Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)UPDATED on 11/5/2010 after much more time with the game.
While this is a much better game than 2010, it is once again a glaring hole of issues that Yukes and THQ never disappoint on. You will have the regular amount of kids and adults who turn a blind eye to these things, claiming the game is perfect, but you will be SORELY DISAPPOINTED if you listen to these people. I have spent quite a lot of time with the game so far, and while it is a decent title from Yukes for the first time in 4 or 5 years, it just doesn't get up to par with what they promised (shocking I know.)
THE PROS
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-The new physics system is decent, but it will give you problems like anything else. The tables break on cue and work well, but some weapons like chairs, fall apart with one grapple attack. The major issue with the physics system isn't it's set-up how ever, just that in typical Yukes' fashion, they're too lazy to reanimate 6 or 7 year old moves, so getting someone put through a table is only doable with moves they fixed or are brand-new, which is about maybe 10% of them if that. Other than that, you have to REALLY get things lined up for it to work.
-Much larger and fuller roster gives you a ton of selection once you have everyone unlocked, and when (if) they release the DLC you will get another 8 or 10.
-A new ability allows you to counter certain attacks into pinfalls, which can be reversed into pinfalls as well. A friend of mine and I did about 6 reversals and it looked seamless each time.
-Match Creator gives you a LOT more options on what to do during a match, and you can even create your own match, though it's VERY limited.
THE CONS
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While I can go on and on about little aspects in the game... the list of cons are what will make it or break it for a lot of people with this game. Yes... playing with friends is really fun, because two human controlled players can have an awesome time and not get bored. In a 60 minute Iron Man Match, the time flew by like it was just a few minutes.
-Real life active Titles ONLY can be defended in Universe Mode. This causes a lot less replayability in my mind. You MUST have Universe Mode turned on, and only #1 Contenders can challenge for Titles... ONLY at PPV's. Basically, if you want someone to have a belt, you need to go into the create mode and assign it to them, unless you want to spend 2-3 hours working for it. This kills a major aspect of the game lasting as far as I'm concerned.
-Glaring mis-spells. So far in two RTWM's I have seen three clear spelling mistakes in the captions, and by default, the game has Taker and Kane labeled the "Brother of Destruction." To me at least, these is just really unprofessional by Yukes for allowing crap like that to go through.
-Most wrestlers by default all have the same regular moves. Almost all wrestlers have the following; Running DDT, running STO, shoulder block, clothesline, grapple DDT... the list goes on. It looks like they spent the better part of 2 hours assigning the entire roster their moves. Most of us will spend hours and hours reassigning all the workers, as half of them are missing certain moves they use all the time, which are in the game. Inexcusable for me!
-Backstage in RTWM. Boring... boring... boring! The area is sizable enough to where every character in the game could be hanging around, but usually only 3-5 are around at a time, and interaction is so limited, you wonder why they bothered! You can talk to a wrestler, which will almost always result in them insulting you. Then you can shove them 3 times to start a brawl. This is about 80% of what backstage interaction is all about.
-Too easy to reverse everything. Even with the meter turned all the way down and the difficulty cranked, it's too easy to reverse everything the computer does. Once you get the timing down, you really cannot lose.
-Matches are WAY too quick. On average, Easy to Hard difficulty your matches will last about 45 seconds if you're really pushing for the victory in 1 on 1 matches.
-Over 100 Universe cutscenes? I've only seen the same 4 repeat over and over and over again! Someone buys a ticket and sits in the front row... someone goes to the announce table and you never hear from them, and there is also the attack on the ramp, and the sneak attack through the crowd. After boasting 100 scenes, I'm really hard-pressed to find out where the others come in!
-Universe Mode gets boring VERY fast. It is nearly impossible to work your way up to a WWE or World Title bout unless you win the Rumble or MITB, because the system tries to keep you at Intercontinental or United States Title level at all times. Heck, I can't even get my CAW into a MITB match, and he's never lost a bout in 3 years game time! Even after a year's time from winning the World Title, I took it off him to see where he would rank, and is still nowhere near any contention to the World Title... JUST the US Title.
-For a mode that claims to be fully customizable, you are so limited with Universe Mode, it's almost absurd. If you edit a scheduled match for one of your own, it doesn't count towards the rankings. If you touch ANYTHING in Match Creator for a Title match, it will change it to a regular bout. You can't even add a manager!
-CAWs is much more limited this year. It seems as though hundreds of pieces of items and designs were removed. I can no longer make myself like I could in other games, because what I used for my attire is no longer there in any sense.
-Want to put a custom tool design on your CAW? Download one or make one and knock yourself out... but then you can't use that CAW online "just in case" it's offensive. I put the Nexus logo on my CAW, now I can't use him online. BULL!
-When you do win a Championship, Michael Cole will always proclaim; "If this happens on Sunday, we will have a new Champion!"
-Online STILL HAS MAJOR LAG! I tried fighting a guy online last night, and I couldn't do anything. Apparently he has been playing with the lag for years, because he was spamming moves left and right, and used a ridiculous multi-tiered finisher that took almost 30 seconds to complete, and he used it almost 10 times before I couldn't kick out anymore. When you try to do something in an online match, there is a half second delay... EVERY TIME. Worthless!
-The Legends suck. Same old... same old. We've seen all these guys before multiple times. If you can't put anyone different in, Yukes, STOP PUTTING IN LEGENDS! You would think these guys are currently in the WWE since half of them have been in almost every single release since 1999.
-MITB is almost impossible to win past Easy setting. With the physics system, the ladder is always constantly being knocked down when you try to climb it. Any time someone does a move while you're climbing, the ladder goes down immediately, even it's barely touched.
-The RTWM's are terrible, aside from Christian's. Rey loses his memory, Undertaker's is filled with cosmic garbage set for a bad 1980's movie... INCLUDING a Bill & Ted Time Machine Phonebooth! Cena's is about his staler than heck feud with Orton, and I haven't even touched Jericho's because I'm sick of trying to play them.
All in all, while this game could be very fun for you, pick wisely. If you haven't liked previous Smackdown games, RENT IF FIRST because you may be very upset at spending $60 on a game when once again, Yukes promises and delivers on very little. The game will give me longevity because I play it a lot with friends, but as a single player game, you will get sick of it VERY quickly. I urge anyone who is thinking about buying it, PLEASE save your money and play it a friend's who has it, or rent it first. If you buy this game brand new thinking it's going to be a complete over-haul, and worked on greatly to be a better game, you will get a hard kick in the face by reality.
As I said, it's great fun with human players in the same room. My friend and I just recently spent 2 hours battling each other in a 6 Man Elimination Tag and it was just great fun.
But on your own... the game is just the same old repeating nonsense.
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