Ah, WWE. Some part of my youth was spent watching SmackDown and Heat on TV on weekend mornings, and seeing the heroes of the attitude era fight weekly. While boxing (and later MMA) revealed the ultimate kayfabe nature of wrestling entertainment, it was during college that I renewed interest in watching the Pay Per Views, and appreciated the skills and physical pressure put on the superstars week in, week out. Yeah, its silly now, and not nearly as interesting as the attitude era, but you always get a great match every now and then that demands your attention.
After a disappointing Survivor Series, I thought I may as well dive into Smackdown vs Raw 2007 for a more positive experience. As a fan of WWE, its no surprise that I may have a biased opinion on this as opposed to the UFC games. My last experience with wrestling games came from Smackdown 2: Know your role back in 2001, and that was barrels of fun. But does the SvR series have great value for a wrestling game?
First impressions were somewhat mixed; Being developed by Yukes (who have done every major WWF/E game since 2000), SvR 2007 does feel very similar to the games of old. That is both a good and bad thing. The good news is that the creation tools, game modes and career options are as fun as you remember back on the PS1. The Flipside of course is that this is a game developed for consoles two generations later and with more expansive opportunities, it feels a little primitive alongside similar games built from the ground up for the 360. It also doesn't help that it has an anaemic playlist of 2007's worst alternative metal tracks and odd hip hop to keep you going through painfully long and frequent loading times.
Aside from the comparisons to its earlier incarnations, there are a few things that trip up the fun. The initial user interface of the game is a bit iffy, particularly with throwing you headfirst into the game for the first time. The brief video tutorials introducing the controls and movesets are not the most helpful, but then this was before every last game had interactive sequences for every step. Game modes are not well explained as to how you actually perform finishers on table matches, casket matches etc (I had to resort to looking online just to find how to break the Spanish announcers table). In the long run, you really need to create a character, assign the controls you want, and then play through that way to have some sense of what you are doing.
Thankfully, the creation tools are user friendly enough and at the same time feature scores of variables. Instead of going straight to the matches, its wiser to start from scratch and build your own superstar.
First and foremost, this is a game intended to make you feel like you are a part of the WWE experience, and for the most part it pulls it off very well. You can create your superstar to battle against the established legends, create a Pay Per View event with the dream matches, create an entrance for peppered variety, and even title belts for some elaborate hardcore championship. The character customisation has a wide variety of clothing and moves. Choose whatever you like, but I strongly recommend picking the heavyweight weight class. My first playthrough had a Cruiserweight struggling to lift a few bags of potatoes around let alone the Big Show or Kane, so if you want a superstar that can actually compete and pull off fantastic moves, go for heavyweight.
Another way the game intends you to thoroughly enjoy the WWE experience is the career mode. Your created superstar goes through a season of the WWE with contracts and feuds against the well known stars. You get in typical double crosses, backstage fights, a love story is thrown in for good measure, and you ultimately have showdowns at the major PPV events. Its all silly stuff, but as a fan its hard to dislike. WWE is a lads soap opera after all, so the corny dialogue and overacting is worth a watch. The e-mails and magazines you get over the seasons also flesh out the stars, particularly General Manager Teddy Long during the first stint at SmackDown.
I do have an issue with the career progression, in that your created character is so weak initially you can't put up a decent fight until you have levelled up after four-six months. To make that issue stick out more is the roster you face initially. The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio and Chris Benoit are great to see, but these were (at the games release) top tier stars that would beat any created characters. Starting at the midcard against the likes of Finlay or Hardcore Holly would have been a better place to start with before fighting progressively stronger stars instead of being thrown in at the deep end. Being on the losing end of a match means things devolve into button mashing just to recover from powerful moves, and after a while it becomes frustrating.
Online support was also for the 360 version, but unfortunately at the time of writing the population is non-existent. Bets are they are on WWE 2K16 by now.
The game does bear the mark of the time it was made. The brand extension of the WWE means you feel like you have half a game in career mode until you get to the Raw side and play through the other half of the roster. The push of some wrestlers on loading screens seem funny when viewed in hindsight. Benoit, Khali and Boogeyman stand out as ones that simply are not getting pushed again in future. The presentation is far from the best nowadays but it get the job done, and the announcers deliver their lines well during matches, but it gets old and repetitive fast. Sound effects from Smackdown 2 actually are in this game, such as countouts and ropebreaks, further hurting the familiar feel. AI feels a bit slow to respond in comparison to later entries, so seeing the ever energetic Mysterio stand around for a second is a bit distracting.
A really minor final gripe, but any location not in the states or UK will feel ticked off at thit tiny detail in customisation; where your superstar is from.
Smackdown Vs Raw 2007 is an entertaining, if familiar wrestling game and worth playing for fans of the WWE. Its a game that lives or dies on the blend of customisation, wrestling and story, and it pulls off these well enough to recommend. Non-fans will be turned off by the silly stories, painful load times and dated presentation. However, anyone can appreciate the fun and solid gameplay that holds the whole thing together. Multiplayer with friends, a few beers, some hot wings and SvR is not a bad way to spend a few hours, and its a great warm up activity before those PPV's. However,it does feel ultimately like FIFA; to be bought every few years for non fans to really notice the difference. SvR 2010 was a refinement of the series, so if that game is at a discount, I would probably play that over this. That said, 2007 is a respectable entry, so its not a squash match by any means.
