Smackdown vs. Raw 2011: Good, But Not Great - RaychelSnr's Blog

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RaychelSnr's Blog

Smackdown vs. Raw 2011: Good, But Not Great Stuck

Posted on November 1, 2010 at 03:56 PM.

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Good news my fellow OSers, Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 is the best wrestling game of this generation.

But it's not like that's unexpected.

So instead of touting this game as the latest and greatest -- because it really is -- we need to instead decide whether this game is worthy of an upgrade and/or purchase for would be customers.

First off, the new WWE Universe mode is a good start to something bigger -- but I felt unreasonably restrained. I'm not sure if the WWE would ever allow it, but there needs to be a little more freedom in booking cards, storylines, etc. To the fine folks at THQ, get with Adam Ryland on how easy it is to book simple promos and whatnot. I know SvR tries to make the WWE seem like a legit competition, so I think just giving users the ability to book interviews, promos, backstage events, etc. would be a good idea.

But as it is, the WWE Universe is a good, but not great addition to the series.

Road to Wrestlemania is still a solid mode, with five different paths to Wrestlemania with their own storylines. I really like what's been done, but I also feel this mode could be more dynamic moving forward. However, continuing with the theme of this mini-review, the mode is good but not great.

As far as the gameplay, I really like a lot of what's been done. It feels like the product is really heading in a No Mercy-esque direction, keeping things simple and whatnot. I think a few things need tweaked -- like maybe some work on reversals and a few tweaks to the control scheme, albiet minor ones. The gameplay, at least in this guys' opinion, is on the right path. If you haven't played SvR in a few years, you'll be amazed at how much differently the game does play.

There are some sore spots to the gameplay though, such as Ladder matches going on for what seems like forever. Also, while I know the WWE is a scripted athletic matchup -- the matches like Ladder matches could totally use a bit better pacing anyways.

And lastly, I almost think there needs to be an entertainment aspect added into the game. Where you have to strive to put on more entertaining matchups to move up the card or something like that -- but perhaps that's a different article for a different day.

Overall, Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 is a good but not great game. If you haven't played the series in awhile and are a fan of Wrestling, I think this year's game is probably worth a purchase for you. If you own a few of the previous editions of SvR, you might think twice about purchasing and perhaps hold off a year to get your money's worth. And if you aren't a fan of wrestling, there's probably not enough here to entice you this year.

As it is though, the game is definitely worth purchasing if you are both a fan of wrestling and you haven't played the SvR series for a few years. It's a good, but not great game, which has a bright future ahead of it if the developers stick with this direction and expand upon the current feature list.

Comments

# 1 statum71 @ Nov 1

Best version since Here Come's The Pain. (Never played No Mercy)

# 2 stlstudios189 @ Nov 1

I hope I get this for Christmas

# 3 RaychelSnr @ Nov 1

Definitely a good Christmas time type of gift for sure stl!

# 4 RaychelSnr @ Nov 1

@statum -- No Mercy was a lot better than Here Come's the Pain IMHO...but I would agree this is probably the best Smackdown game since that one.

# 5 DJ @ Nov 1

Just fired up HCTP yesterday and it still holds up. The Weight detection in that game was done really well and the CPU puts up a good challenge.

Universe mode has me intrigued with 11, as does the Storyline Creator, but the quick pin bug has me waiting until patch details are released before I can commit 100% to this title.

# 6 statum71 @ Nov 1

I'm loving Universe mode. I only wish the commentators would refer to things that are happening more. They do mention the main event later in the Show. But thats kinda simple.

# 7 jestep123 @ Nov 1

I thought about SVR 11 but I just ordered 10 yesterday. After reading the reviews. I didnt feel like WWE Universe was worth the extra $30.00. I hope I am right.