WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2006

Sports Entertainment has come a long way from its infantile era of stereotyped oiled up Neanderthals savagely groping each other. WWE Smackdown! Vs. Raw 2006 encapsulated the pure essence of the unique allure of the WWE league.

Sports entertainment has come a long way from its infantile era of stereotyped oiled-up Neanderthals savagely groping each other. However, wrestling videogame incarnations have consistently failed to capture the suspense, drama, and unique characters of the genre over the years. Luckily for wrestling fans, developer Yuke's latest project WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2006 has encapsulated the pure essence of the unique allure of the WWE league, and its PSP rendition almost perfectly ports the home console title to the PSP.

You Can't See Me!
One of the major problems with past wrestling titles was that the gameplay often suffered from arcade styled fighting engines--players would just repeat power moves to win. The games didn't match the pace or emulate the strategy of real life matches.

However, Smackdown! vs. Raw institutes some revolutionary gameplay changes that fundamentally alter the way you'll play. The game adds two gameplay factors which force players to put a lot of forethought into their wrestling skills. The Stamina bar limits the amount of power moves you can string together. If you ignore it you'll get tired and become easy pickings for your opponent. The Momentum bar measures how interested the audience is in your performance, and if you fill it up you'll be able to pull off a truly memorable finishing move. Additionally, Smackdown! Vs. Raw also adds the abilities to steal opponent's taunts, power Irish whip, and possum pin your opponents.

Rest in Peace!
WWE fans can expect an exact port of the PS2 home console game. Every mode, option, and ability is present on the PSP, including all the create-a-wrestler options, General Manager Mode, and a few exclusive min-games.

While the PSP port plays almost exactly the same as the console version, it also suffers from minor graphical sloppiness, bipolar A.I., and extended load times, which are on par with many of the graphically heavy PSP titles. Smackdown! vs. Raw would be near perfect wrestling title if the PSP's inherent limitations didn't hinder the game.

Comments [0]

post a comment

Post a Comment