If you've played the previous Smackdown's, you're probably not going to be surprised by this one.
Moving on, we have a feature that was introduced last year, and seemed like a wonderful starting point that could easily have been a new selling feature...the General Manager mode. Last year, when the feature was added, some complained that it was too bare-bones to really be qualified as anything other than an afterthought. Granted, THQ and Yukes had never really done anything like this with the previous games, so it was forgiveable, but seemed to be a great preview of something that could be an excellent feature in the future...Unfortunately we're likely going to have to wait for another year, or possibly more before that happens. Yes, they have made some minor improvements, like the addition of the Heat and Velocity programs, in which you can build up your created wrestlers stats and popularity to an extent. As well, you can hire writers for the storylines, with which you can then start rivalries. However, none of the story is ever commented on in the News section, nor do you ever see any of it played out in any way, shape, or form. It might not seem that important, but considering that fans will go from liking a story one week to hating it without explanation, it would be nice to know where certain stories went wrong...or to have the stories fleshed out, much like that in the season mode, through the use of WWE.com or even short cut-scenes. One of the problems from last year was that it was extremely difficult to keep your wrestlers happy because they were always losing, wanted a title shot, or just plain unhappy about life on your show. This year, you have the option to turn off the complaining and just worry about beating the other show on the merits of your ability to book better matches...some might call this cheating, but if you check the stats of the COM controlled show, you'll see that their superstars never get injured, are always happy and rarely ever get fatigued, so this can help even the playing field a bit. You can also turn off injuries and have the ability to vacate titles to your hearts content. This can make for some interesting fan changes based on the fact that you now have the ability to compete with the computer and beat it at its own game. You can also affect the outcome of matches manually by going in and fighting them yourselves, which can be extremely helpful if you're looking to up the popularity of a superstar at any given time. The mode can also be played with two people, however, there is no online, for obvious reasons as your goal is to run the show for an entire year, which can take quite a bit of time. Still, if they can find a way to do it, it'd be a welcome addition, for certain.
The rest of the modes are all repeated from previous iterations of the games, like Challenge mode, in which you fight to complete various tasks, like beat Cactus Jack, Mankind and Mick Foley while playing as Dude Love. There's the standard Exhibition modes, and multiplayer functions, as well. Xbox Live is something I haven't had the pleasure of trying yet, so I can't comment on it, however. The create-a-modes are all wonderfully done, as usual, with multitudes of options for creating and customizing your wrestler down to the color of his eyelashes...The create-a-characters also fit in alot better with the real wrestlers this year, which makes for a better all around experience, as you're no longer going to be focusing on how terrible your superstar looks in comparison to that of the real WWE guys. Create an entrance is wonderful, as you have the ability to adjust the pyro timing, change the lighting and pick your moves per each camera change...(ie: stage, ramp, ring). The only problem with the feature is that, unlock the other Xbox titles, you can no longer use tunes from your hard drive as entrances for you characters. It's a bit of a downer, if you're used to the previous titles, but hopefully an oversight that will be fixed with the next title. The real difference in this title is that they've included a new control system, and while I can appreciate what they were trying to do here, I have to say, I saw no problem with the other controls, and feel they probably could have put more effort into other aspects of the game, rather than redesign the control scheme. What they've done is mapped out the grapples to the analog stick, which works surprisingly well, but isn't exactly more intuitive than the old standby that they've been using since Here Comes the Pain. The only real difference is the use of Ultimate Control moves, in which a player can press down on the analog stick to grapple, then either drag them to a "hot spot" for environmental attacks, or use them to perform crowd pleasing feats of strength, such as performing the Last Call next to the ropes, and tossing your opponent overtop of them to the concrete below. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough of these in my opinion, and thus you'll get bored using them before you finish the season mode's main story. Graphically, the game looks fantastic on the 360, but severe clipping issues tend to cause problems, as you'll often see a larger wrestler like the Undertaker perform a choke on a guy the size of Rey Mysterio and actually put his hand through poor Rey's head...or worse, sometimes he'll use his Jedi mind powers and lift him without actually even touching him. I'd expect this from a PS2 game, but in this generation, and on a console capable of producing some mindblowing graphical feats, I have to say that I'm truly disappointed that they let this slide for another year. Audio is generally solid, with the voice acting getting better and better every year, though there are times where Michael Cole and others can sound a bit stiff...still, nothing too offensive on that front. The music is generic rock and rap, with nothing utterly remarkable, though, as Alex mentioned in his review, Ghostface Killah's "The Champ", is a pleasant and welcome change to the usual pop-metal that runs the show most of the time. The sound effects are decent, though again, some of them don't quite sound up to snuff when compared to that of the real thing. The commentary is often irrelevant to the match and when they do comment on something like someone being chokeslammed through the cell, it's usually a good two minutes or so after you've done it.
Overall, I'd recommend the game to the hardcore fans of the WWE, as there's enough new here to keep you happy, with the inclusion of the new members of the roster, (though it is a bit outdated, I know), improved gameplay and some great multiplayer action, along with the standard single-player modes. But as I say, if you're not really into the WWE, you might want to check out your local import shop for some of the Japanese titles that you may have missed over here, as the pickings are slim when it comes to wrestlers on this side of the pacific.