WWE Raw 2 – XB – Review – XB – Review

It wasn’t too long ago
that THQ released its first WWE Raw game for the Xbox.  Unfortunately the game
lacked all the qualities seen in their PS2 SmackDown series and the entire
experience left WWE wrestling fans with a bad taste in their mouths.  Aside from
the fact that many of the wrestlers looked nothing like their real-life
counterparts and the controls were a bit sluggish, has THQ learned from its
mistakes and offer up a whole new wrestling experience with WWE Raw 2?
Wrestling fans, the answers can be found inside.

Raw 2, I’m happy to
report, is actually an improvement from the previous Raw game.  A number of
things have been added to this year’s game including a more in-depth Create A
Superstar feature and a few additions in wrestling moves such as counter moves
and specialty moves.  And if this was not enough, they really do pile on the
game modes and extras this time around.

With a whopping sixty
superstars–including the ever so loved WWE Divas–the game offers everything
from an Exhibition match to a complete Season (the game’s story mode) as well as
King of the Ring and Royal Rumble.  The good news, though, is that there are
plenty of game matches here too.  There’s Hell in a Cell, Ladder, TLC, Table,
Street Fight and even the Royal Rumble.  Plenty to see and do?  You better
believe it.

This year’s Season mode
allows up to four players to go through a story mode-type season that has you
climbing your way to the top of the WWE ladder that leads all the way to the
Pay-Per-View event Wrestlemania.  You can incorporate your own created wrestler
(you design him or her anyway you see fit) into the story or use any of the
already established superstars for a more familiar feel.  Alliances are made and
broken in this mode and there are challenges aplenty that are true to the WWE
franchise.  While the story is a bit on the weak side, it’s the wrestling action
and the mayhem that ensues after doing things like picking into a foes locker or
firing your current manager.

Control-wise, Raw 2 sees a
number of improvements and sees an even smaller number of things that don’t
really work for it.  For example, the new counter moves prove to be most
distracting when the CPU characters just keep countering every specialty move
you so happen to pull off.  The targeting system is also a bit off, making
character make empty grabs.  I long for those old mistakes where the targeting
had you directly centered at foes even if it meant accidentally targeting the
referee.  On the other hand, unleashing specialty moves is a pure joy as are the
other well-known moves.  The instruction manual goes into detail on how to pick
up a chair, for example, but slamming it over a rival’s head is all up to you.

The Create A Superstar is
a lot more pleasantly well organized this time around and that means features
are already pre-set and ready for your choosing.  While it would have been a lot
more fun if they had adopted the SmackDown way of designing your character (e.g.
allowing you free reign of changing practically every aspect of your character),
this isn’t a bad feature at all.  You can also add your own entrance tune
(straight off the Xbox hard drive) as well as decide on what type of
pyrotechnics you’d like.

One of the game’s most
charming aspects is the fact that it loyally recreates the televised events down
to the actual video footage, popping of flash bulbs and snazzy graphics titles.
The superstars themselves all look and more natural enough and thankfully they
look more like the actual wrestlers. The more extravagant the wrestlers, such as
Hollywood Hogan, are the ones that are most identifiable but now the other fan
favorites don‘t look like poorly designed caricatures.  You’ll note the facial
details the most in animated cut scenes during the game’s story mode or after a
match.  The arenas are also in need of some visual flair, but they’re not bad at
all.

Apart from the fact that
there’s no voice work found in the game except for the ring announcer, the
superstar intros are still fun to listen to as they make their dramatic
entrance.  Many of the tunes are made especially for the superstars with the
exception of a few wrestlers that use licensed music.  The game also lacks sound
effects, particularly when it comes to grunts of pain or getting slammed by
obstacles.

WWE Raw 2 is the
improvement we were all hoping for in a series that shows a lot of promise.
With enough game modes and extras to choke a horse with and controls solid
enough to make the experience fun, this game is certainly worth your while if
your a true fan of the WWE franchise.  As for the casual wrestling fan, Raw 2
should not be ignored and would make the perfect weekend rental to share with
friends. 

#Reviewer’s Scoring Details

Gameplay: 8.6
The real downer here is that the new
additions, such as the easy flow of the new countering system, are more of an
annoyance here rather than a welcome change.  The targeting is also a bit off,
making for many moments of grabbing-and-missing.  Other than that, though, the
controls are pretty solid and executing specialty moves makes for a really
satisfying sight.

Graphics: 8.2
Gamers will be amazed how well Raw 2
captures the whole WWE televised event presentation.  Not only does the game
faithfully recreate each superstar entrance but also adds the flashy intro
graphics and the flash from the cameras of the fans in attendance.  The good
news is that unlike the first game certain superstars look a lot like their
actual counterparts now.  Triple H looks like more like himself now, as does
Booker T.  The arenas are done decently enough, although sometimes a fan’s sign
might block part of the ring for but a few seconds.

Sound: 7.8
The game does an excellent job of
bringing the full audio experience of actually watching a televised event.
Whether its the ring announcer or the individual superstar theme music, Raw 2
does a good job of bringing it all to life.  It doesn’t, though, fully capture
the sounds of grapplers really hitting the mat or any loud grunts that might
come out as a result of a very painful DDT.  To top it all off there isn’t any
superstar voices to be found either.

Difficulty: Medium
The real challenge is figuring out
how to pull off specialty moves or combos for that matter.  Unlike the SmackDown
games of the PS2, pulling off specialty moves is more of a guessing game and
thus makes gamers an easy target against foes.  However, the instruction manual
does thankfully give you enough insight as to how to pull of some really brutal
moves. Of the many game modes, Royal Rumble is the most difficult and
wonderfully challenging modes that will surely keep gamers nicely busy.

Concept: 9.0
You have to love a game with plenty
of game modes and Raw 2 certainly has its nice share of game modes.  The game’s
story mode allows up to four players to play along and that is a real delight.
The Create A Superstar and Create A Team are also great features–although I
personally wish there were more creative options available for designing your
own superstar.  Still, adding your own intro song (thanks to the Xbox hard
drive) for your creation is downright cool.

Multiplayer: 9.0
What’s a wrestling game without some
multiplayer action?  Raw 2 brings the brawling fun for up to four players.  You
can, in fact, play the Season mode with four friends making each battle seem
more personal since it involves not only you but also three other friends.
Really, this does make for a great party game when you want to show your stuff
in a four-man test of will that is Royal Rumble or a good old-fashioned Fatal 4
Way.

Overall: 8.9
WWE Raw 2 breaths new life into the
franchise and makes for a pretty entertaining wrestling game on the Xbox. This
game brings us all the juicy extras we all love in our wrestling games and has
plenty of game modes to sink our teeth into but it still has a long way to go if
it wants to be the ultimate pro wrestling title.  Still the improvements do work
here and this is, by far, one of the most solid WWE wrestling games on the Xbox
so far.  Give this one a chance, wrestling fans.