Get ready for another dose of WWE action with SmackDown vs. RAW 2007, the latest installment in THQ’s popular wrestling series. WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 brings the intensity of being a WWE superstar to the next level by offering players unprecedented levels of choice and control. As the number one wrestling franchise in the world, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 delivers the next generation of WWE video games with realistic WWE action in and beyond the ring.
Experience WWE action like never before with the power of the PS3. View larger. |
You can even grab signs and weapons from the crowd. View larger. |
Get em’ on the ropes! View larger. |
Things are intense out of the ring, too. View larger. |
This edition offers a number of new features and improvements over previous versions, including a new analog control system, incredible high-definition graphics, updated rosters for both Raw and SmackDown, an expanded general manager mode, online multiplayer game play with chat support, and more.
Game Storyline
An enhanced season mode provides multiple branching storylines and unprecedented levels of player choice. Meanwhile, experience the intensity of WWE fans in a brand new, fully loaded interactive fighting area. Players can take advantage of multiple weapons, including grabbing signs and weapons from the crowd.
Gameplay
The new analog control system makes fighting more realistic than ever with intuitive movement and new elements of control. In and out of the ring, dozens of user-controlled environmental hotspots let players take advantage of anything at their disposal to inflict damage on opponents in new and unique ways. Additionally, new high impact combination moves let players take the power of WWE Superstars into their own hands.
Two categories of movesets are now determined by your weight class. Lighter wrestlers have access to martial arts-style moves, while heavier wrestlers have access to slower, but more powerful moves. Accordingly, a character can only lift or inflict damage on wrestlers one weight class heavier than them or less.
A lot more interactivity in the arenas is included in this latest release. Signs, weapons, and other objects from the crowd can be used to beat down the opponent, while fighting within the crowd is also allowed. Don’t forget the previously mentioned inclusion of environmental “hotspots” such as the steel steps, ring ropes, and scaffolding, which players can interact with (Note: crowd fighting and crowd interaction are not supported for all match types).
Lastly, the graphics of this release have been immensely improved over previous releases. The game’s audio system has also been overhauled and features new sound effects, not to mention new crowd chants and grunting from the wrestlers.
Product Features
- Experience the intensity of being a WWE superstar with this fun game
- Intense new fighting area outside the ring; high-impact combination moves
- Enhanced Season mode; expanded General Manager mode; updated rosters
- New Analog Control System adds intuitive movement and improved handling
- High-definition graphics; online multiplayer game play with voice chat support
A Turning Point In Smackdown History!! Most annual release franchises try to dazzle gamers by adding a few new features, to a roster updated but otherwise unchanged, game. THQ and Yukes are one of the few companies that seem to take their game back to the drawing board each year and rebuild from the ground up. Smackdown vs. Raw ’07 is a truly an ambitious example of this trend and the end product is nothing short of amazing!!By far the largest change this year is the completely redone control scheme. Though this can initially be very jaring to long time fans who have been using the same controls for almost a decade to play Smackdown games, it truly IS for the best. Each year THQ has been trying to give the gamer increased control over what moves their wrestler performs in the ring while still maintaining an authentic on screen wrestling matches. This year the right analog stick gives you more control over what AND HOW certain moves are performed. For example, in the past a typical turnbuckle move was to mount and punch a guy 10 times. This was performed by pressing the right combo of buttons and was followed by a canned animation. In SVR ’07 you actually control how many times you punch your opponent by mimicking the punching motion and pressing up and down with the right analog stick. This may initially seem needlessly complicated but the on screen instructions make the appropriate button presses apparent in all environmental situations.The season and GM modes have also been improved upon but to me the most exciting changes were done to the create-a-entrance mode. You can now watch entrances AS you make changes and you can actually control the timing on fireworks and camera moves!! WOW!!The graphics and sound are as good as they are gonna get on the PS2. It’s hard to explain but the moves seem to “chain together” better than in past games. For example, reversals aren’t so obvious and thus harder to counter. You’ll think you’re executing a move perfectly until Oops, you’re laying on the mat wondering what happened. The wrestler models are slightly closer to their real life versions this year. The commentary though, mostly the same seems to have been expanded upon for more action specific comments. Instead of JR commenting on the fact that you are beating your opponent, he’ll talk about the powerbomb you just executed. The wrestlers themselves also make noise as well when wrestling (hooray for grunting) . The only negative criticism I have relates to loading screens. While this has always been an issue on the PS2, loading seems to take extra long this year (probably because of all of the improvements). In some cases you’ll wait 20 seconds on one load screen only to go to the next load screen.
