WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

The WWE's flagship programmes,WWE SmackDown! and WWE Raw,are brought together for this ultimate match-up.Competitors from both shows may play against each other.Players may also take advantage of the opportunity to create their own Tag Team match-ups,as well as handicap matches,play in the simulation of actual real life WWE PPV matches and much more...

I was never a big fan of wrestling as I grew up.Even from a young age,I could tell how carefully chereographed it all was and had trouble taking it seriously.But over the past year or so,I was able to take it for what it is a bit more and find it more enjoyable.And now,I have the opportunity to play this game from THQ.

Once you're in the wrestling ring with your selected competitor,it's a little hard to adjust to the controls at first,but once you get in the swing of it,things get much better (even if you aren't able to deduct quite how you made your character perform certain moves!)The graphics just about cut it as adequate,but are certainly far away from brilliant.None of the characters seem to come out with any of their signature catch-phrases either,which is a bit disappointing.The non-stop roaring rock soundtrack will either get you pumped up and in the mood for all the slamming and throwing or start to grate on your nerves somewhat after a while,depending on your mood.The character's title music that they come out to the ring to blares out in full glory.

There's a number of competitors to choose from.As well as modern reigning giants such as Triple H,John 'Bradshaw' Layfield and Randy Orton,there's a selection of wrestling legends such as 'Superfly' Jimmy Snuka and 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper to pair against the more up-to-date fighters.Some by-gone characters,such as The Rock,appear 'Locked' and that's too bad...You can even get male characters to compete against female fighters,such as Torrie Wilson and Trish Stratus (if the thought of a man getting his ass kicked by a woman is your kinda thing!...)

Overall,this isn't a brilliant game and it certainly ain't as great as it could have been,but it's certainly not as bad as it could have been,either and you certainly won't be bored playing it.***

The last installment, HCTP was dire. They changed the grapple system to an annoying double button pressing style that had ruined older WWE Titles such as Attitude (PS1) and Warzone (PS1). This game has the same grapple system, yet is infinitely better. The weight detection system mean't smaller guys couldn't lift bigger guys, which sounds good. Unfortunately it wasn't applied correctly and Shawn Michaels couldn't lift Kane, even for a suplex or power-slam. For an addictive, quick fix of WWE action, this is definitely a fantastic game. What a welcome addition the Challenge mode is. I suggest expanding this part of the game, and having up to 100 - 150 challenges to play. It definitely helps prolong the fun of the game. Also the create a PPV is a welcome return. I always was a fan of this option, and craved for its reintroduction since it disappeared after Smackdown 2.

The only complaint is, as ever, the roster. We all know todays WWE has an ever changing roster of talent, but the games always seem to throw up some mysterious questions over the roster. Chuck Palumbo and the A-Train, whilst they were drafted to RAW a few weeks before the roster cut-off point, had not featured on TV, and therefore shouldn't have been in the game. Others who were on TV for a few months before the cut - off, such as Eugene, Luther Reigns, Tyson Tomko, Kenzo Suzuki, even Mr. Ass (Billy Gunn) could have been included. I also think the tag team belts should have been included, as it gives a bit more realism to the story mode. A build up throughout the year winning first tag team gold, then IC Gold/US Title Gold then finally your brands gold should be the way story mode is done. Plus there is always the old option of losing the belts due to your tag partner, then turning it into a feud. La Resistance should also have been included, even thought the characters would have been pretty generic.

I always think the way to ensure longevity is to include lots of different characters to play as, rather than allowing loads of create a wrestler places. I would suggest releasing an add on around march time for around £9.99, allowing you the option of using up space on your memory card to upload new characters from the WWE into the game. That way, Gene Snitsky, and any of the others who are playing a big part in proceedings could be added to your game.

If the developers keep the same mould, and ditch the poorly applied online play in favour of more game-play options, I believe 2005's installment should be great. Also, if the game wants to include true WWE Legends, give us who we want - Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, British Bulldog, Mr. Perfect, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, The demolition, The Natural Disasters and Razor Ramon. I appreciate the legal wrangles with guys currently under contract to other organisations/currently active wrestlers in the business, but for the sake of the game, could the developers/Vince not make an exception (if the price is right) to get them in the game.

Other than the usual few grumbles, a great game!

Average wrestling game. This game walked so the rest of the series could run. Only play if you're a completionist -- otherwise, skip it.

When I heard of this game and heard it described by it's creators I was expecting a huge improvement over Here Comes the Pain. What I got was a game that did take 2 steps forward but also took 1 step back. In other words there really isn't anything about the game that knocks my socks off. Sure the Create-a-Belt and PPV functions are great but there are some additions I think they could have done without. First being the voiceovers of the superstars. They are obviously scripted and sound like they were recorded in a box. The match commentary is mundane at best and a bit detached but it is something that can be overlooked because you can tune it out. The improved story lines are pretty good so far in season mode and are a lot like what you see on WWE television which is a plus but a big minus in season mode is the inability to take part in any matches that your season superstar isn't in himself. I found this great in HCTP a little perplexing that you can't in this version. A surprising omission in Raw vs. Smackdown are the tag titles. This is something I don't understand. Sure you can create them but why create a championship that should already be there? Couple that with the fact that to create 2 tag belts will take a tremendous amount of Smackdown dollars which take a long time to accumulate. I think Yukes/THQ dropped the ball on this one. What puzzles me about this is that in HCTP they had the Hardcore title which was long gone by the time Shut your Mouth was released but this time around they decided to omit an existing championship.

I do like the dirty/clean aspect because it can sway a match either way. What is strange, however, are the weapons. You only get 4 hits with each weapon then it disappears and you have to go back out and get a new weapon. This doesn't make sense. I have never seen a chair just disappear after 4 hits so why this was put in I don't know.

Another aspect of the game I do like is that if you are to have a manager, he/she will accompany you to the ring and play a big part in your match. If you are about to be beaten you can call for your manager to jump on the apron to distract the referee or you can have them get you a weapon. This is also a realistic part of what we see on t.v.

One of the much talked about features was the ability to fight your way back during the Royal Rumble. This is both good and bad. The good is that if someone tosses you over, you can get back into the ring as long as you have enough left in your bar. The bad is that this also goes for NPC wrestlers which makes for a very long match. I've yet to watch a full Rumble because it takes so blasted long. Another bad point is that I've been in 2 Rumbles and have been eliminated although I had at least 50% on my elimination bar but again, as long as you don't get yourself into that position I'm guessing you can eventually win but so far I find this more of a hindrance.

All in all it's still a good game but if I have to rank it I would have to say that HCTP is still the best in the series. Although the graphics are better here total gameplay is about equal. Do I feel cheated? No, it's still worth the money only because you have new story lines to play with but I have to say that I'm just slightly disappointed in this game. If I have to rank it I'd give it a 7 out of 10.

Tons of stuff you can do on this game. With lots of match types like: The Elimination Chamber, Steel Cage, TLC, Ladder, Bra & Panties, First Blood,Royal Rumble, ETC. It's very hard to get bored while playing.

However, the roster was somewhat questionable. I agree, why wasn't Eugene and a few others on this game, and why was A-train on it and he wasn't even on T.V. lately. Same with the Divas roster, Where was Lita????????.

The season mode had also improved somewhat, but you got a match every week, which is somewhat unrealistic. There was also the clean-dirty tactics that you could use, which made the match more like T.V.

Overall, a pretty good game.