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 1 of 3

Wrestling wasn't always SmackDown vs. Raw. In fact, it's been a sport since the 9th century B.C., since the mid-Iron Age, when the massive, 74,000-verse "Mahabharata" was written in India. As one gruesome tale from that ancient tome goes, the strong, wrathful Bhima was more powerful than 10,000 elephants. He was pitted against angry king Jarasandha in a throw-down so ugly, so nasty, it certainly didn't last a mere 10 minutes like some of the WrestleMania bouts. The epic fight lasted nearly a month and ended Mortal Kombat-style, with Bhima ripping Jarasandha into two pieces. Talk about being rent asunder.

On the debut of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009, I was thinking that the history of wrestling is steeped in so many stories that suck you in and don't let go. If you love soap opera-like narrative, you can move through a co-op story mode in SVR 2009 that's full of twists and turns. But in the latest SmackDown commercial, the graphics showed realistic wrestling in the ring with human-like bodies and faces scrunching up in pain. There were no fireworks-filled entrances or puffery in the ad, just a voiceover touting cooperative play.

The latest game in THQ's SmackDown series is in fact rife with brand-new features, the most notable of which may be the ability to play online. Plus, there are new tweaks to the artificial intelligence, along with the you-make-it-raw Create-A-Finisher option.

But like Madden, Mortal Kombat and any other franchise that releases a new iteration each and every year, shouldn't there be something mo' better and utterly ooh-ahh in SmackDown vs. Raw? We're in the most foul, soul-sucking economic meltdown that most gamers have ever seen, and this is the 11th year in which THQ has foisted a wrestling game upon us -- this time, in seven formats (if you include the mobile phone version) -- so shouldn't there be more meat? Is it worth $40 for the PlayStation Portable version of SVR 2009? Or should you just play last year's version?

The undefeated, six-time champion Undertaker looks otherworldly this year, full of extraordinarily detailed tattoos and the gaze straight out of Hades, in which his eyes roll up in his head. However, some of the lesser known Superstars don't have the great facial detail that the well-known folks do. For instance, Ashley looks very good, but not as human as she should. The graphics in the PSP version are muddier and less detailed than in the consoles, especially the creases and expressions on the faces of the lesser Superstars.

Undertaker is godly powerful and the older Finlay with lesser stats is not going to easily pin him, but Fin or any fighter can grab a sledgehammer or ladder from under the ring to use as a weapon (so much visceral fun!). You just dial up the options -- including a torch that you can light on fire. They will bleed. The shillelagh-wielding Finlay, my old-school fave, bled like a slaughtered pig all over the mat during one match. For the sadist in you, the fighters won't get their skin burned to a blackened crisp, however.

The AI here is very fine, though not perfect. Hit or kick a player three or four times without performing a hold, and he'll find a way to summon the energy to fight back. Occasionally, the wrestler will punch the air instead of you, and you know that wouldn't happen in real life. Mostly, though, the AI isn't easily foiled. Even when you think a top wrestler is ready to be pinned, he may surprise you with a move that knocks the wind out of you.