sports game.
The game goes on regardless of winning or losing which helps build on the sense that you are in a career. Soap opera quality stories are acted out in between fights depending on what happened in the ring and the whole career mode comes together in a surprisingly interesting fashion.
Eventually however the scenarios are going to repeat and the game is going to become worn out. The wrestling part of the game isn’t enough to hold interest for non wrestling fans, but when coupled with the cheesy soap opera I found Smackdown Vs Raw 2007 to be an entertaining experience. I’m not sure if I will become a wrestler when I grow up , but Smackdown has taught me that perhaps life’s problems can be solved through the use of violence , and that sort of feel good message is enough for me to give Smackdown 2007 a “Better than Frog in a Pond Green Jelly Recommended Rating”.
Final Verdict
There’s a Mad Mickey Foley in all of us trying to get out. Mine says “lock up the dog, grab an eight ounce of Vat 69 Whiskey and jump in your canoe for a paddle down the Smackdown stream of fun”.Pros
Deep combat system, Great cheesy acting, Varied and interesting scenarios
Cons
Finite replay ability, Small bugs, Long load times