First impressions were somewhat mixed; Being developed by Yukes (who have done every major WWF/E game since 2000), SvR 2007 does feel very similar to the games of old. That is both a good and bad thing. The good news is that the creation tools, game modes and career options are as fun as you remember back on the PS1. The Flipside of course is that this is a game developed for consoles two generations later and with more expansive opportunities, it feels a little primitive alongside similar games built from the ground up for the 360. It also doesn't help that it has an anaemic playlist of 2007's worst alternative metal tracks and odd hip hop to keep you going through painfully long and frequent loading times.
Be prepared to see this a lot, especially with matches of 4 wrestlers or more
Aside from the comparisons to its earlier incarnations, there are a few things that trip up the fun. The initial user interface of the game is a bit iffy, particularly with throwing you headfirst into the game for the first time. The brief video tutorials introducing the controls and movesets are not the most helpful, but then this was before every last game had interactive sequences for every step. Game modes are not well explained as to how you actually perform finishers on table matches, casket matches etc (I had to resort to looking online just to find how to break the Spanish announcers table). In the long run, you really need to create a character, assign the controls you want, and then play through that way to have some sense of what you are doing.
Thankfully, the creation tools are user friendly enough and at the same time feature scores of variables. Instead of going straight to the matches, its wiser to start from scratch and build your own superstar.
First and foremost, this is a game intended to make you feel like you are a part of the WWE experience, and for the most part it pulls it off very well. You can create your superstar to battle against the established legends, create a Pay Per View event with the dream matches, create an entrance for peppered variety, and even title belts for some elaborate hardcore championship. The character customisation has a wide variety of clothing and moves. Choose whatever you like, but I strongly recommend picking the heavyweight weight class. My first playthrough had a Cruiserweight struggling to lift a few bags of potatoes around let alone the Big Show or Kane, so if you want a superstar that can actually compete and pull off fantastic moves, go for heavyweight.
Another way the game intends you to thoroughly enjoy the WWE experience is the career mode. Your created superstar goes through a season of the WWE with contracts and feuds against the well known stars. You get in typical double crosses, backstage fights, a love story is thrown in for good measure, and you ultimately have showdowns at the major PPV events. Its all silly stuff, but as a fan its hard to dislike. WWE is a lads soap opera after all, so the corny dialogue and overacting is worth a watch. The e-mails and magazines you get over the seasons also flesh out the stars, particularly General Manager Teddy Long during the first stint at SmackDown.
I do have an issue with the career progression, in that your created character is so weak initially you can't put up a decent fight until you have levelled up after four-six months. To make that issue stick out more is the roster you face initially. The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio and Chris Benoit are great to see, but these were (at the games release) top tier stars that would beat any created characters. Starting at the midcard against the likes of Finlay or Hardcore Holly would have been a better place to start with before fighting progressively stronger stars instead of being thrown in at the deep end. Being on the losing end of a match means things devolve into button mashing just to recover from powerful moves, and after a while it becomes frustrating.
The streak was 17-0 undefeated at this point, no chance you n00bs will break it
The gameplay itself is fairly solid, a long list of moves is great to have in a fighting game, and adding dozens of match types spices up the usual one on one seen in others in the genre. The interactive environments and weapons add a layer of strategy to the matches, and if your character is a heel type its encouraged. Finishers are done with multiple camera angles and sound effects for emphasis and added oomph, something apparently lacking in more recent entries. The responsive controls work well, and you never feel like you are pulling off moves you didn't intend to. Being on the receiving end of multiple blows does require a lot of seemingly fruitless button mashing but there are counters to grapples that, if timed right, give you a chance to regain some momentum.
Multiplayer matches are very entertaining. Being a series made on the PS1, its no surprise split screen is catered for, but with the 360's 4 player support, you can have a great time with ladder matches, royal rumbles, or a TLC match.
The game does bear the mark of the time it was made. The brand extension of the WWE means you feel like you have half a game in career mode until you get to the Raw side and play through the other half of the roster. The push of some wrestlers on loading screens seem funny when viewed in hindsight. Benoit, Khali and Boogeyman stand out as ones that simply are not getting pushed again in future. The presentation is far from the best nowadays but it get the job done, and the announcers deliver their lines well during matches, but it gets old and repetitive fast. Sound effects from Smackdown 2 actually are in this game, such as countouts and ropebreaks, further hurting the familiar feel. AI feels a bit slow to respond in comparison to later entries, so seeing the ever energetic Mysterio stand around for a second is a bit distracting.
durr
A really minor final gripe, but any location not in the states or UK will feel ticked off at thit tiny detail in customisation; where your superstar is from.
As an Irishman this tidbit surprisingly ticked me off, Finlay is from here!
Smackdown Vs Raw 2007 is an entertaining, if familiar wrestling game and worth playing for fans of the WWE. Its a game that lives or dies on the blend of customisation, wrestling and story, and it pulls off these well enough to recommend. Non-fans will be turned off by the silly stories, painful load times and dated presentation. However, anyone can appreciate the fun and solid gameplay that holds the whole thing together. Multiplayer with friends, a few beers, some hot wings and SvR is not a bad way to spend a few hours, and its a great warm up activity before those PPV's. However,it does feel ultimately like FIFA; to be bought every few years for non fans to really notice the difference. SvR 2010 was a refinement of the series, so if that game is at a discount, I would probably play that over this. That said, 2007 is a respectable entry, so its not a squash match by any means.
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