Customer Reviews

WWE Smackdown 2009

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Smackdown game series since about Here Comes the Pain has been on a downward spiral. Many loyal fans of the series abandoning it because they felt like THQ were putting the minimal effort into the game, simply because they knew it would sell. In many ways they were justified for turning their back on the series as it gave THQ the wake up call they needed. This game seems like one of the very first games in the series that a hell of a lot of effort was put into it. With a massive roster, an easy to use yet detailed controlling system and a beefed up tag system this game was bound to be a success. First off THQ needs to reassure the abandoning fans that this is a very different game from the originals. One way in doing that is giving them one thing the fans have always wanted, a "create a finisher" mode. The very notion that you can now create your own finisher is something that the fans think will make a massive difference to such a game. Anyway, the modes are going to be discussed in a minute but in a nutshell this game is really good.

The Roster: This contains over 60 wrestlers, none of them legends but the sheer size of the roster itself is enough to allow you to effectively use the newly updated tag team system. The real gem for this particular installment is the announcement that in order to keep the rosters from becoming out dated, THQ are going to finally utilise the Playstation Network by allowing downloadable content. This will not only feature wrestlers but will allow other additions such as possible new storylines or looks for current superstars to match what is going on in TV land. The first announcement of the DLC is although there is not yet a date, superstars Evan Bourne and Ted DiBiase Jr. are confirmed to be a part of it along with a few other little things.

Game Modes: In exchange for the previous installments WWE 24/7 mode, we're now given Road to Wrestlemania and Career Mode. Road to Wrestlemania is essentially a shortened Season Mode starting from around the Royal Rumble and is tailor made for specific superstars. A drawback to this is that you can only play as either Triple H, CM Punk, Undertaker, John Cena, Chris Jericho or Batista & Rey Mysterio as part of a co-op RTW play. There's also a career mode which is basically a never ending thing with no story, it's just fight to earn a shot at a title, win, then fight for another title. You can do that with anyone.

There's also the new Create A Finisher which I haven't tried yet but will get around to eventually. I've never really been fan of the create a wrestler things so if you really want to know then I'd check out other reviews.

To wrap it up in 4 simple words? I Love This Game. It's fun, it's easy and it's packed. The only problem is that when I've managed to complete all the RTW's I can imagine becoming quite un-interested with it until we get the DLC anyway. Hopefully along with new superstars, THQ will be able to give us new RTW storylines and arenas to keep us occupied with the DLC until the next installment. This type of thing will also allow THQ to give us a lot more to the game with constant updates instead of trying to put as much on the disc as possible before release date.

I'm also praying that trophies will follow eventually although it's looking doubtful for this particular installment. I would highly recommend this to anyone and everyone who's a fan of wrestling.

The main thing about this game that is better are the controls. Anybody can grab the controller and perform suplexes or superstar finishers. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 is around the corner so I expect that game to be awesome as well. If you want to get this game for the lower price at this time I highly recommend. You will be amazed by the various match types, numerous superstar selection to choose from, the realistic graphics and great overall gameplay.

Game's appeal died down rather quickly for me. Roster is not very good according to past games. There isn't any real high profile past names to unlock other than Flair which is kind of disappointing. There are other wrestlers, but they aren't wrestlers I really care for.

Only interesting thing about the game for me is the new gameplay which is easy to get used to. However, the moves list feels rather limited compared to past games. It was fun in the beginning, but faded really fast. Story modes also didn't help much. They are only available for a selected few. Found myself just skipping and getting everything done quickly so I can just unlock the secrets. Only made it threw three of the seven.

Played the game for two days and was already pretty bored with it. If you're yawning while playing a game, this usually isn't a good sign. Traded it in back to Amazon for a gift card instead. This series seems to be getting old with every new iteration that comes along. Heres Comes the Pain and Shut Your Mouth are still my favorites.

All in all, I don't think it's really the game that I disliked, but the fact that my interest in WWE has declined. There is no longer any attachment to any wrestler and this was a big appeal to me. If I don't care for the wrestlers, the fun will be short lived. I guess I just miss the Rock, Stone Cold, Bret Hart, Goldberg, Kurt Angle, and all the big stars of the past who used to be in the series. The roster just seems like fillers now.

I was impressed with the graphics and realism of the wrestlers, if not the originality of the game. Just like all wrestling games before it, but still fun to play.

This is an entertaining and fairly easy to learn game on the PS3. The graphics are pretty good although some of the characters (especially the Divas) still could appear a little closer to their real life counter parts. I enjoy the fact that there are several sub games (Roads to Wrestlemania) and many different superstars you can play as, as well as a plethora of types of matches you can have in "exhibition mode". I am most familiar with 1st person shooters, but this is a fun fighting game that I will be playing for quite some time.

