I haven’t played a WWE game since SvR 2008, which I didn’t find particularly any good. So coming into SvR 2011 I decided to wipe the slate clean, forgive and forget and hope to relieve the good old days of WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role on the PS1. The Smackdown series was once a juggernaut in the gaming industry, having sold more than 50 million units worldwide. This year’s instalment is aiming to bring the series back to its original glory days, does it succeed?

WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 is like a swish army knife, it is jammed packed with so many modes, and it’s hard to know where to start.  This year’s iteration brings with it a host of new features including the WWE Universe, which is the highlight of this year’s iteration. WWE Universe merges career and exhibition modes into one unique gaming experience. Along the way, gameplay scenarios will change based on the player decisions, allowing for new rivalries, alliances, and championship matches. The game tracks all of the players stats allowing for the game to generate a unique universe, for example if your most used character is Triple H and you always like to team up with Kane, the game will atomically make Kane an ally, and he will come to your aid if need be.  The great thing about this feature is that it is very unlikely to generate the same scenario twice, leaving the player the ability to create his own personal WWE experince.

Road to Wrestlemania makes its return in this year’s iteration, with a few minor improvements. RtW is the story based  mode, which includes WWE story driven content from the real life WWE shows. Unlike in previous WWE games, you can only choose a select few wrestlers to go through their story, which include Chris Jericho, Ray Mysterio, John Cena, Christian and a vs Undertaker. For the first time since WWE Smackdown! Shut Your Mouth the player is able to roam freely around the backstage area before matches, while in the back area you are able to talk to other superstars and the GM of the show you represent, while in theory it seems like a great idea, the execution is poorly done leaving this part of the game feeling rather broken and glitchy. The character models feel rather out of place due to the low textures of the background areas, meaning at times the game looks like it is running on a PS2 rather than a PS3. Apart from the poor free roaming sections another disappointment is the lack of wrestlers you can choose from to fully participate in this mode. RtW mode is a great addition and a welcome return, it puts the player in the shoes of the wrestler with engaging story lines that stay true to the WWE soap opera style presentation.

The wrestler character models look great, the attention to detail is immaculate, and the wrestler’s facial expressions change consistently during a match depending on the wrestler’s situation, if the wrestler is in pain, then it is clearly shown in his facial expression. I have yet to see a video game that has a great looking crowd, and you would have thought that WWE would have been the game to have done that, but unfortunately it still can’t get the look of the crowd right, the crowd can be rather off putting, due to the fact that the people in the audience still look like a bit odd, with a limited amount of the crowd in 3D, looks like we will be waiting till next gen to get decent 3D crowds.

The voice acting is not great; the wrestlers have very little to no emotion in their voices, when a wrestler is angry or sad, it is not represented in their voice much. The commentary in pass games has always been good, with a few minor hiccups, and this year’s version is no different. I found the commentary enjoyable, with the commentators highlighting interesting WWE trivia and information, the only problem I found was that it would get at times a bit repetitive, and the commentators usually would say the wrong thing. The music is great and is what you would expect from a WWE game with its mix of heavy metal and rock.

The gameplay hasn’t change much at all; the controls are pretty much the same as in previous iterations, with the grappling system still on the right stick. The grappling system is very easy to pick up for new comers and in depth enough for the hardcore fans to master and get even more out of it. Has always the control system can feel a bit intimidating at first, due t the fact that at times it is hard to remember what button does what due to the vast complexity of control inputs available. The new physics system is excellent; the technical upgrades to the gameplay experience will ensure all matches and object interactions look and feel unique, dynamic and unpredictable. When a ladder falls over and bounces on a rope, it sometimes can rest on the rope still bouncing, it’s good to see that the physics are up to par this year.

The creation tools are just as in depth as ever, with the player able to create just about anything your imagination can conjure up. It is possible to create every aspect of your created superstar, their taunts, entrance walk, and the move set that also includes a created finisher.  Also returning this year is the ability to create your own WWE experience, you are able to create your own WWE storyline with its own twists and turns. You can have other wrestlers beaten up, run over, even fired, then you can upload your created experience online for people to download and play then rate.  Keeping with the online, multiplayer is still the same but with the new addition of online Royal Rumble. The Royal Rumble is the highlight of the online experience, due to the fact that it is extremely enjoyable and at times addictive. The online Royal Rumble plays pretty much as you would expect it to, with the main objective to throw everybody over the top of the ropes, the fun doesn’t stop when you are eliminated, and instead you will take control of the next available wrestler to enter the ring, meaning you will never be out the action for long. Unfortunately you can’t do anything if people decide to team up on you, leaving you helpless and wanting to quit if you lack the skills to take on 3 plus wrestlers at the same time. It is also clear that developer Yukes have managed to keep the graphical fidelity of the single player in the online matches, making the online look on par with the offline modes.

It is clear that THQ firmly believe in this franchise, and rightly so. WWE SvsR2011 is a great game that might not have evolved much, but the same can be said about other annual games such has Fifa, Madden and even CoD, and with this year iteration being the best yet. Fans of the series will not be disappointed, but if you have gotten everything out of WWE games then this might not be for you. The fans of the franchise will determine if the online continues to be fun and entertaining, depending on the content that is created for it. WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 is definitely a must buy for fans of the genre and is also the best wrestling game available this gen.