With all the hype of being the first great wrestling game on a Microsoft system, SVR 07 had a lot of potential to rocket the series to new heights. The game fell short, however, due to a few nagging problems and some overlooked issues. Let me just first say that the game is terrifically fun. The new ultimate control moves and interactive hotspots are great additons. There are a few oversights here, though. First, the selection of new weapons is not as diverse as originally promised. Most matches are still limited to chairs and sledgehammers, and selection in hardcore matches is still far short of what the title implies. The new control system works out well for the most part. The counters are reminiscent of the day of Reckoning series and suffer from some sensitivity problems. These issues aren't as noticable as others. If you had no problems with counters on DOR, you'll have no problemes here. The other thing with the new move system is it takes away one move option in most situations, and the new UCM's could've been integrated into a button system just as easily. The other flaw is that changing targets has now been mapped to the back button, and this is a uncomfortable position for something you're going to have to be doing constantly and quickly. The problems that have plagued the series for years now are back, sadly. Collision detection is still plagued, A.I. is still flawed, and the roster is more out of date than any Smackdown game to date. These are things that keep popping up every single game, and you would think THQ would take the time to fix them after so long. The create modes are improved in most areas. Create an entrance has gotten a much needed overhaul and the created wrestlers look much closer to the actual wrestlers. Create a pay-per-view and championship modes have remained pretty constant, with a few new parts added in. Create a wrestler has a lot of new parts, but has had many others omitted. There is no reason to leave out parts that have been in the series for years. Create a moveset follows the same pattern of omission. Some moves won't be missed, others have replacements that come close, and others are just inexplicably absent. Again, there is no reason to omit content such as this. Online play is improved, but still lacking. Downloadable content, such as new wrestlers, would've been a big plus. Most created wrestlers can't be taken online due to restrictions. GM mode has some slight tweaks. I find it a little more enjoyable this year, but still a footnote to all the other features the game has to offer. This year's story mode is improved, but not as deep as promised. We were led to believe that you could play multiple years in a row and challenge for different championships, reminiscent of Shut Your Mouth. Instead it feels like a slightly more expansive version of last year's. The sound is average. Some sounds of slams and hits aren't as impactful as would be expected. The game's soundtrack features a mix of mainstream rap and rock artists. Appearances by artists such as Three Days Grace and Ghostface Killah offer some new choices, but the soundtrack will still get repetitive very fast. Inclusion of custom soundtracks would've been a nice choice, and it's omissoin is a disappointment. All in all, the game is what you would expect. Some new features are a nice touch, but not all that inventive. Some noticable oversights and omissions are a disappointment, but not enough to completely ruin the experience. The game itself is just as fun as every other entry, but fails to move forward and deliver that exceptional game that wrestling fans have been waiting so long for.
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