WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009

Developer: THQ
Format: Multi
Genre: Sport

Men in tights, looking for fights

Big, over-sized, half-naked, muscle-bound men in pants tighter than an F1 hairpin bend, grappling each other for all their worth to decide who is king of the ring. Welcome to the pantomime world of WWE wrestling, a concept that should have perhaps never made it past the drawing board but now dominates the stage like a drunk uncle at a wedding.

We may poke fun but trust us; it's all meant in the same manner that the sport presents itself. You're not supposed to take wrestling too seriously. Even though wrestling games have long decided to compete on equal footing with serious sports titles, it's still a genre best enjoyed by fans of the actual 'sport' rather than casual gamers who tend to treat it more like a sideshow.

Which brings us to WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009, the latest in the long running wrestling franchise from THQ - and from what we've seen, one with the most potential to crossover for mainstream appeal. For a start, there's a brand new tag team experience, allowing players to build momentum and attributes, eliminate opponents with high impact double teams and finishers, as well as get the hot tag for the win, which could lend itself to loads of multiplayer mayhem.

There's a brand new Create-A-Finisher option, that promises unique finishing moves, while a new Road to WrestleMania Mode paves the way to WWE's biggest event of the year and lets players experience co-op storylines for the first time. If that little lot wasn't enough there's also talk of enhanced online capabilities (are we finally going to get a proper tournament mode?) including the highly anticipated debut of downloadable content.

A release is scheduled for September. We have a strong feeling that this latest SmackDown serving is all set to be king of the ring by the autumn.

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