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(The following Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 review reflects that of the PS3 version played on a HD-TV)

Intro:
When I popped in my complimentary copy of Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 (thanks to Jaime and Lee at THQ!) I must admit, I felt excited; as soon as the game starts you’re thrust in to a colorful menu selection with various WWE tracks (and licensed music) blaring out of the TV and various video packages playing in the background, which all look great in HD.

That reminded me, I’d never even seen a HD video nor played a Blu Ray DVD, but I soon would because the PS3 version of the game comes with a bonus match that you can watch from the options menu, and what could be better than seeing Edge vs Undertaker at Wrestlemania 24 in full HD? I was literally blown away, but lets get back to the game.

Career Mode:
There are so many options to choose from I decided to start simple and went with career mode, which unlike past career modes is just a simple series of matches for your chosen title path (the real good stuff comes in Road to Wrestlemania mode). After choosing who I wanted on each roster I went with MVP, for the US title. As you progress you earn points and awards depending on the variety of attacks and moves you do in the match. For example you may earn the “Exciting Match” award for taunting and performing high flying moves. You’ll also progressively get better stats. Eventually once you’ve got enough stars the game will inform you that you can fight for the Number One Contender’s slot and if you win that you go on to face the champ. Once you win you can choose other title paths and the process repeats itself. At certain times you can unlock special match types so the process doesn’t become mundane, but this mode is not storyline based. After winning the US title I unlocked the ECW title path, so presumably new titles become available as you progress. I later found out that if you want to succeed online with a CAW it is very important to up your stats in career mode.

Control System:
Having been a fan of the old control setup of Triangle to Run, Circle to grapple etc, it took me a few matches to get used to how to play effectively but with my options on easy and CPU reversals turned way down I soon got the hang of it and didn’t lose once on my quest to be US champ. Yay! I really like the new system of using the analogue stick to perform moves once you have your opponent on you shoulders. For example to do a Samoan drop you push the stick upwards, but you can do a fireman’s carry by pushing it right. It makes it feel more simulated like a Wii. This system is also used to ram your opponent’s head in to the guard rail, turnbuckle, announcer’s table and steel steps. Rather than a pre-animated sequence you’re in full control, although it can get boring after the 10th face slam in a row.

Graphics and Details:
By far the first thing you’ll notice is the graphics, obviously the best yet, with all the stars looking realistic from hair to tattoos (although Orton’s are outdated). Entrances are authentic and you can see all the detail of the titan tron screen as they make their way out. The only strange thing that struck me was the billboards and kiosks high up in the arenas reading generic things like “Pizza”. They just seemed out of place.

The details and little nuances that give the wrestler’s their charcter is top notch. For example when the bell rings Festus actually does his crazy transformation. Another thing the TNA game could learn from is that all of the star’s finishing moves are present, as well as they’re signature moves, which this time around are harder to pull off, but more rewarding. When you store a finisher opportunity it actually becomes a signature move, so MVP using a stored finisher does his drive by kick rather than the Playmaker. This puts emphasis on that if you have a flashing finisher, do it! Like in a real match if a wrestler has the chance to do his finishing move he wouldn’t just throw a punch. It adds urgency to the match.

Camera angles have also changed slightly in that you get a more “TV” feel rather than the camera zooming out to see all the action. Instead it’ll follow you around, or hovers near the steps when pounding you opponents ultra realistic face in to them repeatedly. Yes you can still break the announcer’s table, although it takes more work in that you need to first remove the monitors. Speaking of announcers they are a little more polished and tend to hold longer conversations, although you’ll still get a generic phrase here and there. The ring announcer’s are also fairly polished, but sometimes when introducing a team it doesn’t flow from one wrestler’s name to the other very well, as if two soundbites were pieced together. Sometimes there is a lack of intonation and excitement in their voices.

Road to Wrestlemania:
Road to Wrestlemania is this year’s main story/season mode, which is a hybrid between last years season mode and 24/7 mode. It features a progressive storyline structure from January to Wrestlemania, going week by week, including the PPVs in between. You have the option of choosing from Triple H, CM Punk, The Undertaker, John Cena or Chris Jericho, whom all have their own unique quest making the game last much longer than previous versions.

