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Review
In a time where World Wrestling Entertainment has, for the safety of its performers (and equally for the political aspirations of its former CEO), entered a PG age of no blood, no bad language and no chair shots to the head, it's been left to the video games to give fans both old and new the thrills that they're not necessarily getting on their TV any more.
With the exception of the inclusion of the Story Designer, last year's Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 was pretty much a carbon copy of the previous year's edition, only with updated rosters and storylines. The repetitive career mode of the previous year returned with very little tweaking, although achievement and trophy hunters were thankful they didn't have to go through it five times in order to get their 1000 or Platinum this time around.
The key feature that SvR 2011 is being built around is the WWE Universe mode. Billed as a combination of the Exhibition and Career modes, it gives you a living, breathing WWE that you can control as much or as little as you want with your actions. Essentially it's a never-ending Season Mode, similar to what we saw back in older Smackdown titles such as Know Your Role or Here Comes The Pain. Match cards are set up for the weekly television shows (Raw, Smackdown and Superstars) with a Pay Per View event every four weeks.
Matches are automatically booked for each show, although if you want you can step in and set up your own matches. You can then either play them out yourself, watch the AI fight them, or simply use the Simulate option to get an instant result. The results affect the Championship rankings, and when the Pay Per View finally rolls around, the number 1 contenders to each title will get the shot at the belt that they've earned.
In addition to this, the results and happenings during fights in Universe will also help shape alliances and rivalries between wrestlers. Say, for example, you defeat Sheamus in a match with John Cena. Next time you wrestle as Cena, there's a chance that Sheamus might perform a run-in on the match, or maybe even be shown in the crowd brandishing a ticket to the event. There's even a chance that a good guy wrestler might become a bad guy by attacking his opponent during their entrance, or after the match has ended.
Universe incorporates several cut-scenes that add to the unpredictability of the mode. Aside from the aforementioned attack scenes, you might find yourself randomly confronted by another wrestler after a match, and at times the WWE Chairman Vince McMahon will emerge and put you into another match against one of the unlockable superstars, whom you must defeat in order to make them playable. While the initial impact of these scenes does tend to wear off after a while, it's still pretty awesome when a new rivalry launches seemingly out of nowhere.
The downside to Universe, however, is that its presence has led to the removal of one of the more popular features in recent years - the ability to put the main championships on the line in exhibition matches (with the exception of the Championship Scramble match). Although a series of additional belts can be unlocked and defended at any time, the World, WWE, Intercontinental, United States, Unified Tag Team, Women's and Diva's Championships are restricted to use at Universe Pay Per View events, and even then the match must feature the Champion and Number 1 contender at the very least.
While an exploit has been found to work around this using the unlockable belts, naturally there's going to be a lot of players upset at the removal of what had become a standard feature over the past years, especially given that the last time that Yukes took it out, it was several years before it was brought back again.
If you simply want to play a match that doesn't affect the Universe, you can turn it off by clicking the Right Stick from the main menu. With that in mind, you'd think that maybe the game could have included two sets of titles, one set for exhibition and one for universe mode - though in theory that's exactly what the unlockable titles are for. Ultimately though, I'd anticipate most players would rather be having an exhibition match for the WWE Championship rather than be forced to put the WCW Championship on the line instead.
Road to Wrestlemania returns to the game for a third year, albeit this time around with some much bigger tweaks. While the main premise is the same - you control a wrestler through a pre-set, three month storyline, leading to a big showdown at Wrestlemania - there have been several changes made to the implementation. Now, instead of going from match to cut-scene via static menus, you instead control the wrestler himself, walking around the backstage area from a third-person view.
As you roam the halls, you'll interact with several other wrestlers from the roster. Some of them might want to challenge you to a fight, others you can provoke into a backstage brawl (won by knocking out your opponent with a finisher or strong strike), while many will just have something to say. One minute you could be eavesdropping on Santino Marella letting his mouth run him into trouble, while another you could be helping The Miz get his wallet back from Hornswoggle.
Each RtWM storyline features half a dozen challenge matches that you can uncover with your interactions, which in turn lead to more unlocks. Therefore, the more hardcore players will want to explore everywhere and talk to everyone each week, while casual fighters will just go straight to the current objective marker on their map. As you earn attribute points for winning fights (including the backstage brawls), the more you battle, the stronger you become.
There are five different Road to Wrestlemania storylines to play through this year, with John Cena and Rey Mysterio likely to be the first choice for younger fans (not that they should be playing this, due to the age rating), while Chris Jericho and Christian will be pounced upon by Attitude era veterans. The fifth storyline, entitled "Vs. Undertaker" can be attempted either with a created wrestler, or a choice from real-life superstars John Morrison, R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler or Kofi Kingston. There's no Diva story this year, while the lack of a Miz storyline will be a surprise for many, given his evolution as a character over the past year. Come SvR 2012, he's sure to be one of the first names on the list though.
Of course, this can be rectified with the use of the Story Designer, which returns for a second year. This time around, you can incorporate branching storylines, giving a less static experience for those that actually get to play out your creations. Several new scenes are on offer, and if you want to have a champion wearing his title belt during an interaction then it's now entirely possible.
