WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 is THQ’s follow up to last year’s successful iteration of the franchise. The SVR series has been around for a few years now and continued to make great strides in delivering an authentic wrestling experience in and outside the ring. SVR 2011 is no different as it builds some new features onto its predecessor and tweaking existing ones.
If you are not familiar with the Wrestling scene, or have never played a SmackDown vs. Raw game before, SVR 2011 can be a little bit overwhelming at first but if you have experience with the franchise and watched big dudes smack each other in a ring on TV before you will feel right at home. I won’t even wait to the conclusion on this review, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011is a good game that has a few flaws but will excite casual wrestling fans and enthusiasts alike. The game swells with authenticity and breadth of modes, superstars and customization. There are 70 superstars, legends and divas to choose from, or players can create their own wrestler if they’d like. The customization is really well done as there are loads of options from body type, clothing, walk-out style and more. You will not get bored of making your superstar or diva!
When it comes to modes, there are plenty to select from as well, while there are the usual modes we expect in a SmackDown vs. Raw title, the 2011 entry includes the new WWE Universe mode which is a combination of the previous years’ career mode and one-off exhibition modes such as Pay-Per-View events. This mode is sort of open ended and allows to build rivalries with other superstars, you can play as your own wrestler or select from the wide range of existing ones such as John Cena and Randy Orton. Once players work their way up and win a Number 1 contender match, they earned the right to partake in a world title fight. The other big mode is the Road to Wrestlemania, where players can choose from 5 different story paths including Cena and the Undertaker. This mode has been expanded upon and now includes a backstage area where players can walk around, listen to other characters, get in fights, talk to management or level up their superstar. The backstage part of Road to Wrestlemania is really fun actually and does a good job telling a story which is specific to the wrestler you chose and as rediculous as you’d think. I have a couple of gripes with it though; the awful lip syncing and rather empty-feeling backstage area still need to be improved. Those two aspects really took me out of the experience.
When it comes to the control scheme I am also pretty satisfied with SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 as they are pretty intuitive after learning or re-learning them. This can be done in a free-fight area upon booting up the game, similarly to the EA Sports titles. In general it is easy and really fun to play SVR 2011 because the fighters control well enough and interacting with objects in and around the ring work much better this year due to the improved physics engine. A small issue I did have were the grappling transitions which did not seem to work as well as I wanted them too. I believe this could be fixed with a patch down the road and does not take away too much from the overall, well feeling controls.
The online modes are a big part of SmackDown vs. Raw again this year and allow for some serious fun. Leveling up is made easy and simple to keep track of. Players can jump into the ring with 11 other superstars online, for instance, and you have a recipe for madness – and XP!
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 is a good game. Players will have fun with the authenticity, different story lines and customization as well as the new mode and fine tuning that was done over last year’s game. However, there is still plenty of room for improvement as the game’s backstage area elements needs to increase its warrant to be used and some control issues remain. This game might not be for just anyone but if you’re a wrestling fan, you will have a hard time putting down SVR 2011.
Score: 8.0
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 was developed Yuke’s Media Creations and published by THQ for the Xbox 360 and PS3 on October 26th. A copy of the Xbox 360 version was provided to us by THQ for reviewing purposes.