Don’t Believe The Hype This years’ installment of Smackdown vs. Raw has some high points and some low ones. First off, the addition of the “Ultimate Control” moves is definately a highlight; being able to hang up your opponent on the ropes, repeatedly smash their head into the ring steps and announce table are a few things that add a bit more realism to the experience which is definately worth mentioning. There is also the ability to take the fight into the crowd, although that feature is not enabled for all match types. Also, GM mode has recieved a facelift, adding the Power 25 from wwe.com to gauge how “over” certain wrestlers are and who could use a better push, and being able to hire writers to create rivalries for your wrestlers which in turn generate better ratings, as opposed to just starting one yourself by keeping two wrestlers involved in the same matches every week like last year is a vast improvement.Season Mode and Legends:On to the problems with the game, which I’m sad to say are many. For starters, season mode is an absolute bore, but is essential if you hope to earn cash to unlock the Legends in the game, as well as earn experience points to jack up your created wrestlers. Speaking of legends, was it really necessary to include all of Mick Foley’s characters in the game? It seems that they were just looking to beef up the Legend roster and this was the easiest solution, much like including 3 different Hulk Hogan’s in 2006.Music and Commentary:Next up is the sound. In my humble opinion, this series has been plagued with the worst video game soundtrack since I started playing with “Here Comes The Pain” Also, 90% of the in match commentary has been recycled from previous installments so you can expect to hear JR explaining Government Mules and Scolded Dogs to Jerry Lawler for the 1000th time.Challenges and Match Types:They have also cut back on the amount of trophies that can be earned as well as available challenges to complete which added a lot of replay value to the previous SvR games, so I was sad to see that cut back. There is also only one new match type included in the game; the “Money in the Bank” Ladder Match.Controls:Moving on to the “improved” grappling system. This has to be the most hyped up part of the game. In the months leading up to the game’s release we heard about the new analog grappling system which was going to make the grapples more fluid and intuitive, but frankly it does the opposite. The game relies too heavily on the right analog and it feels very foriegn and takes quite a bit of getting used to. If you simply can’t deal with it, switching the control to type D in the options screen should give you a feel closer to that of the previous games. They have also implemented an “infinite reversal” system where you and your opponent can conceivably counter eachother’s moves forever, which is not the case because many counters are followed by unavoidable attack animations. the game also claims to discourage button mashing as you will see in one of the video tutorials, but it’s still the best way to achieve a counter as the on screen prompts show up too late, and are non existant in the case of reversing finishers. If you are downed, a message under the HUD will tell you to hit any button repeatedly to recover which prevents the reversal prompts from showing up at all so if you’re on the mat, you have no choice but to button mash and just hope for the best. In one instance, there was a match that had spilled out into the crowd, and Batista, once he had me down, did nothing but submission after submission after submission and I was helpless to counter.Bugs:I personally as well as many other people have experienced several bugs in the game regarding the announce team and the ring announcers, as well as some gameplay glitches. These are some of the ones I have experienced:The announce team frequently calls out the wrong finisher being performed. For instance, Triple H will perform a Pedigree and sometimes they will call it a Twist Of Fate. Bobby Lashley will do the Dominator, and they will call it the Dead Level. During season mode, whenever you are at a cross brand Pay Per View, your match is called by the announce team from the other show. So if you’re wrestling say at Summerslam, and you’re a Smackdown wrestler, the match will be called by JR and King, but in the post match cut scene, the correct announce team takes over. There is also a bug in the game in tag team matches where the ring announcer will only announce the first member of a tag team and not the second member. Another thing is that the ring announcers never announce a championship match, I don’t know if this is a bug or just something that was left out, but it’s annoying. The commentators will also often refer to wrestlers who aren’t even involved in the match.One glaring gameplay glitch is in…