A typical week features a cool simulation of the start of a TV broadcast (Raw or Smackdown) with the announcer’s running down the show. There then might be a cutscene involving your charcter. You’ll then see the locker room menu where you can read voicemail messages from other superstars or notes from your charcter, all of which plays in to your quest. You then exit the locker room and have your match. A cool touch is the ending WWE graphic once you’ve finished the match, as if the show is ending like it does on TV. This formula carries on throughout the game, however at several points you have decisions to make, such as which wrestler to attack backstage or who’s side to pick depending on your character’s specific storyline. During play you’ll also unlock several bonuses if you complete specific tasks such as making your opponent bleed or beating them in under 3 minutes, although there is no option to replay these if you fail, meaning you have to go through the whole quest again or you’ll have to key in a cheat code in options menu.

The Create Modes:
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the game is the create modes, which will have you immersed for hours. You have two options, create an awesome superstar to show off to your friends online or spend 3 hours body morphing a female CAW, ogling at her ridiculous assets that you gave her with god like glee! I did the latter for a good few hours before getting serious.

Everything you’ve come to expect is available in the create a superstar mode, including the ability to have alternative entrance outfits from your ring gear. Despite this the real fun comes with the create a finisher and create an entrance modes.

Create A Finisher is literally insane and the variations you can come up with are like something out of an old mortal combat game. You go through the sequence, selecting parts from premade moves until you have a completely unique finisher. For example you may start off with a powerbomb position, lift them up in to a gory bomb, twizzle round 3 times, pop them out to your shoulder, let them slip in to a piledriver and then finish it with a tombstone drop on to your knees. You can then choose from several names that the announcer’s will actually scream out as you perform the move in a match.

In the same fashion Create An Entrance (advanced) mode gives you several options, (Intro, Stage, Ramp, Ring In, Inside Ring) of which you select premade entrances and mix them around. For example I had Undertaker’s slow dark intro, Chuck Palumbo’s motor bike stage and ramp, Chris Jericho’s ring in move and Brain Kendrick’s inside ring move, which see’s him backflip off the turnbuckle. You can imagine the impressive things you can do here.

But it doesn’t end there. You can also add several sets of pyro at specific timed intervals. So when my guy hit the stage on his bike and revved it up I set off some fireworks and at the exact moment he back flipped in the ring I did Kane’s fire coming out of the turnbuckles. You can also add cool screen affects and choose when your name appears on screen.

To top it all off you can add your own custom music from your PS3 hard-drive (only takes a click of a button) so having my Skeleton Guy come out in a cape on a motorbike with pyro and fire, whilst Soundgarden-Rusty Cage is blasting out is pretty freaking awesome to look at! What’s even more impressive is that you can add custom tracks and entrances to superstars. So now my Brian Kendrick comes out dancing like a goof with his new ring music (yeah I found it online) instead of running down with his old “London and Kendrick” theme.

Online Play:
Online is as always hit and miss. You have the guys that are on their all day and impossible to beat and you have your noobs that don’t know what they’re doing. Like all games it can lag meaning you miss a move or get caught when you swear you were out of the way, but its something you can deal with. I advice getting a teammate to play online with in tag matches to have more fun. It can get bloody annoying though when somebody decides to let Triple H’s intro play the full way through. You can’t skip other people’s intros you see.

Inferno Match:
The new Inferno match is nice to see the first few times but loses its luster eventually. Basically you increase the fire’s temperature by performing several moves in a row. Once it hits 300 you can drag your opponent to the fire and if you’ve beat them down enough a sequence plays where they get burned. There’s nothing much beyond that.

Tag Team Match:
It certainly isn’t a new match, but there’s a definite focus on tag team action in this 2009 version. The partner waiting on the ring apron is as much as part of the action as the player in the ring. The “illegal” partner can attack the opponent from the outside, distract the referee, pull down the rope so they fly to the outside, make a blind tag and even create a “Hot Tag,” which is the main new feature. The partner on the apron holds down on the Directional pad to start a clap, a momentum bar fills, and when it’s full, the Hot Tag can be made. The new partner jumps in and needs to make two button sequences to take out the legal man and take out the one stalking the side of the ring. Pull this off, and you’ll have gain a finisher and hopefully win. Very cool indeed.

Conclusion:
In terms of a wrestling game I’d give it a 9/10 – I mean there really is no competition (sorry TNA, it was ok at the time but I’ve been re-educated), but if you’re over 18 you’ll probably get bored within a week or so. A lot of the fun comes from your imagination and love for the TV product and as you get older it loses its fantasy so the game can also get repetitive if you aren’t bothered about making all the real champions, reliving matches from your favorite PPVs or creating every missing star. So in a broad perspective I’d give it 7/10. If you are a wrestling fan BUY IT!

