WWE SVR 2008 will leave fans yearning and cold with little improvement and recurring problems and not enough fan service
Positive
- New fighting styles slightly enhances some of the experience
- Solid and great looking wrestler's models
- Introduces ECW for the first time
Negative
- Disastrous new 24/7 mode is no replacement for the story mode
- Terrible and inaccurate commentary, and the crowd still looks awful
- No particular new improvement over previous installments
THQ's WWE, formerly known as WWF franchise has delivered what wrestling was all about. For three years prior this game, the Smackdown vs. Raw series was almost unrivaled in the genre, with dozens of character customizations, tons of modes and plenty of high-impact action. WWE SVR 2008 does deliver a lot of high-impact action, but with little improvement or none, disappointing new modes and others, this installment hits nothing but the hard, cold floor.
The ton of modes that would keep you busy for weeks (if not until the next installments) are bah. I used to enjoy the previous installment's storylines and was worth for at least once. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw does not have a particular storylines and nor the GM mode. Instead the main mode is the 24/7. It is similar to the GM mode since you have each day from before Backlash until Wrestlemania. It's a big disappointment compared to the original stories. First of all not all wrestlers are available. You pick a wrestler and use him to become a legend. On days where you don't have your brand's show, you can spend the day training to improve your abilities, doing activities to increase money and fan popularity but receiving fatigue. These activities are no more than a simulation. You pick any activity such as playing a role of a hero or villain in a movie, charity, signing autographs and such none fighting activities. In this mode you can play each day, or skip till the show and fight, or rather simulate all the time to get it over with. One of the activities if clicking on another brand is interfering in their matches. Interfering on other brand's show should be fun but it's dreadfully boring. One noticeable thing which may make fans made is how poorly executed the story is. Choosing a great wrestler will trigger cutscenes and their story sucks. The commenter never, ever refers to the wrestlers by name but always uses 'he' or 'this guy'. Even if you are choosing the best wrestlers, other wrestlers and the commenter will still call you a loser; you have no chance to beat me, and this guy.
Other modes in the tournament mode which includes the Beat the clock Sprint and the King of the Ring tournament. It's a nice addition but it's not much. The Hall of Fame mode is not exactly a playable mode but more like a challenges series. It's infernally hard with challenges that border over Legend difficulty so they aren't any piece of cake. Exhibition modes are largely unchanged. Thanks to the introduction of ECW in the game, SVR 2008 offers an Extreme Rules match but it's no different than a no DQ match except that there are more weapons under the ring.
The gameplay is still fun by the way. It received some minor changes and most of them are not for the better. First of all, the Smackdown vs. Raw series features ECW for the first, an extreme rule less wrestling brand. The core gameplay uses the right analog stick for grappling and R1 + right analog stick for stronger grappling. There are some annoying issues to try to get along with. Opponents AI makes too much reversal, and your reversals are almost unresponsive where in the previous games it was possible to make reversals by tapping R2 and L2 repeatedly to reverse whatever the opponent does. The finisher button doesn't always appear, even if your opponent is stunned or dizzy. You may need to grapple him to hold him still until he decides to make a reversal.
One of the newest additions is the fighting styles. Fighting styles vary from powerhouse, showman, high-flyer, dirty, submission, brawler, technical, and hardcore. Each fighting styles has its own unique ability. In previous games when you store a finisher and fill the momentum boost again it was possible to use a humiliating taunt, super dirty move and stealing your opponent's finisher. This time around each fighting styles has its own moves. Submission wrestlers can hold a submission holder for a slightly longer time and can easily escape submission holds. Dirty wrestlers can use a super dirty move, and more. It is frankly a good idea to input this. Randy Orton's RKO and Super RKO are considerably better than any previous installment but Rey Mysterio's 619 finisher is still exaggerated. Submission holds have changed as well but not for the better. But for a changed you can escape a submission hold in a believable way instead of the opponent letting you go. Clipping issues are still there and possibly worsen from before. Wrestler's momentum bar looks different from before and next to it is that wrestler's fighting style. Each time a wrestler gets hit, the game shows you where exactly where the wrestler was injured. Creation modes are still available as good as ever, but there are barely any updates of any kind on it. Other issues such as tag team partner interfering when pinning or doing a submission is still dreadful.
There are some good points in the game as well. The loadings are much faster than the 2007's version and each loading screen shows a wrestler's biography. Cutscenes look good even if most wrestlers look way less intimidating than the real selves. But it's overall too similar to previous installments and doesn't improve at all in some areas. Types of matches are basically the same aside from the addition of the ECW part. Roster has plenty of superstars, but feels strangely small even with the ECW roster added. PS2 version has no online play. The shop allows you to buy legends, move sets and other stuff. The only problem is that you need money from the 24/7 mode since the game no longer gives you money in normal matches.
THQ still does a great job of modeling the wrestlers to their best. The character models in fact are great looking and everything that goes inside the ring is great. Anything outside the ring is pure awful. The crowd is recycled from previous years and looks pure awful, again. It's hard to get excited with that poor looking polygon characters. The soundtrack is less impacting this year but still does a good job driving you into the decent menus. The wrestler's voices are generally bad but some are good. The worst thing is most definitely the commentary. Aside from most of the time being wrong, these lines where heard last year. Leave out ECW's commentary, RAW's and Smackdown's are barely changed. And that's not all. JBL now does the commentary for Smackdown alongside Michael Cole and while Michael Cole does the same lines over and over from previous installments, JBL has new lines which are very similar to what Tazz had before, and frankly JBL sounds awful.
Let the bodies hit the floor, let this game hit the floor and so it does. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 is a major disappointing, considering that WWE SVR 2006 had the best installment in any wrestling game on the PS2. With little to no improvement this version is not worth your time or money. It's understandable that THQ tried bringing the wrestling universe to other consoles, but they should at least consider their fans who beg for more punches and body slams.
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Graphics = 7.5
Fantastic character models as always. The crowd looks horrendous, as always. It looks identical to previous years in almost all respects.
Sound = 6.7
The soundtrack is not all that great this year but it's always better than the horrendously wrong and repetitive commentary.
Presentation = 6.5
Basically no improvement over last year. Problems remain such as clipping issues and long animations. Loads much faster this time around. No online play on the PS2.
Gameplay = 7.7
Still playable and fun especially with a friend. The fighting system is good but not as good as before unfortunately. The roster feels a bit limited. New weapons are good stuff. But there aren't any new match types to try out this year.
Modes = 5.0
Disastrous new 24/7 mode with no alternative supporting mode. Creation modes have barely any updates and there is no online here. Not even exhibition mode has changed much. Where is the new stuff? Not worth if owning previous games.
OVERALL = 66 / 100
WWE SVR 2008 will leave fans yearning and cold with little improvement and recurring problems, and not enough fan service. The game hit rock bottom with this one, or right inside the casket.