WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2011 (Xbox 360)

WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2011

WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 is a professional wrestling game developed by Yukes and produced by THQ. The Smackdown vs Raw games have always been very impressive, even way back when they were released for the Playstation One. This new version which is on numerous consoles features an updated roster and lots of new features. The game is by far the best wrestling game available. The game is available to buy for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP and even the PS2. The game is based on only the two remaining factions from WWE which is Raw and Smackdown (even though it does have a couple of bits from ECW and WCW). WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 doesn't really feature a full on story and most of the story comes in 'The Road To Wrestlemania Mode'. The game also features something thats never been featured in a wrestling game before. It features a new type of physics. For an example the weapons you use on your opponents can result in different outcomes. Every time you put an opponent through a table they land and break the table differently. No match or object interaction is ever the same. Stack all kinds of weapons against each other to make unique scenarios.

Gameplay

The new physics system isn't the only new feature on this WWE game. Smackdown vs Raw 2011 features over 70 WWE superstars, 100+ match types, 20 all new arenas. Lets just say if its on TV its in the game. There are well over 15 game modes to explore in the game. Some of these game modes are taken from previous Smackdown vs Raw games. The popular Road To Wrestlemania mode is back but completely remade with new superstars, new secrets and new storylines for certain WWE superstars. Some of the best match types return in this epic version of the popular wrestling game. Hell In A cell, Ladder, TLC, Table and even The Royal Rumble all return with new features added into them. New to Smackdown vs Raw 2011 is the ability to create your own match type. Create a superstar returns, so if you want you can try and put yourself into the game or try and make a future WWE champion. The game features some of the best WWE superstars of this era and of all time. John Cena, Randy Orton, The Miz, Edge, Kane and Undertaker all appear in the game along with a few legends such as The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. I will tell you now that the game doesn't feature NEXUS! I feel this was a huge disappointment because I for one bought this mainly because of them.

The gameplay to the wrestling games can always be a hard one to judge. Most of the action is great but its not entirely like the actual thing. For example, when your in a match you could always dominate the whole thing but in proper wrestling its rarely seen. Also the game moves at a slower pace than what the real thing moves but to be perfectly fair it doesn't harm the game at all. All your favourite superstars have their own unique wrestling moves and finishers. They also have a couple of signature moves. When you use a signature move and it pays off, you then get the chance to do your finisher. There are well over 10,000 different moves and you also get the create a finisher mode. When in a match you can do all sorts of things. These range from throwing your opponent from the top of a cage to smashing him/her over the head with a steel chair or any other weapon you can find. You can also do wrestling moves from all sorts of places including a top of a ladder. One of the newer features is most of the good WWE superstars carry their own unique abilities. The Miz is stubborn and very hard to pin where as Zack Ryder is the opposite. Undertaker does what he does best and thats getting up every time he gets knocked down. I love the gameplay to these games and I think you can have the most fun on them. I like to knockdown a referee and search under the ring for a weapon to use whilst knowing the ref could catch me at anytime. There really is a lot you can do on this game and it will always be one of the best wrestling games of all time.

Game Modes

On Smackdown vs Raw 2011 there is a lot and I mean a lot of game modes. Most of the game modes are worth playing as well and offer a wide range of different gameplay features for each one. Below is a list of the game modes and what can be found in them.

PLAY - Play mode is simple. Its basically like an exhibition. You can pick from a wide range of matches and WWE superstars. After selecting everything you then fight until you or your opponent pins the other, makes them submit or any other way you can win. You can wrestle in matches such as Inferno, Hell In A Cell, Handicap, Championship Scramble and many more. You can also play this mode with friends. You can play with 3 other friends.

WWE UNIVERSE - WWE Universe mode is one of my personal favourites. Its almost like a story mode the only difference is you decide the outcome of every match. Its also like a season play because you do the game show by show. You would start with Superstars then go and do Raw or Smackdown. As you do these shows you progress through a calendar and reach the pay per view event. These events are pretty much like real life events. They all have the same name and some of the biggest events in wrestling history can be played. In each show and event you choose the matches, the match types, the wrestlers competing and if you also choose if a WWE championship is on the line. Its your story you choose how it pans out.

ROAD TO WRESTLEMANIA - The Road To Wrestlemania mode is becoming a regular mode in the Smackdown vs Raw games. Its also classed as a story mode. In this Road To Wrestlemania you can choose from Christian, John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho and one thats never been done before, which is VS Undertaker. Each one of these options feature a different story and each superstar has their own Road To Wrestlemania. In this mode you also get the chance to explore the backstage area where you can pick fights with other WWE superstars or you can even upgrade your current superstars stats to make him stronger or better defensively. Overall Road To Wrestlemania mode is great and by doing this mode you can unlock some hidden bits to the game and you must go through with each available superstar.

CREATE MODES - Create modes are my favourite in the game. You can now create your own move-set for a superstar and you can still create your very own WWE superstar. Also create a finisher is back with more options to choose from and better moves to master. You can also make your very own Titantron for your created superstar. If your in a match you can sometimes notice a little camera icon popping up in the bottom left corner of the screen. With this, it records what your superstar is doing and you can use the video later as a Titantron. You can also create your very own entrance and add your own music. There are lots of options in the create modes. In the create a superstar mode I tend to try and make legends, previous WWE superstars, superstars from other wrestling organizations and even characters from films or games. All of these look really good and fit nicely into the game just like an ordinary superstar. The best create mode without a doubt is the 'Story Designer'. In this mode you can make your own storylines by adding unique scenes and matches of your choice. Some of the scenes you can add are brilliant. You could for example do a scene where John Cena attacks Kelly Kelly. Your choices are endless, there are so many.