Cheat Codes (case sensitive):
Go to the options menu and select the “Cheat Codes” menu, then enter one of the following codes to activate the corresponding cheat, (these will not disrupt your game in any way):

- Enter “SatNightMainEventSvR” to unlock the Saturday Night’s Main Event venue.

- Enter “BoogeymanEatsWorms!!” to unlock Boogeyman.

- Enter “AltJerichoModelSvR09″ to unlock Chris Jericho’s old attire and haircut.

- Enter “Ryder&HawkinsTagTeam” to unlock Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder.

- Enter “UnlockSnitskySvR2009″ to unlock Gene Snitsky.

- Enter “PlayAsJillianHallSvR” to unlock Jillian Hall.

- Enter “UnlockECWDivaLayla09″ to unlock Layla.

- Enter “FlairWoooooooooooooo” (15 O’s) to unlock Ric Flair.

– Enter “UnlockECWTazzSvR2009″ to unlock Tazz as a playable charcter in his ECW attire.

- Enter “VinceMcMahonNoChance” to unlock Vince McMahon.

- Enter “HornswoggleAsManager” unlock Hornswoggle as a manager. (Hold R1 and any direction in gameplay for him top pop out and give you a weapon).

- Enter “CMPunkAltCostumeSvR!” to unlock CM Punk’s alternate costume.

- Enter “BooyakaBooyaka619SvR” as to unlock Rey Mysterio’s alternate costume.

Unlockables:
- Boogeyman – Complete Undertaker’s Road To Wrestlemania.

- Brothers Of Destruction Entrance – Make Finlay bleed in Undertaker’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 8).

- Chris Jericho’s code titantron for CAW – Make Mr Kennedy bleed in Chris Jericho’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 12).

- CM Punk Alternate Outfit – Beat Jeff Hardy and put him through a table in CM Punk’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 2).

- DX – Beat Randy Orton and give him the Pedigree 3 times in Triple H’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 12 if you teamed with Shawn Michaels at No Way Out).

- DX outfits – Complete Triple H’s Road To Wrestlemania (if you teamed with Shawn Michaels at No Way Out).

- Evolution – Win in under 2 minutes against Batista in Triple H’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 12 if you teamed with Randy Orton at No Way Out).

- Gauntlet Match – Defeat Mr Kennedy in less than 2 minutes in John Cena’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 12).

- Generic IE Animation Set2 – Pin Edge in Triple H’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 1).

- Hornswoggle (manager) – Beat Finlay in a shorter than than Santino in Undertaker’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 2).

- Jillian Hall – Win the match for your team in Triple H’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 7).

- Layla – Beat Big Daddy V in less than 2 minutes in CM Punk’s Road To Wrestlemania.

- Locker room fight location – Pin John Morrison in CM Punk’s Road To Wrestlemania.

- Masked Man – Complete Chris Jericho’s Road To Wrestlemania.

- Old Jericho Model – Beat Jeff Hardy without using a finisher in Chris Jericho’s Road To Wrestlemania.

- Ric Flair – Complete Triple H’s Road To Wrestlemania.

- Ryder/Hawkins – Spear Edge twice in Batista’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 7).

- Saturday Night’s Main Event – Hit every opponent with a finisher in Batista/Rey Mysterio’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 7).

- Snitsky – Make MVP bleed in John Cena’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 11).

- Tazz – Complete CM Punk’s Road To Wrestlemania.

- Tony – Give Regal and Umaga the FU in the tag match in John Cena’s Road To Wrestlemania.

- Tribute To The Troops – Beat MVP by submission in John Cena’s Road To Wrestlemania.

- Unlock Rey Mysterio alternate outfit – Pin John Morrison in a tag-tam contest in Batista and Rey’s road to wrestlemania.

- Vince McMahon – Complete Batista/Rey Mysterio’s Road To Wrestlemania.

- WCW edit brand and WCW belt – Pin Finlay in Chris Jericho’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 3).

- Zombie Finlay/Santino – Make Rey Mysterio win by pinfall in Undertaker’s Road To Wrestlemania (Week 8).

Got a cheat to add, want to share some information, like or didn’t like something, want to give out your online ID, want to show off your CAW? Leave a comment below!