For me personally, "Better than SVR 2008 , Not as Good as SVR 2007"
I have been following the SVR series since they the Here Comes The Pain series from playstation. And truly speaking I always believed that SVR 2007 has been the best game in the series so far. As I said everyone has their own opinions and some would have preffered SVR 2008 over the previous version (why I dont know).
SVR 2009 , has some good features , Road To Wrestlemania is an innovative addition (although I played out CM Punk storyline, and it kinda sucked) and there are some good new match types which will always increase the replay factor. I only played SVR 2008 once for 20 minutes or so and then threw it in the bin so I dont know how the graphics of this game matchup to that , but fans of SVR 2007 would have mixed opinion on this . Where as I prefered some of the charachter models in this game over the previous one (and my roommate didnt !!) I hate the way finishers are shown in this game. In SVR 2007 the game would go in a really cool slow motion double recap mode when you execute your finisher, in SVR 2009 , in submission the screen go red otherwise the glass breaks....the glass..huh??? Wierd !!!!!
Gameplay is a little bit different from SVR 2007, the biggest gripe I had about SVR 2009 as compared to 2007 was the stamina meter. if you dont remember SVR 2007 had a stamina meter which would continue to decrease if you dont let your wrestlers rest for a few seconds in between moves.. here in 2009 you can keep your wrestler running like your very own Energizer bunny !! They go on and on and on.... I always though stamina meter introduced a realistic element in the gameplay and changed the way you play the power guys (with low stamina) to more agile guys(with more stamina). In 2009 that is sorely lacking ( eg.. during the CM Punk's RTW , he faces Big Daddy V and that monster, without any stamina meter to worry about, doesnt let up !! )
If you have played SVR series before, than you will feel that the game in normal mode is really easy, I had to start out on a leagend difficulty level to get some stiff competition . But I understand, for a new fan at normal difficulty you can just pick up the controller and kick anyones ass.
Well as for my last thoughts. I always thought what this series needed was to improve on some areas from SVR 2007, instead they overhauled everything and gave us a subpar game in SVR 2008. With SVR 2009 they are climbing that mountain again, For those burnt by SVR 2008 I say give SVR 2009 a shot its deinately a step up. For the fans of SVR 2007 have an open mind. I did, and I have enjoyed the game. With all its small quirks , it is still a satisfying game play for any fan of this genre.