Developer: Yukes Media Creations
Publisher: THQ
Rating Guide: How I Review Games

Review:

I’ve been a long time fan of WWE and what they’ve done with recreating the brand in the WWE Smackdown vs Raw franchise alongside THQ.  The Miz, Randy Orton, Cena, Triple H…how can you not love playing as some of your favorite wrestlers?

THQ is back with another installment of their Smackdown vs Raw game and it’s quite possible the best in the series.  Are you ready to layeth the smack down on someone’s candy ass?

Gameplay, Graphics and Sound

There’s really not much I can express to you about a yearly title except whether or not it’s more of the same, improved or a step backwards.  Thankfully with WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 I can tell you that it’s both more of the same and improved.  From a gameplay standpoint, the control system is really a breath of fresh air.  Even something as subtle as being able to direct your opponent when you have him ready for an ultimate slam is big in the ring.  I used to get so frustrated with previous versions when I wanted to throw a wrestler a specific way but couldn’t.  This time you can walk around and throw them in any direction easily.  Simple I know but it makes a big difference.

Controls for the most part, however, are the same as you remember.  They did eliminate the strong modifier for grappling and got rid of multiple finishers but the scheme is pretty much the same.  You’ll be used to it and it’s even easy for those who haven’t played to pick up.  Hell in a Cell now has weapons underneath the ring and you can actually move around the ring this time.  Thank you for that!   And thank you for all the new changes to the ladders, tables and chairs.  The new physics used makes it a blast throwing people through tables and positioning ladders in the ring.  It’s definitely not as “stoic” as it used to be.

The lineup of WWE Superstars is again very impressive.  There are more than 70 Superstars, Divas and Legends to fight with.  If your favorite isn’t in the game then just try to create them with the deep create system in the game.  You can literally spend days of your life tweaking and creating a character.  My little brother has some sort of love affair with green so he has the most ridiculous looking green ninja type of warrior as WWE champ right now.

One of the most talked about additions to Smackdown vs Raw 2011 is the new WWE Universe mode.  In this mode, you’ll have basically an endless calendar of events unfolding right before your eyes.  It’s your own universe basically created from your actions. You’ll have Monday Night Raw played out for you, pay-per-views played out etc.  It’s your own universe to play through for months.  And you can also edit a card if the matchup is not to your liking.  I imagine that the majority of intense WWE fans will be living in this mode.

One thing you can’t do in WWE Universe is cut corners.  You have to earn a title match via rankings and performance.  Or you can do like The Miz and others have done by winning a Money in the Bank match to make it easy.  As you play through the mode, rivalries will play out and you’ll be given random cutscenes to enjoy based on what you’ve done and who you’ve pissed off.  It’s the Never Ending Story of WWE basically.  It just keeps going and changing to hopefully give you a real sense of what WWE life is like.

There’s still Road to Wrestlemania for those of you who just want to get right to it and win the belt.  And you can finally do it all while enjoying some backstage again.  It’s your very own wrestling RPG to enjoy with leveling up and the works.  However, I haven’t found too many people interested in leveling their character up to max.  You just have to do so much really in terms of talking to characters, listening to the stale dialogue etc.  I did dig some of the stories that played out…Undertaker’s in particular.  I have one word…trapped inside a ring with druids.  Okay maybe that was more than one word.

Visually the game is the best in the series.  Outside of R-Truth and maybe Shawn Michaels, the character design is flawless for each Superstar.  The different venues are perfect and each entrance is about as exciting as they are on TV.  One thing that can’t be mistaken is the fact that it looks the part.  And you might think it’s a small thing but they even tossed in the names on the championship belts finally.  So the belts look the part more then ever too.

Xbox LIVE Extras

For the first time in the series, you can now layeth the smack down in any type of match online.  It’s not boring anymore.  You can do all matches against the world.  I never understood why they wouldn’t allow all the match types online but at least I don’t have to complain anymore with this year’s version.

I didn’t run into much lag at all when trying to slam someone through a table or push them off a ladder.  It ran smooth during the 5-10 matches I had.  I didn’t like the XP system all that much but that’s just a personal taste of mine.  You can rate storylines, upload your own and such while getting rank XP.  This will naturally improve your rank but to me it was too tedious.

Conclusion

If you smell what WWE is cookin’, then you’ll like the smell this year.  WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 is one of the few games that keep getting better each year.  I know it’s difficult to say that about a yearly title but they found a way to make it just a bit more exciting.