WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011

While i haven’t watched wrestling regularly for quite a while, i always keep an eye out for the games to see how they’re coming along. I loved the games prior to the vs. series (most notably here comes the pain) and i’m not sure if it coincides with the programming’s decline but i’ve felt that the games has fallen short for a number of years now and fail to give the experience they should.

A big feature of SvR 2011 is the universe mode. As a simulation, it works pretty well. Coupled with the fact you can create and download loads of wrestlers to help extend the starting roster it makes for a decent game mode. Unfortunately it lacks stat tracking (which in a simulation style mode is unforgivable) and feels quite rigid in terms of the matches that are scheduled and the rankings for belts. The mode desperately needs an option to protect tag teams as i found myself downloading numerous wrestlers and creating the great tag teams from the past only for them to disband two weeks later and start feuding with each other. In the space of two months of simming i had a packed tag team division with 10+ teams deteriorate into a 3 way fight for the title. It really stopped me from enjoying the mode as the second i stepped away and let the game take any kind of control it ended up destroying everything i had built. Simply providing an option to stop the game from disbanding teams without the players say so would prevent this and make the mode much more enjoyable.

Outside of the simming within wwe universe the game really does fall apart. The gameplay in matches is very sluggish and boring. Control feels clunky and each move is telegraphed. Everything feels like a chore and a far cry from the incredibly fun gameplay of ‘Here Comes The Pain’ or ‘Shut Your Mouth’. Along with this the commentary is awful and might has well of been excluded. Commentators blurt out random lines that often make no sense in relation to what is happening in the ring. It completely breaks any immersion the player may have in a match.

Along with the universe mode mentioned above, the other main mode in SvR 2011 is the road to wrestlemania mode. It functions as a story mode but is incredibly restrictive and linear, much more so than the story modes from previous years. I much preferred when the concepts of universe mode and road to wrestlemania mode were fused into a single story mode. In which you could make decisions and work towards wrestlemania, but also have other fixtures and events going on around you. It’s a shame the road to wrestlemania mode was so weak in comparison.

Conclusion: WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 continues the dissapointing decline of WWE games. A massive overhaul is needed to breathe life (and more importantly fun) back into the series. The universe simulation is promising but doesn’t do enough to counteract the poor gameplay found throughout.