Much like last year, it takes a long of time and dedication to build up a decent, enjoyable story, and there's every chance that it'll get buried in the community underneath a bunch of poorly written, completely unfunny scene collections, but there is a definite sense of satisfaction in being able to sit back and look at one of your more elaborate creations and think "I made that". Who knows, maybe Vinny Mac will be looking too and offer you a job on the spot. Nah, it's not gonna happen.
With all this talk of the meat of the game, it's important that we take a look at the bones too, as that's what holds it all together. In this instance, the bones are the in-ring action of the game. As can be seen from the game's training mode, there are several new controls and moves being implemented, including the ability to throw weapons, place your opponent on the top rope, and even a QTE-style collar and elbow tie-up mini-game.
The grappling system has been overhauled somewhat, with no need to hold an extra button now to execute a strong grapple modifier any longer. A flick of the right stick puts into a grapple position, with another flick required to hit a move. Now though, if you want to move to a different grapple position, you don't have to execute a move and then tie up again, you can simply combine a button and direction to switch to a different position. Quick grapples still exist too, executed against groggy or hunched over opponents.
Signature and finishing moves return, with use of the former (earned by building momentum through the fight) leading directly to the ability to use the latter. What's more, if these moves are executed while facing an opponent, you no longer have to put them into a groggy state before you can use them. A simple press of the Y or Triangle button will see you Tombstoning, Attitude-Adjusting or GTS-ing with ease (provided you don't get reversed by your opponent).
Finishers are particularly effective against the AI this year, something that becomes particularly apparent during certain situations in Universe mode. If your character attacks his or her opponent from behind prior to a match, they're instantly granted a finishing move. Executing this successfully could see a match be over in a matter of seconds. Likewise, you could also be taken down in a matter of seconds, at which point your survival will come down to your button mashing abilities.
In all, especially on the Normal difficulty setting, fights do tend to be a little one-sided. Even bumping things up to the highest (Legend) difficulty setting doesn't produce the constant reversal-fest that has been seen in the past. Admittedly, that's not necessarily a bad thing, as it leads to more competitive and less frustrating matches. That said, with several move options removed - wrestlers can now only perform one running strike, for example - you might find it a little irritating to have to keep busting out the same manoeuvres on a regular basis.
Weapon physics have had a major overhaul for 2011 as well, which adds a new dimension to the likes of TLC or Hell in a Cell (the latter has been overhauled to use the new, bigger cell, which it's far tougher to bust out of). Moves can now be performed onto weapons, while broken shards of used tables and chairs will remain in the ring. As mentioned earlier, you can even throw weapons in and out of the ring to damage your opponent.
Putting your opponent through a table no longer demands the formulaic process of old, whereby you would build up a finisher, whip your opponent towards a table, and then press a button to end the match. Now you can perform such elaborate feats as superplexing your opponent through a table, or tipping them off a ladder through the wood waiting for them outside the ring. The ladder takes a spot of careful positioning and luring the AI into your trap, but it's particularly satisfying when it works.
It's in these weapon based matches that you'll mostly notice the game's damage system at work, with brutally beaten wrestlers struggling to climb ladders or even walk. For those that feared the PG influence would affect the game, you'll be pleased to know that the male wrestlers will bleed - but it should be noted that the crimson is switched off by default in the options.
There's still a major online emphasis in the game, including the ability to share community creations, including wrestlers, stories and highlights of your favourite matches. Meanwhile, the inclusion of an online Royal Rumble mode marks an ambitious step forwards for the developer. That said, there's always the fear that finding 30 patient, lag-free players will be no easy task, which could have a negative effect on the longevity of the mode. Still, with two achievements / trophies related to it, you can expect a few people to at least give it a chance, before sending abusive messages to the guy who comes in last and wins it all!
Alongside the problems we've previously covered, there are more concerns throughout. The 360 version in particular seems to suffer from brief moments of slow-down at the start of matches, while some of the character models don't seem as strong as they could be. As happens every year too, there are elements of the game that are ultimately out of date. The likes of R-Truth and Ted DiBiase have their old theme songs, superstars and divas that have left WWE are in the game, while others such as Wade Barrett - currently involved in one of the hottest angles in the company - are kept back as future DLC. Meanwhile, the current US Champion Daniel Bryan isn't even going to make it to the game that way, following his firing and rehiring over the summer. Perhaps the biggest coup for the makers is getting Rob Van Dam in as a hidden character, given his role as a major player in rival organisation TNA over the past 6 months or so.
Problems and glaring omissions aside, this is certainly another strong showing in the ongoing franchise. Universe Mode is the ongoing season that has been cried out for over the past few years, and while it's not perfect yet, it's something that can hopefully be perfected over the next 12 months, provided Yukes and THQ listen to the feedback of the fans that it's sure to create. The new weapons physics will allow for some gruelling, challenging matches and memorable moments, and the changes to Road to Wrestlemania will encourage thorough exploration or provide motivation to replay the stories in order to find every last bonus and interaction.
It's highly unlikely to convert the Fire Pro devotees, and the removals are sure to create a lot of disapproving moans and complaints, but if you were to erase everything that came before it from history, then there would be no denying that Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 is a decent representation of the sports entertainment spectacle, and one that should keep its fans regularly entertained over the coming months - even when the television shows fail to do so!