Sports games are not the only series of games that comes out on a yearly schedule. So does "sports entertainment" aka pro wrestling. As EA holds the rights for the NFL thus releasing the only NFL game each year, THQ has the rights for the WWE having them release their series, Smackdown vs. Raw. Like the regular sports games, each year the new SvR game offers an updated rosters and changes to the gameplay to be as realistic as possible. Well as realistic as pro wrestling can be. Regardless, Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 provides more realism than previous games providing a better experience for the wrestling fan.

What changed with SvR 2010 are various changes that are not ones that stand out, but they add up to improve the feel of the game. Now yes, you do have to be a bit of a wrestling fan to really appreciate the adjustments that have been made to the game yet if you're in any ways interested in the game, you're probably a fan anyways. Obviously, the changes start with the roster being that some of the heels(bad guys) and faces (good guys) have been switched according to what the wrestlers are at the time of release of the game. A few new wrestlers have been added, but face it, you probably don't care about whose new because the new people were the no name wrestlers that finally made a name for themselves.

Some of the tweaks include the addition of more grappling moves, mainly that stronger moves have been added to when you have your opponents back allowing you to mix it up a little more. With this improvement, Yukes has allowed the changing of positions of your opponent letting you do those stronger back moves. Action on the ring apron has been revamped allowing for several grapples to occur creating some painful looking moves. Moves have been changed for wrestlers to include more of their current moves, signature moves, and finishing moves, known better as the Smackdown move. Reversals have changed in that one button controls all the reversals to keep the action to be more about simple timing rather than making it overcomplicated.

Though the roster is filled with current wrestling talent and legend of the past, you really have to spend time creating your own wrestler. Yukes has realized that the create a wrestler option has become more popular over time, and there has to be some solid improvements to it for everyone to have the most fun from it. Starting off with creating a new wrestler is the new attribute system that allows for your wrestler to fit perfectly as the role of a heel or face with the choice of them being a dirty player or a real hardcore fighter. The moves to choose from is immense for your wrestler letting you select moves that are not only used in the WWE right now, but also include some devastating moves that have never been televised. Finally, no create a wrestler mode is complete without a vast amount of choices of attire for your wrestler letting you play a very masculine version of dressing up your character. In addition to the standard look that you can create, you can actually have up to four different attires for your wrestler allowing a change up from the regular show look to the pay per view look. Along with the attire, you can create your own entrance video for your wrestler by taking highlights from a match you did and editing together to give yourself a nice video of you as you walk to the ring.

New modes have been added to the already large number of match choices. These new modes include the Championship Scramble, where five wrestlers face off against each other and the belt changes throughout the match with whoever succeeds pinning another wrestler is declared champion until another wrestler Is pinned thus the one who is left champion at the end of the time limit was the official champ. Training mode has been changed to where it starts off right away while you make your way through the menus giving you a chance to brush up on your skills at anytime you feel like it. Online has been revamped a bit to allow for players to show off their matches via highlight videos, and the option to get a character model that someone else has created in the online store. Although it's fun online, the game is still a bit too laggy for a solid wrestling match.

With all these improvements, what do we have in the end when it comes to Smackdown vs. Raw 2010? Well, we have a transitional game. As with all games released on a yearly basis, the developer has to find ways to improve on the formula each year until there's a real break in the process that changes the series forever. Sadly, we're left with games that are going in the direction of something great, but they're just not there yet. Smackdown vs Raw 2010, while good, is not a game that brings enough to the table to make the game a must have for any gamer, not just wrestling fans.
 

 

- Harlem