WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 (PSP)

Over-the-top melodrama and online action. But where's the guy who can defeat 10,000 elephants?
11/11/2008 6:17 PM | 0 Comments | Page 2 of 3

You'll find minor camera issues when you're outside of the ring. Get knocked down in a corner or in an area where a fan is holding up a sign, and you won't be able to see how your Superstar is faring. You can be pressing "X" like a madman to get him up off the ground, but you won't be able to see his progress until he's up on his feet. Also, when your opponent goes for a weapon like a table that's hidden under the ring, the camera switches to him in close-up as he pulls it out. Better would be a split screen that allows you to see your own character, especially if you're pressing the triangle button and trying to see how you quickly you heal from a recent pummeling.

Gone from the PSP version of SVR 2009 is the GM mode, was a management tool that allowed you to fiddle around and make tweaks for hours. You could even enlist story writers for the television show. Also biting the dust is the WWE Store -- which I never liked anyway, because it was like dressing up a Barbie doll. But my problem with the PSP game is the same problem I have with sports games on the PSP generally: Shrinking the big show down to the small screen is madness, because you don't get that over-the-top feel of wrestling as entertainment or as sport. And when you're tag teaming, and the screen has to show four fighters at once, it's like fighting with Lilliputians. At least there's no tiny ball to deal with, so that's a plus. But all the work that goes into detailed graphics in a sports game is pretty much for naught, unless you get a close-up on a wrestler. And you can't fight during close-ups because you can't see the whole body. It's an eternal conundrum for the handheld, one that SVR 2009 has not solved.

The Creation modes in SVR 2009 can be monstrously intense. With Create-A-Finisher, you can string together and save a combination of four knock-his-block-off moves, chosen from a library of dozens. When you're more powerful, you can chain more than 10 moves together. Overall, you'll feel you really put your stamp on the Finisher.

Of the many gameplay modes, the one that seemed most compelling to me was the Inferno mode. Unlike that torch under the ring that doesn't burn your opponent, the purpose of the Inferno match is to set that hated wrestler on fire on the burning ring ropes. It's sadistic. But who doesn't want to have fun with the elements? And as someone off-screen sprays a fire extinguisher on your embarrassed opponent's burning derrier, the amazed announcer wonders, "How can we begin to describe what we've just witnessed?"

The game-makers made such a gigantic deal about cooperation in competition this year, you'd think they were politicians. I almost expect the wacky announcers to say, "We've reached across the aisle to get both Ashley and Rey Mysterio to work together for change that will result in bloodifying all those who deign to halt this spirit of cooperation." THQ is gloating about its new Tag Team Explosion feature, which appears in the PSP version (as well as the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 disks). It does add variety and some unexpectedly thrilling moments: When you're two-versus-two in the ring, you just might hit the ref or your teammate with a ladder. I have a loner personality, so I'm not that into co-op. But I can see that co-op does spice things up -- and let you cheat a little, too (one tag option lets you tag yourself so you can save your partner who may be down for the count).