A Funny, Slapstick, yet remarkably enjoyable wrestling game.
What makes this game so good? Well there is no one thing that makes this game enjoyable. there are many ways of approaching the game, and each one is just as fun as the other.
First of all, since it's a PC game, it has customization, no, scratch that. TOTAL customization. Every cosmetic part of this game is customizable simply using Paint tool. Do you want a picture of yourself hanging up backstage? you can.
Do you want the ring apron to say "No Fat Chicks"? you can. Heck, if you wanted a picture of Nick Jonas on the Ring canvas, you could do that.
The Skins for wrestlers are based off paint images, so you can edit them to your liking. not only that, but the interface can be customized, and every single wrestler is 100% customizable.
but what about the actual game? well the best way to describe it is;
200 wrestlers, 7 promotions, thousands of weapons, the best damn career mode in a wrestling game.
Yes, one of the few Wrestling games with career mode that is actually fun.
In career, you start off picking a wrestler, than changing it to your liking.
you begin in a Wrestling School. you have to prove yourself, if you do, someday, a chairman might come along and offer you a contract in a wrestling promotion, after that, the world is yours. Rise to the top, or just mess around. Unlike SVR, this game actually gives you the opportunity to do what you want.
You can save photos of the wrestlers most proud moments, and after a few years of career mode, your wrestler will have it's own history.
It's so fun because the people you encounter and the things that happen to you weren't scripted to happen, They happened either by chance, or because you did something to encourage it, so you actually feel like you are living the life of a pro wrestler. there are good times and bad times,
Career Mode is a long, rocky road. filled with ups and downs, tough choices, good people, bad people, trouble and injury.
just like a real wrestler's life.
Wrestlers can even die and lose limbs, companies can get ruined, and it might just be because you tried to ruin the company, like if your playing as hulk hogan.
the Game is quite funny as well, it has a real slapstick style to it, the facial expressions make you laugh, and to avoid copyright issues, the wrestlers that were based off real life wrestlers had their names changed, some of them are quite hilarious puns. (eg, Chris Jericho = Jay Enrico. Rocky Maivia = Rocko Metavaria. Vince Mcmahon = Victor McCoy. Chris Benoit = Crispin Noir)
one drawback to this fact is that the cartoonish style can make the game more difficult to take seriously, however, the game can be modified in a way that makes it more realistic.
The Gameplay, at first is slow, tedious and confusing, but after a while, you will get the hang of it. the controls can be edited to be more ergonomic and the game can be sped up to be more realistic. after you get the hang of it you will realize how easy the gameplay is. Matches can sometimes seem repetitive, but this is usually because players do not try new gameplay tactics.
there are just so many things that make this game more enjoyable than smackdown vs raw. The Simple entrances that can be controlled, the ability to enter the ring with an item or weapon, fighting in the crowd, you can even hang about after a match, and encounter your opponent backstage and get some revenge.
next comes modding, like i said before, you can customize anything, so some people have taken this to the extreme and performed a TC on the game, you can download packs to play the game in modern era, 1998, 80's.. there are others. i have a 1998 mod, so i can play WCW with WCW arenas and rosters.
i also have a 2005 mod so i can play as TNA, NJPW, WWE... and i have an 80's mod, these mods can make Career Mode even more enjoyable, in the 80's mod you can choose to play as wrestlers before they were famous, like Scott Hall, Shawn Michaels and Sting, and take control of their careers.
this is pretty much the most addictive wrestling game ever. even though the only game mods are career and exhibition, you can get a Stand Alone Expansion, Booking Encore, if you like booking games like Extreme Warfare Revenge, but you also want to be able to watch the things you do.
seriously, any wrestling fan gamer should try this game.