WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010

Editor’s Note: When our WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 review ran in the December 2009 issue of Official Xbox Magazine, Mitch mistakenly confused how much button-mashing was actually in the new Championship Scramble mode — there isn’t any, no matter what he tells you. He also generalized the button-bashing in Royal Rumble in a way that didn't clearly convey how the mode worked. This modified review clarifies the factual error and cleans up any Royal Rumble confusion. The initial score awarded is unaffected, since Mitch’s mix-up doesn’t change his feelings about the game’s quality. Mitch told us he’s deeply sorry for the slip, especially after we gave him 2,010 lashes so he’ll never forget WWE 2010.

As a sport, World Wrestling Entertainment hasn’t changed a lot in the last 10 years. The spectacle has grown, but the format and the competitors have remained largely the same. WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 follows suit by leaving intact the core of what makes it a great fighting franchise...well, mostly.

SmackDown 2010 feels freakishly similar to its predecessor. Right down to the graphical hitches — animations not quite lining up, characters teleporting across the ring after a big jump, and tons of bothersome clipping — the gameplay feels almost untouched. That familiarity is great for the already-awesome, buttery-smooth grappling system, but this messy tech is unforgivable after four years of identical issues.

Where SmackDown 2010 treads new ground is with its story modes. Road to WrestleMania returns with six uniquely entertaining narrative arcs that act as an abbreviated career. At five hours apiece, that’s a pretty solid chunk of content to sink into. We particularly enjoyed the self-aware hilarity of our created superstar’s revenge story, as well as the catfight-tastic Diva campaign.

You can also cook up your own tale in the new Story Designer if you want to get your creative juices flowing. By stringing together different animations, editing chunks of video, adding text, and working with imaginative camera angles, we created an original arc that we could share with our pals. We’re stoked to see what crafty things fans come up with, especially since the editor is essentially an avenue for non-stop DLC.

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