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WWE’s latest edition of the Smackdown vs. Raw series surpasses the games of years passed. With new superstars, finishers, and game modes the possibilities are endless to the amount of fun you can have while playing this game.

The game features many different modes of play, such as Road to WrestleMania, WWE Universe and WWE Storyline Designer. All three modes are unique in there own way; in
The Road to WrestleMania Mode you choose the WrestleMania paths of Christian, Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio, John Cena and you challenge the Undertaker as Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, or John Morrison in some very TV quality storylines. New to the game is the live WWE locker room, where you roam around interacting with superstars and divas unlocking the secret characters and legends of the game on your way to the grandest stage of the all.

In The WWE Universe Mode every action affects the results and angles of every superstar. For instance, if Edge defeats John Cena, they start a feud and interfere in each others matches bringing reasoning to the matches that you have, as opposed to winning several matches to gain a championship.

In the Storyline Designer Mode, you can create you own shows and matchups creating dream matches and feuds, or you can play pre-created storylines including Batista, Straight Edge Society and ECW.

Some of the Specialty matches have changed for better and for worse. In the Hell in a Cell match you must now perform a finisher at specific places around the cage to exit it. In Money in The Bank/Ladder/TLC matches it is easier to take done the contract/briefcase/belt no longer impossible or lengthy to acquire, and they’ve added more finishers off the ladder, including an Attitude Adjustment, RKO which is a plus. Finally all weapons are now interactive in the game, for instance if you perform a move beside a weapon, the opponent will sell the move as if he also hit the weapon. The producers did not put a lot of effort into the backstage areas, as the goal is to utilize your surroundings, yet some are impossible to use.

The game play is very similar to the past games, but changes have been to grappling move sets, with a standard arsenal as well as a groggy one change the way you play the game. In the corner you can now prop up you opponent on the top rope or put him in a tree of woe, as you could not before and the ring apron moves have slightly improved, but for the remainder of your in ring actions it’s status quo.

The only real problem with the game is that it’s dated; the game is missing a lot of current champions and members of the WWE roster. With no Nexus, Daniel Bryan, Kaval, Alberto Del Rio the game feels empty. Many other the superstars in the game are no longer on the active roster and were released by the company months before the game hit stores. I understand that superstars like Shad, MVP, Vance Archer and Luke Gallows were recently released, but Batista, Hurricane, and Finlay, are unnecessary.

Other than that the game is top notch and is highly recommended to any fan of the series.