M

There hasn't truly been a great Smackdown game since HCTP, a great story, great superstar selection, etc. But since we have been plagued with mediocre games. SVR 2007 was a disaster and 08 wasn't much better, but 09 gives you a huge cut down on load times which should be a fresh breath to any SVR follower, because god have there been some LOAD TIMES. 09's best feature besides the reduced load times has to be create a finisher, which is a bit rough on the edges but still good. Career mode which is practically WWE 24/7, but with no story, just strict fighting and going for titles, with no logic to it. Road to wrestlemania is the story mode, while still great fun, is a HUGE dissapointment, only 6 superstars to choose from? thats just plain limiting this games potential. Especially If you like doing the story driven, RPG career that many of us used to with your own superstar in the drivers seat. Not that I Really care, but SVR also still hasn't given girls their own unique paths to championships either, you can make a diva, like usual, but with no Diva-Friendly story mode, that's gotta be a sales killer towards the female crowd. If your one of those Story Driven SVR players, this game dissapoints. If your just a strict game play person, it succeeds and is better than the garbage we've seen in the past. Also, they say there are roster updates, you can call them that, but I call them an add-on, updates are usually free. You have to pay 5 bucks to update rosters and get Evan Bourne, Ted Dibiase Jr. and a bunch of alternate costumes. Also the online isn't much better still a bit laggy. I'd say this game is much more for the younger audiences more than ever.

I was a bit disappointed with Smackdown vs Raw 2008, but THQ out did themselves with Smackdown vs Raw 2009! I love this game!!! I prefer my own CAWS and they delivered big time!! Create your own finishers, highlight reel, and the AI has really improved! If you can only buy one game this is the one!

After playing for a few hours, you may realize that this game is just more of the same. The game just doesn't feel new.

Good points: Really interesting story mode. This time, it's wrestler specific, so the story mode is much more fleshed out. You will probably get most enjoyment out of this mode.

But that is about it in terms of good points.

There is create a finisher mode, which I previously thought had a lot of potential. But after playing with it for a few hours, I realized that the mode is really limited. Based upon what moves you pick in the first few steps, the rest of the steps become more and more limited in terms of what moves you can add. So you can't really create that many amazing looking finishers. If this mode had received more attention, I definitely would have given one more star to the game.

Then there is a new match type, inferno. Yup.

Everything else about the game just feels stale. The game looks same, feels same, and moves the same way. This is my biggest disappointment about the game. The game suffers from this yearly development cycle. How much new stuff can the developers add in about 9 - 10 months before they release next game. Not much. And it shows. But the problem is that every year, people keep buying it, and they keep making money off these games.


Go and download the demo on psn. If you like it, then you will probably enjoy the rest of the game as well. But if you didn't get any enjoyment out of the demo, then skip over this iteration. There is always going to be another one next year.

Want fewer wrestlers, fewer wrestling moves, a smaller plot, less voice acting, less animation of commentators and general managers? Then this is the game for you!

With each new game release, somehow THQ delivers less. Those who played the older PS2 versions of this game, Shut Your Mouth or Here Comes the Pain, will notice that there is a lot less GAME here than in the games before. And that's sad. This is the PS3, you think you'd be getting MORE game, not LESS. But you'd be wrong!

Remember how you used to be able to wrestle The Rock, Stone Cold, Kurt Angle, and a whole slew of midcard wrestlers? Well not anymore! It's as if there were only 10 or 11 wrestlers on three different shows (RAW, Smackdown, and ECW), and that's all they could put in this game. It's a wonder they even have a tag team division, considering how few wrestlers there are in this game to go around.

But there are a lot of little touches that are missing from this game, it's as if whole game modules from previous games were never coded, or converted to the PS3. For instance, previous games animated the commentators telling you about that night's show. Now, it's a still image while the game loads. The game used to be able to do more, now it's less!

Lots of little touches are gone. Remember how if you bloodied a wrestler, if there was a cutscene after the match, the wrestlers were still bloody? Now that only happens some of the time.

It's as if they spent all of their time coding arena fireworks and entrance walks, instead of the actual wrestling. Remember how injured wrestlers might have an injured head, torso, or legs? Now they just hold their heads. And forget about having a slew of wrestling moves. It seems as if every wrestler now has about the same 4-5 moves. Variety is too hard to program, says THQ!

Lazy, lazy programmers, putting together only a few features to ship this piece of junk out. THQ should be ashamed of themselves. The people writing 5 star reviews for this game have never played the older series, or are THQ employees faking their reviews. Don't buy this, go get a used copy of "Here Comes the Pain" (PS2) or "Shut Your Mouth" (PS2) to see what an actual wrestling game looks and plays like!

The game provides a lot of fun with different alternatives. You can play the ginmicks matches either as single or as a tag team. [...]I highly recommend it.