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I have been addicted to wrestling games since Pro Wrestling on NES. I loved the N64 games by THQ, and really havent found a more FUN game since. Lately its "Grapics" this and that. I don't care about graphics, I really care about FUN.
So here is the latest installment, Smackdown Vs Raw 2007. With implementation of the new grapple system and some pretty sweet graphics this is probably the best that has come out since the N64 days. But thats still not saying much about SvR2007. Loading......When will this be avoided? This totally takes the steam out the fun of playing. Loading Intro.....Loading next intro.....loading match.....Then you get to a screen that shows the ring but to my surprise, it was still loading. Then you win the match, and it loads your celebration in the ring. I loved the seamless days.
The graphics are intense, the vibe in the arenas is electric and the moves are well rendered and mapped. I love the audience reactions, and really thought that the Voice over is probably the most talkative and non repeating for the most part at first. Then it just starts to get over the top.
So I have to say Wrestling games in general REALLY have seen better days. The genre is so wrapped up in the world of WWE that there really isnt any room for original wrestling games, such as MDickie's Wrestling Mpire, which in my opinion is the most FUN I have had playing wrestling games period (graphics are dated but when you get over that the gameplay is re-playable for quite a while).
So SvR2007 definatly has a lot of the elements that can make a great game, which are all standard though, but it really ends up falling flat because of the outrageous loadtime between everything. Maybe at some point these knuckleheads will come up with a good way to prebuffer the matches a bit after the first match. I really feel strongly in such a NEXT GEN world that Loading can be fairly quick.
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