WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008

I have been buying the WWE Smackdown games since the first ones on Playstation.last year's Smackdown game is almost the same as this game.The game is not as fun as last year's,I bought it because I thought they were going to improve the game,but they added struggle submission system,new weapons,different fighting styles and it doesn't save it from being boring.Another thing I don't like about the series is that they gave really high points on overrated wrestlers like John Cena and Triple H,and gave other wrestlers like Matt Hardy and Randy Orton lower points,this is bad because they get hurt way quicker when the points are lower.

The Creating mode is the best one out so far(for an wrestling game)and is it really deep and you can make a lot of different and strange characters,but isn't as realistic as other games,for example the jeans don't have the textures it should,it looks like the older Smackdown games from the PS2 system.However,this game does have great graphics and a lot of different matches to pick from,and lots of "Superstars",I don't know why they called them that,they should call them wrestlers,but if you watch WWE Raw they don't really put on good wrestling matches,but it does have more action then this game puts out.

This game is recommended If you want a new wrestling game,but if your a video game fan you won't like it very much,it's the same game every year.This game is only fun for the creating mode,but they made it so you can't set your own points unless you play story a bunch of times.I won't buy them anymore unless they make them better and get rid of the current confusing control system and the wrestlers move like robots.

Pros: great graphics,tons of matches,and wrestlers

Cons: little has changed,matches get boring,confusing controls,create-a-wrestler is old and almost same as the older PS2 games,uncreative storymode,unfair points on created wrestlers

Smackdown vs Raw 2008 is one of my least favorites even if I do find myself playing it a lot on PSP. I'll start by mentioning the bad:


1: Anyone, can toss the big guys around, like the Great Khali. I mean guys like Rey Mysterio, Flair and HBK can lift anyone up for the Razor's Edge. Meanwhile I don't even remember when any of them have even done that move. They got things right in the 2007 game with how it was hard to move the Great Kahli around. So they should have kept things that way. It was a lot more of a challengle to not even be able to lift the Great Khali as John Cena for even his finisher in Smackdown vs Raw 2007.

2: The submission moves: Yes it's awesome that you can control how much pressure you can put on some submission moves. However with some submission moves such as the ankle lock you don't get that option. Hell, you can't even make people submit with the hold on the game! There's a few holds that you can't make people submit with infact.

3: The Legends: Yes it's cool to have Rick Rude finally. However, it barely looks like him. While it would have worked more to have him if someone he actually feuded with was also on the game like Ultimate Warrior or Ricky Steamboat. He had a small feud with Flair once but that's it. It's also lame to keep having Piper on each game. I do admit though that he's better in this one since you can control how much pressure you put on his sleeper hold at least. I still would have liked if they just brought Mr. Perfect back instead though or even Hogan. I'm a little tired of Mick Foley on each game as well. While the late great Eddie Guerrero can just be used on the PSP version.

4. Some wrestlers you don't even get the option of giving them such holds as the figure 4 in create a wrestler mode. They have less of a variety of moves in this game as well.

5. Come on, if you can create a wrestler, you should be able to give them good music to walk out to. Here Comes the Pain got that right. You had a good list of original music choices. Instead with the newer games, you get a lame list of music choices. Who wants their created wrestler to walk out to the annoying background music that already irritates us as we play the game. There should also be a better list of entrances for created stables. I also don't like how some legends you can't even use in GM mode, like Vince and Shane McMahon. They also need to finally add 8 man tags. They also should have kept in PPV mode.

What I do like: I already mentioned that I like how you can put pressure on...some submission moves. I also like how they brought title mode back. I like how it's easier to build up your wrestlers popularity in GM mode by simply having them sign autographs or interfere at the other shows. I also like how they added beat the clock matches in Tourament Mode.

Legends I'd like to see in the 2009 game: Hogan, Bret Hart, Stone Cold, 80's Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, The Rock, Arn Anderson, The Demolition, Randy Savage, Yokozuna " and he should be very very hard to move", RVD, Eddie Guerrero, 1-2-3 Kid "to beat up lol", Sid, Vader, Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Mr. Perfect, Honkey Tonk Man

Once again the WWE leaves the ladies high and dry. Please tell me why there is no 24/7 game mode for the female wrestlers and why they are left out of all the interesting match types like the hardcore ones and the main event matches. They pretty much can only compete in the single matches and a couple of the tag and fatal 4 way style matches but that is it. It is so weak! Why were they left out? Where are their main events liek evening gown matches, bra and panties, mud battles? Its a game and about fantasy so it shouldn't be hard to believe that women could compete in matches like that just like they do on the show! I find it to be so annoying which is why I gave it a low rating. WHEN THE WWE DECIDES TO BE FAIR TO THE WOMEN I WILL GIVE THEM BETTER RATINGS!

I got this game for my son at Christmas, and he absoluly loves it. He will bring his friends over all the time and play this game. Everything bout this game is great, BuT NOW my son wants SD vs Raw 09, seeing that there is a create a finisher mode, and a inferno match. His hopes for the next game are that they add a Punjabi Prison Match. The only con to this game is that my sons play this game for hours. Anyway great buy!!!

The series is no longer aimed at the older gamer. In an attempt to simplify the controls they instead made them overly complicated. SvR06 had 25 front grapples, SvR08 has 12. Why the step backwards? Why does a PS2 game from 2005 offer more customization, with more moves, than a Xbox 360 title? What was wrong with manual targeting that they had to completely remove it? Why can you still throw someone outside and apply unblockable headlock after unblockable headlock? Why did they change the animation for this, but not fix the unblockable glitch?

Any long time Smackdown fans will ask themselves these questions and more. This is not a fun ride at all. You're forced into playing the way Yuke's wants you to, not the way you want to. Either you use the analog sticks or you don't play. Either you hope manual targeting works (it usually doesn't) or you don't play.

One scroll through of the roster will confirm my previous statement about this game being for children. All of the wrestlers are stacked in attributes with no real weaknesses present and half of them have a championship.

The biggest problem with this game are the fighting styles. They took things from previous games that everyone could do and separated them into categories. To make the kids happy they added features that allow you to make your character invincible to strikes, grapples, submissions and pinfalls.

Unlike in previous titles there's no strategy in this version of SvR. It s a race to the finish. A race filled with glitches, cheapness and overpowered brutes with unblockable abilities.

Recommended only for hyper little children with a short attention span and no skill beyond repeatedly mashing buttons and flicking analog sticks like actors do in sitcoms when their character is supposed to be playing a video game.