The game is a lot smoother than the “Holy Trio.” The graphics are more crisp, moves seem to have a bigger impact, and it’s a lot faster and closer to a normal pace. Also, did I mention that you can play as DMmother****inX?
Pictured above: DMmother****inX
SMACKDOWN VS. RAW SERIES (PS1/PS2/PS3/XBOX 360/WII)
Released: 2000 - Present
Originally just called Smackdown!, this series has become the Madden of professional wrestling games. The only difference between this and Madden, is that at least this series changes more than just the rosters. Each new iteration evolves more and more. I recently tried playing the latest in the series after not playing it since Smackdown! Vs. Raw 2006, and I played it for about 30 minutes before I realized that I’m too stupid to play it. Do I want to do the “Road to WrestleMania”? Do I want to do “Create-A-Story” mode? Or do I want to turn it off and play No Mercy? No Mercy it is.
It’s not that I don’t think the games are good anymore, they’ve just evolved too much, and at this point in my life I don’t like games that don’t actually end.
I can’t talk much about the first couple entires, or the last four. My experience began with Smackdown! Just Bring It, and ended with Smackdown! Vs. Raw 2006, so rather than talk about each game I played, I’ll just speak about the series as a whole.
Like I said, the first game I really played was Just Bring It, and I was introduced to it by watching a friend play. When I saw how well animated Triple H’s entrance was, I knew I had to have this game. From there I became obsessed and became what I like to call a “Maddenite.” A Maddenite is the guy who trades in the latest version of Madden to use towards the newest Madden, and I did that with this series, I became “That guy.”
The one bad thing about being in the wrestling business is that I’m now better able to spot when other wrestler’s botch a move. I also know when something “doesn’t make sense.” You see, pro wrestling has a certain “psychology” to it, and you can’t teach artificial intelligence psychology. Remember in Terminator 2 when John tries to explain to the Terminator why he can’t just go around killing people? It’s kind of like that. The video game versions of Kane and Big Show don’t understand why Kane shouldn’t hop right back up after Big Show power bombs him through a table. I think that’s my problem with the series now. Granted, this is the closest to a pro wrestling sim that you’re going to get, but it’s different when it comes to "real" sports games because they don’t require psychology.
I had a blast in the five years I did play the games, they were the games that I always came back to when I finished playing whatever else I was playing. These days, I just can’t get into them. Maybe it’s the fact that I feel like I’m better than some of the guys that are actually in the games. Don’t get me wrong, I’m nowhere near an Undertaker or Chris Jericho level, but I am a couple steps ahead of The Boogeyman.
This is what we in the business refer to as "The ****s"
There you have it, a pro wrestler’s view on pro wrestling video games. I know I neglected games like Fire Pro Wrestling and Saturday Night Slam Masters, but remember, I included only the games I played a ton of as a kid and young adult, and those games pulled a Solid Snake and slipped right by me unnoticed. What? That reference was lame? Well, then watch this…
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