Wow, I can't believe that the name WWE is on this product. I love most fighting games. Especially fighting games with stories behind them. The story mode for SvR 2008 is completely ridiculous. Fighting for movie spots, winning matches that make you number one contender but never getting your title shot, extremely repetitive commentary, character's like the Undertaker or Kane trying to make moves on Divas or female announcers, and out of this world DUMB (and also very repetitive) cutscenes make this the worst wrestling game I've EVER played. Yes, I said ever. Some examples: You will win the number one contender spot at nearly the beginning of story mode... however, there's hardly any mention of it afterward. There surely isn't any title match for it, at least not for a long time. The story begins to tell you that you are the number one contender for SummerSlam and that you will lose your title shot if you attack the champ before the match. You are put into a match as a "special announcer" where you actually just stand outside the ring for the duration of the match (usually a handicap match between the current champ and two of his rivals). You can literally stand there the whole time, NEVER interacting with the wrestlers. Once the match is over, it shoots to a cutscene showing your player leaving the ring a battered pulp! Then you receive an email saying that you've lost your title shot! What?!? This kind of completely ridiculous events happen consistently. There are several times before a match with a sworn enemy where your wrestler is making friendly handshakes and talking with him backstage. Another nuisance: you will receive several emails where you can accept or deny the offer made in the message... EVERY time I've denied the offer, the game just goes along with the game as if I accepted it. I also have to go out and say that there aren't enough wrestlers in this game. If you are going to include "Legends" in the game, how about include more than approximately 7-8? They had the chance to completely pack this game with the largest roster ever in a wrestling game, especially with the addition of ECW. Where's Hulk Hogan? Andre the Giant? Ultimate Warrior? Jake the Snake? Randy "Macho Man" Savage? We all know that WWE owns WCW and they talk about them (WCW) constantly in the game, so where is Sting, Bill Goldberg, and Diamond Dallas Page, just to name a few? Players don't want to spend hours building these characters in Create a Wrestler mode when they could easily be incorported straight out of the box. The fact of the matter is, this game comes up terribly short of anything that could be an even slightly good wrestling game. Lack of depth, extreme repetitiveness, stories that DO NOT match the wrestlers and which will leave you asking yourself "What just happened?" or saying "I just won the match but the game is acting like I was completely annihilated", and ZERO replay value makes this game a complete bust. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. IF YOU MUST PLAY THIS GAME, RENT IT!!!!
The only good news: Great graphics.
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