For my next subject, I'd like to tackle the decline of the state of professional wrestling games.

Much like the actual product it is based on, the WWE video games are falling into fast decline. Before anyone complains, this isn't a "I want another AKI WWE game" rant. I know that ship has sailed and I'm okay with that. But really, the quality of the wrestling games we see today (especially the once-great Smackdown series) has slipped greatly.

These days, WWE has fallen into a slump of predcitable storylines coupled with sub-par wrestling (and I'm not even tackling the individuals mucking up the joint *nasty glance at Cena*). Likewise, pro wrestling games are lacking innovation and often take two steps back and one step forward in terms of new features. That coupled with unintuitive gameplay at times just sours that which could be a great experience.

The biggest violator is the Smackdown series. What began as one of the most comprehensive experiences in the pro wrestling genre that a gamer could get (if you weren't into stuff like Fire Pro or obsessed with No Mercy), the Smackdown series has spiraled into the slump of the "yearly update". THQ and Yukes fail to really stride and instead rest on their laurels with minor improvements and tweaks coupled with updated rosters and arenas. Their latest effort, Smackdown VS RAW 2007, is devoid of any inspiration and the series itself has been dry since the 2006 edition. Even I had great hopes when the original Smackdown VS RAW game was announced, complete with its dynamic heel-face system (but in the end, even that game felt like a retread of Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain, my current favorite game in the series). But Yukes unwisely scrapped that for future incarnations, instead focusing on the wrong areas of improvement.

I'm not being a hater. There are areas I'm glad they touched up. The 2007 edition brings in their new grappling system and has decent online. However, there's still a lack of soul in the development. They just rush-job the series now, pushing out new versions at the expense of the quality the series once had. If a game like No Mercy can be timeless and enjoyable in the here and now, why can't the premiere wrestling game series of the next-gen? Slow down the development and reflect, Yukes. If WWE can't make wrestling fun again, at least you can.