WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 (X360) Review

It sucks.

Saying that the worst decision the WWE ever made was their decision to drop (or allow THq to drop) the AKI engine in favor of Yukes' crappy engine for their wrestling games is probably hyperbole, but not by much.

The graphics in SvR 2007 are great, but if a game on the 360 doesn't look great then someone fucked up. The create-a-wrestler is solid but a bit buggy, although being able to create your own entrance is nice. There are plenty of match options and you can even fight in the crowd. They added some little things, like rubbing an opponent's eyes into the ropes. And you have stamina which has to be regained by resting, reminiscent of the old Fire Pro games.

But the gameplay...oh, the gameplay pretty much eats it. Why do I have to hit the right bumper button AND the analog stick for a strong grapple, then hit the analog stick again for the move? Why can't I pull someone out of the ring under the ropes? Why is the button for entering the ring the same button used to pull weapons out from under the ring? Why does a six-year old game (WWF No Mercy, N64) on a nine-button controller have more intuitive controls than a brand new game on a fourteen-button controller? (The 360 controller uses the left analog for movement so the largely-vestigial D-pad can be used as four separate input buttons.) Who knows how badly the controls are in specialty matches, because I sure as hell didn't try any of them.

Why does it take me ten seconds to recover from a one-punch knockdown? Why doesn't your tag partner enter the ring to break up a pin or submission? Why, when you're a "dirty" fighter (I guess a heel, but I didn't play it enough to find out), do high risk manuevers hurt your momentum?

Why does a created character have a rating of 36 in Season mode? Shouldn't the point of a Season mode be about making the correct choices to put yourself in position to become a champion, not to be a jobber until you've built your character up, which, by my calculations, would take approximately 45 seasons? And why is it just one season? How about a fucking career? Haven't these idiots played an EA Sports game? Who the fuck plays just one season anymore?

Here's my experience with the game: play a couple of exhibition matches to get a feel for the game, spend two hours creating a wrestler, lose my first three career matches, turn the game off to play Saint's Row. I should have known something was up when I had to pound buttons for what felt like an eternity to recover from a knockdown in my first match, using Steve Austin against Hulk Hogan. I really should have known something was up when the same thing happened using Austin against Candice Michelle.

I'm not even dignifying this piece of shit with a count. Fuck the WWE.