XBOX LIVE - There are lots of different game modes on Xbox Live. Previous Smackdown vs Raw games could online offer singles matches against people around the world but in this version you can do almost everything. You can do a Ranked match or Unranked. Ranked matches are for points to see where you stand on the overall leaderboard. Unranked are just for fun. For each of these only certain match types are available. You can do single and tag team matches as well as 3-6 men against each other. New to this game is the ability to do an Online Royal Rumble match against other members of the world. You can fight against 2-12 online members at once in an over the top rope Royal Rumble. In Xbox Live you can also visit Community Creations. Community Creations is for gamers to visit and search for custom made wrestlers, stories, finishers, logos, highlight reels, entrance movies, move-sets and screenshots which can all be downloaded and put into your game save. You can also upload your creations for other people to download.

WWE SHOP - The WWE Shop is there for you to visit and purchase updates to your game via Xbox Live. You must have a gold membership to download content and you also must have some Microsoft Points to purchase them. I cant actually get in my shop on my game anymore and its probably due to the game being worn out. However you can purchase and download 3 members of NEXUS and a few other WWE superstars. You can also purchase certain costumes for some WWE superstars but there isn't an awful lot and in my opinion they are far too expensive.

MY WWE - My WWE is just a basic mode where you can change the roster of the WWE as well as form tag teams or factions. You can also enter the options menu here and change certain bits like the difficulty of the game. You can also turn of unwanted music and you can also enter the practice arena. The practice arena is just a simple mess around against a stationary WWE superstar. I would recommend doing this if your new to the Smackdown vs Raw games.

Graphics & Sound Effects

The graphics to the Smackdown vs Raw games have usually been good but in this updated version they get them spot on! I was very impressed with the fact that every WWE superstar thats in the game looks exactly how they do in real life. They all look beautifully designed. One of the new features to the graphics is the face personality of each superstar. They all contain there own unique facial expressions and they can also change at any time. When your hit in the face your facial expression changes just as it would in real life. Also the design of each arena is perfect and look really well designed. I was also impressed with how the backstage area looked. The graphics are great and the crowd design is no different. Back in the day the crowd would of looked cardboard style but now they almost look real. I was very impressed with the graphics and to be fair there isn't many glitches either, which is great!The sound effects to the game are also very good. The music is brilliant. When your exploring the main menu (because you spend a lot of time there) you can hear the superstars entrance music playing. This works well with the game and gets you familiar with the wrestlers songs. Also all the superstars that are featured in the game are actually voiced by the real superstar and this works tremendously and saves a lot of time. The sound when navigating the menu is equally as good, its different to the usual boring sounds and it features a mixture of effects in them. The in game sound effects are brilliant. When your performing the wrestling moves on another opponent it sounds real and sounds exactly like it does on the show. I was quite disappointed with the way the crowd sound in the game. I'm not sure if its just my game personally but the crowd seem to be booing all the time. At first I thought it was because I pick the bad guys but its not. The crowd sound bored even when your doing your finishing moves. Another part that let the game down in terms of sound is when your using weapons. I feel it sounds a little hollow and could do with a notch up. Overall the sound effects are great but the crowd effects let the game down a little bit.

Difficulty & Longevity

The overall difficulty to the game varies on the options you pick and the game mode your on. If your on an Xbox Live game mode the game could be really difficult depending on the opposite gamers skill. The create modes can be difficult but the game does offer in game tutorials to help with them. The reason they can be difficult is because there are so many of them. When wrestling the difficult is pretty easy and shouldn't cause a problem once your familiar with the controls. I do feel the game length wise is absolutely brilliant. I bought the game almost a year ago now and I still play it. It doesn't get boring and it still offers a lot. There is so much variety in the game its unreal! The WWE Universe mode is quite long and you can spend hours on end doing that mode and playing all the matches. Also Road To Wrestlemania mode is quite long because there are numerous superstars to go through it with. The best mode for racking up the hours is the Story Designer mode because there are so many outcomes. Overall I was impressed with both the difficulty of the game and the length of it.

Good Bits

• Lots of game modes with lots of fun available!
• Over 70 different WWE superstars and over 100+ different match types available to choose from.
• Lots of variety in its gameplay.
• New physics make the impact of weapons and other objects look and feel completely different.
• The game is really fun to play and the multiplayer options are brilliant!
• The ability to create almost everything about the game. Create superstars, entrances, move-sets, finishers, tag teams and even match types.

Bad Bits

• The crowd is the biggest problem, they sound bored!
• No NEXUS!!!!
• The game can become quite addictive in certain game modes.
• It is repetitive but its still lots of fun.
• The time flies when playing the game.

Final Bits

Smackdown vs Raw 2011 is definitely one of my favourite games of all time. I have always been a fan of the Smackdown vs Raw games and this one is no different because I'm a huge wrestling fan. Ive always been a huge fan of the WWE from when I was little and I grew up playing games like this. The game does have a lot to offer especially to fans of the WWE. The basic manual to the game is okay. Its not the best I have seen for a game and it doesn't offer a whole lot of information. I do think each game could be improved somewhere and on this game it has to be the crowd. The crowd are silent and make the game less realistic. The show is rated PG now but the game is rated 15+ and to be honest its only like the show. The only thing the game contains is strong sporting violence. I'd recommend the game because its the most fun I have had on a game in a long time. I also believe the game is value for money. I bought the game when it was first released from ASDA for £35 and the game is now selling for £14 from Amazon and most game shops but thats used. If you want the game brand new your looking at about the £20 mark. £20 is really cheap because it does offer a lot in terms of gameplay and other aspects. Overall Smackdown vs Raw 2011 is the best wrestling game out there. I would give the game a very impressive 9/10!

Review also on dooyoo under the username: simon020187!